hi, if anyone has the time and inclination could one of you post the measurement from the forward most point of the gearbox bell housing to the centre of the gear stick?? a direct measurement would do rather than trying to get it on centre.
I am seeing what other gearboxes I might be able to fit.
Tony W
Hi Tony
please see the following
autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/lot … Gearboxes/ click on the file called box3.jpg
412.12 mm or 16 1/4 inches
Good luck with your exercise, some one mentioned in the past that the Opel, Izuzu, Chevy Chevette is close, but the ratios of the gears are rather sedan like. There used to be something called the Izuzu Impulse in the U.S. that had slightly better or more sporting ratios but they stopped making them in the late 80’s or early 90’s.
Gary
Gary, I have to disagree. I’ve just measured the one that is out of the car and it measures 17 and 5/8".
Roy
'65S2
Yep, I just measured 447mm on my '72 sprint rolling chassis, 17-5/8" it is.
Mike
'72 Elan Sprint
'74 Europa TCS
'72 Westfield 7
Hi Roy
I guess I’ll disagree too, I should know better than to believe what I read and not get off my ass to have a look…
I’ve got a BW T-5 in my S4SE DHC. Had it in an old chassis poorly modified by a PO, but I am fitting it up right now to a TTR 26R chassis. Not easy but do-able, and in the end you get 2.5/1.9/1.3/1.0/0.73 ratios with 300 ft-lb capability. FWIW the block - shift centerline is about 19.2" on my unit. Happy to provide any other info.
Tom
Hi Tom
Any photos of the swap?
Gary
I’ve also been thinking of a conversion to 5-speed also. Here are some ratios:
Elan Box:
2.97, 2.01, 1.39, and 1
The Alfa Giulia ratios (I believe) are
3.304, 1.988, 1.355, 1, and .791
For the Alfa, the installation is apparantly quite simple (you need adaptor plate of course). Also, you may know there is a significant differnece in the way the Alfa box mounts. It has a soft mount at the back that you’d need to cut off and weld an Elan-esque setup on in its place.
I have also seen some conversation suggestions around using an Isuzu MSG-5K box (early RWD i-mark, Impulse, 2WD pickup) which is also rumoured to fit in quite well (with adapter plate), gear knob in the same place, and even the speedo cable works without modification. Plus, boxes are readily available, a couple sitting in my local wrecking yard. A version of this box was also used in the diesel Chevette, but I think the actual ratios were slightly different but doable. Gear ratios for the standard box as follows:
3.22, 1.98, 1.35, 1, .86
Then there is the Ford N9 from the Ford Sierra and available in North America in the short lived Merkur XR4Ti. Now, a lot of those conversion kits are mentioned and suggested in the forum, like that from Voight. Also some vintage racing outfits advertise them as well. I believe these require significant modification due to the tail section.
I acutually won an Alfa gearbox on Ebay, but the guy never followed up and I got cold feet on it. I barely got my Elan together to enjoy before the winter. I haven’t even got the engine broken in yet, so I want to drive it for at least a summer before I rip it apart again. Plus, I’m about to overhaul my MGB and I have a rule about having both cars apart at the same time. That’s a big self imposed no no.
hope it helps
Darren
Guy’s,
Thanks for the replies this forum is great when you need a hand. I am aware of the Holden (Izusu) Gemini having a five speed that is a fairly easy conversion as described in the forum earlier i gus I was trying to find a RWD from a later car as these cars ceased around 1986 and with the price of steel most wreckers have long since sent them to the scrap yard in the sky!!
I will continue to seek a Holden Gemini but on my search I thought it might be fun to see if there were any others of the correct length and then see what would be required to do a conversion, I was also thinking that I might just find a gearbox with more suitable ratio’s.
Thanks again.
Tony W
