I bought the Ford 5-speed conversion a few years back when they were under 2 grand. I have nothing but good things to say about the conversion, easy to install and completely reversable if you would like to go back stock. The shifting of the 5-speed is very smooth feeling, almost like a short shifter and has no large gap between second and third like the factory tranny.
I also have a OD tranny in one of my other British cars which when it is working correctly is also a very good improvement over the 4-speed., Flipping a switch to engage the OD is very cool and unique and is always a crowd pleaser.
IMHO, there are a couple of advantages to the 5-speed.
1) more modern technology, less prone to break and much quieter operation. When you flip the OD switch you cross your fingers untill it engages.
2)no OD switch to flip, with a 5-speed your can always tell what gear it is in by the position of the shifter. I often forget to disengage the OD and dont realise it untill I shift to third and the power isnt there.
3) easier to remove and install in the future with a more heavy duty tranny cross member. The conversion does not require the engine to be removed getting out the tranny and it comes with a new balanced drive shaft.
and there are some disadvantages
1) the cost
2) not origional, if you like the vintage click-click feel of the origional shifter and the relatively long spacing between gears along with the slight roar of the tranny then this conversion is not for you.
All of the OD trannys are now 26 years old or older and their prices will go up as their relialibility goes down. Finding someone qualified to rebuild them close to you without having to ship the tranny across the country is also a concern. If you can find a correctly rebuild and guaranteed OD for less than the cost of the conversion then I would suggest taking that rought, other wise I would go with the 5-speed.
Right now the 41000 mile OD tranny in my Spitfire has lost OD in 4th gear, heading out to the garage to see if I can find the problem. When it works it is great but it is hard to access when problems occur.
Maybe Ill just go take a long ride in the 5-speed MGB /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
just one opinion,
Paul
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