dklawson
Yoda
Offline
Please excuse the tone of this post. I'm currently very, very angry. I have no one to blame but myself for today's events. I'm not angry at anyone here. However, I would like feedback from any and all with experience regarding the below.
The story so far is, we bought a '72 Spitfire non-running project car. Once I got it marginally operational I took it around the block only to discover the gearbox had bad syncrhos on 2nd and 3rd. A friend of mine gave me a known-good single-rail box to replace the 3-rail in the car. He said "it will bolt right in".
Subsequently I have learned that it will NOT bolt right in and I needed a new driveshaft, new speedo cable, and a new "clutch" (because the input of the single rail box has 20 splines instead of 10).
So, I got a used driveshaft, I ordered a clutch disk and speedo cable. Today was the day. My son and I pulled the old gearbox and clutch out and I told him we were going to dry-fit the clutch to make sure it all fit. IT DOESN'T.
I was told by a couple of people that I would need the friction disk for a 1500 and that it would fit under the 1300's pressure plate. It doesn't. The 1500's disk is much bigger than the inside of the 1300's pressure plate. It looks like there is no way you could attach a 1500's pressure plate to a 1300's flywheel... the dowel pin spacing and bolt circle are too small.
So what do I need???? Do I need to buy the flywheel off a 1500? If I do buy a 1500 flywheel... will it bolt on directly or am I in for more surprises? Is there a smaller 20 spline friction disk I should have bought? What is the answer. I know these conversions have been done so I'm sure there are just a couple of things I haven't been told yet. I really don't want any more surprises. PLEASE, please, please... those of you who have converted from a 3-rail box to single... tell me what I'm supposed to do about the clutch components!
OK... so I moved on. I figured with the clutch issue on hold, I'd move on to cutting out and welding in the new battery box. I bought a replacement steel box from one of the usual sources (and trust me... I'll be discussing this with them). The replacement box did NOT have the back edge bent "upward" like the one in my Spitfire or our GT6. I figured... OK, I'll just bend it up prior to tack welding it in place. I continued to check things and found that the inner dimensions of the box were TOO SMALL to accept the plastic battery box liner I have. The liner fits the battery box in the car... this replacement steel box was about 1/4" smaller in both X & Y directions!!! I'm giving up on that and I'm going to glass it. I just hope the vendor will take the undersized box back AND perhaps pay for shipping. That vent is over... thanks for listening. Today was just NOT a good day for our project car and it's probably our last warm weekend.
Again... I beg any of you who have converted from 3-rail to single-rail gearboxes in a Spitfire, PLEASE recount your experiences and in particular, tell me which clutch components and/or flywheel I need. Your help and advice will be much appreciated!
The story so far is, we bought a '72 Spitfire non-running project car. Once I got it marginally operational I took it around the block only to discover the gearbox had bad syncrhos on 2nd and 3rd. A friend of mine gave me a known-good single-rail box to replace the 3-rail in the car. He said "it will bolt right in".
Subsequently I have learned that it will NOT bolt right in and I needed a new driveshaft, new speedo cable, and a new "clutch" (because the input of the single rail box has 20 splines instead of 10).
So, I got a used driveshaft, I ordered a clutch disk and speedo cable. Today was the day. My son and I pulled the old gearbox and clutch out and I told him we were going to dry-fit the clutch to make sure it all fit. IT DOESN'T.
I was told by a couple of people that I would need the friction disk for a 1500 and that it would fit under the 1300's pressure plate. It doesn't. The 1500's disk is much bigger than the inside of the 1300's pressure plate. It looks like there is no way you could attach a 1500's pressure plate to a 1300's flywheel... the dowel pin spacing and bolt circle are too small.
So what do I need???? Do I need to buy the flywheel off a 1500? If I do buy a 1500 flywheel... will it bolt on directly or am I in for more surprises? Is there a smaller 20 spline friction disk I should have bought? What is the answer. I know these conversions have been done so I'm sure there are just a couple of things I haven't been told yet. I really don't want any more surprises. PLEASE, please, please... those of you who have converted from a 3-rail box to single... tell me what I'm supposed to do about the clutch components!
OK... so I moved on. I figured with the clutch issue on hold, I'd move on to cutting out and welding in the new battery box. I bought a replacement steel box from one of the usual sources (and trust me... I'll be discussing this with them). The replacement box did NOT have the back edge bent "upward" like the one in my Spitfire or our GT6. I figured... OK, I'll just bend it up prior to tack welding it in place. I continued to check things and found that the inner dimensions of the box were TOO SMALL to accept the plastic battery box liner I have. The liner fits the battery box in the car... this replacement steel box was about 1/4" smaller in both X & Y directions!!! I'm giving up on that and I'm going to glass it. I just hope the vendor will take the undersized box back AND perhaps pay for shipping. That vent is over... thanks for listening. Today was just NOT a good day for our project car and it's probably our last warm weekend.
Again... I beg any of you who have converted from 3-rail to single-rail gearboxes in a Spitfire, PLEASE recount your experiences and in particular, tell me which clutch components and/or flywheel I need. Your help and advice will be much appreciated!