Gearbox options

robin collis

Active Member
Could any of the knowledgeable post a list of gearbox options available for the 3500S
Obviously the SD1 5 speed is the preferred way, but are there any others?
I recall seeing a thread on this forum about improving a P6, with a mention of using a Toyota 5 Speed gearbox, but no details given. I did not follow this up, but which Toyota box and where do you get the accessories like clutch and bell-housing?
 
Worth saying the 6 speed Mazda boxes aren't as tall as the LT77. Only 0.843:1 in 6th as opposed to 0.77:1 for the LT77.

So probably not enough for a cruising gear with for a V8 road car. Nice for competition though - 5 non-overdrive ratios.

My ZF is 0.73 in lockup and the V8 will pull this but it's a little too tall to be ideal with the 3.05 V8 diff.
 
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Agree
I found the LT77 great as a touring fitment, but for spirited driving the car needed more sparkle. The 4.6 with something like 280+ torques coped with it well though, but I cannot help wondering what might have been, with a lower gear set.

Worth mentioning also is that one of the guys at Vitesse is non other than Alec Poole - one time owner and driver of JXC 808D, and yes we have met and talked about the old days.
 
5ABC1627-1D47-48FD-B3E5-32EC8FEC536E.jpegThe advantage of the W57 and W58 Toyota 5-speed gearboxes are that these have been used in any number of applications and Dellow can supply the correct gearbox top; which simply bolts on and interchanges with whatever “top” the gearbox you’ve purchased comes with… the correct measurement is 58cm from the flat of the gearbox housing to the center of the gear stick for a P6B; Dellow have a small surcharge for swapping your “top” for the correct one and they’ll have one on the shelf

I bought the conversion kit from Dellow ( Speedo cable/bellhousing, throw out arm, Toyota driveshaft stub, slave cylinder, clutch/pressure plate ) but their price for a Toyota 5-speed was a bit rich and that I sourced privately

Some considerations: Dellow can supply the correct speedo cable for Toyota/P6B as part of the conversion which is accurate plug-and-play

You will need to fabricate a crossmember and shorten/balance the driveshaft which has a unique “phase” with the universals in the P6B ( machine shop will know )

When shopping for a gearbox the metal sandwich in the middle of the gearbox where the horizontal bolts hold it together can be steel or aluminium, the steel spacer makes for a stronger gearbox and won’t cost you any more than an alloy one

W57 and W58 can take 300 horsepower for decades and endure enormous amounts of abuse without self-destructing and these only weigh about 30kg

A Toyota clutch, throwout bearing, slave cylinder and pressure plate worked fine with my Roverish/P76 Leyland manual flywheel ; once the pressure plate was on I had the flywheel balanced as an assembly as I’d had the engine balanced

Its a bit of messing around but a nice conversion


G
 
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I think Dellow also do a kit for fitting BW T5. there is another post on here somewhere with a detailed discussion on this topic. The other option is the RWD version of the R380 which is an improvement on the LT77. I've known several Toyota box conversions that wore very quickly but like the LT77 they were made in a variety of torque levels and one needs to ensure the unit being used is capable of handling the 200 Lb/Ft of the V8
 
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