After rebuilding the tranny I had bought, I finally got it and the "new" diff in the car and was able to take it out for a spin. My '73 feels like a different car. Gears are closer together, it is faster to shift and cruises on the highway. Yahoo! The combo is as follows:

-'82 5 speed

-3.70 diff w/ GM mount above and stock mount below.

-4 speed shifter with 1.5" cut off. (this is about 3/8" longer below the pivot than the '82 shifter). Shifting is now more with the wrist than the arm.

At 75 mph I'm loping along at about 2,800 rpm. This feels like a great upgrade for those of you contemplating it. I'm really looking forward to driving through the canyons.

Edited December 7, 201014 yr by tlorber

Yep, IMO that's the set-up the car should have been born with....