Richmond Reverse Ring & Pinion related.

[Andria Raine]

Back in the early '90's I purchased a set of RIchmond reverse cut ring and pinion gears for my Kelmark Mid Engine COrvair but never got around to installing them.
Eventually I sold the car but the buyer had no interest in purchasing the gears which I later sold.
Several years later I bought another set at an estate sale because I knew what they were and thought I might be able to find a good home for them, eventually I sold that set too.

Recently I reacquired my old car and along with it a set of these gears but am now somewhat confused about what changes need to be mad in order to successfully install these gears.

I understand that modifications will need to be made to the differential as the pinion gear will need to be on the other end of the case, is that correct?

I have heard/read that once the gears are installed that the engine will need to become a reverse rotation version. Is this accurate?
Before I go to the expense of potentially rebuilding the current engine, it would be best if I know without a doubt what really needs to happen to make using the reverse gears work properly.

Is there anyone here on the East Coast that is experienced enough, familiar enough, qualified, and could be recommended to properly set up my differential and go through the transmission?

IF necessary, I am willing to send the gears to the right place and have them acquire a transaxle on my behalf to save shipping mine to them.

Next is the transmission. It appears that at some point after I sold the car back in 1999, the shifter method was changed but currently inoperative.
It appears the transmission no has the more conventional Saginaw side cover on it designed for use on front engine, rear wheel drive vehicles and uses multiple shift rods rather than the modified Corvair shifter rod. This may actually beneficial as it may result in a more positive shift pattern than what the car had back when I had it originally. Any input would be appreciated.

[Richard Miller]

hi Andria
and welcome back to V8 registry
i have seen your signature line "former kelmark owner " on the forums for a long time
very cool story about how your car came back to you
long about 1970 i had a crown conversion ,sold it , and have wondered what happened to it ,,, still out there somewhere?

so 1974 i had a friend building a Manta , i contributed '66 transaxle and rear suspension to the cause
the bellhousing and input shaft were acquired and bolted between engine and transaxle ,,and thats all !
ran fine , standard rotation engine

issue is that all of the gears in the transaxle are turning reversed from design ,,doesnt affect transmission gears terribly ,,but differential pinion is
now driving on the coast side of hypoid ring gear and pressure greatly shortens life of the differential ,,something that reading your posts tell me
that you are familar with ,,

what you most likely have is reverse CUT ring and pinion ..
notice how a R & P will only fit together one way ? that spiraling tooth cut will only fit one way ,,what is done is the direction of the hypoid cut
is reversed so that when they are meshed what was the coast side is now the drive side ,,

look end on at the tooth shape .. notice one side angles up and the other is more vertical ,,coast and drive

differential will assemble same as stock ,,pinion in same location ,,

i have heard of the reverse rotation gear sets ,,dont know if they really exist ,,but suppossedly allowed a corvair engine mated to a corvair t-axle to run in mid-engine position , i dont know if there is room to move the pinion ,,seems like a good idea but i have no first hand knowledge

but to answer your questions . no the pinion does n ot move its position and the engine does not reverse rotate ,,

it can be confusing ,but on the corvair forum you got some good answers ,,

as far as mechanics on east coast ,,who would you otherwise use ? you had some work done at corvair ranch?

best wishes ,good luck with your kelmark

ps ,,reverse cut r and p common in front of 4wd trucks

[Andria Raine]

Richard,

Yes, Richmond Gear actually produced reverse ring and pinion gears for the Corvair differential. Rumor has it that two versions were made but I can't confirm this.
The current set of reverse gears I have are the third set I have had in my possession, they are set number 62 but I can't confirm exactly how many sets were actually produced.
I bought my first set in the early 1990's from Larry's Corvair parts, the second set I bought at an estate sale where they also had a Mid Engine Deserter dune buggy with a Corvair driveline in it .
The Ring and Pinion were available for sale but the dune buggy was not. The third set was purchased from the family that I got my car back from, they had three sets and I would have bought them all if the price had been more reasonable, I may still get another set out of them but only time will tell.

I live about 35-40 minutes from the Corvair Ranch in Gettysburg, PA. I see Jeff often and currently have a set of V8 Springs and an input shaft on order through him. I have only ever purchased items direct from Clarks Corvair when attending an event. I buy their parts through the Corvair Ranch which in my mind supports two vendors at the same time.

As far as building the Differential, I don't want to go to someone local that is experienced in such work but unfamiliar with Corvair's and even though the folks at the Corvair Ranch do rebuild stock Corvair differentials, I am not confident they would know what to do to install the reverse gears.

I am considering options at this point. IF I need to actually change the engine to reverse rotation, it may be a bit longer before I move forward with the gear installation.
This is why I have been making inquiries.

Andria