Five Speed Trans.

[James Lea]

The frame on the TD is now finished and have started putting parts back on so now its the time to make the decision if a five speed is or is not going to be installed. I talked to Steve Neal tonight (Skyhook Engineering) who makes a bolt on system for the Datsun 210 trans. He had the kits but it seems there are not many of the 79 to 82 trans around anymore so I am wondering if there is another trans/kit that will fit. Has anyone on the list had experience with this conversion? Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Cheers, JL

 

[Morris]

I have seen kits for the Spitfire/Midget 1500 that use a ford t-9 (from a Mercury Merkur/Ford Sierra I believe). Might be worth a Goggle search.

 

[lawguy]

Try here- look towards the bottom of the page

https://www.piercemanifolds.com/cylinderheads.htm

 

[Paul Slice]

James,
Jim Hall at https://www.mgfivespeed.com/ carries the complete kit for your car. I purchased the MGB kit for my 78 B and it works great

 

[MGretired]

I've had the Hi-Gear Ford T9 in the TD for 3 years...greatest thing I ever did.
https://www.hi-gearengineering.co.uk/frames.htm

 

[647F]

why didn't i find this sight before, too much good info.

 

[Nunyas]

'cause there's too much good info here... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

you know how that goes... the good places for info tend to be the more difficult to find /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Steve_S]

A 5-speed will make it a more pleasant highway cruiser and better in stop and go traffic, if you use the car in such conditions. The stock transmission will make the car more valuable to a potential buyer and will retain the "vintage motoring" experience. In a canyon it makes no difference which transmission you have.

On maintenance, the 5-speed will last longer between rebuilds and be much cheaper when it is time to do so. But it is much more expensive to install in the car if you already have a stock unit ready to go. If you're not doing a lot of hard driving, the stock unit should last many, many years of trouble-free use.

 

[tony barnhill]

Plus, think about upgrading the 3rd member to possible an MGA or Magnette unit - better gears for highway speeds