Occie gets a 5-speed box!

harveyp6 said:
I did think you were going to have that problem when you were doing it, because the spacers you made to mount the exhaust to the back of the box were far longer than the ones I used, and although you cut and shortened your crossmember in exactly the way I did, your bolts came through in a different position to mine. You also had to cut the tunnel for clearance, which I didn't either. All I can think is that after measuring the position of the original flange in the tunnel, I dropped the back of the box a bit to compensate for the flange on the SD1 box being further back, and hence further down the slope towards the diff. Can't really remember, after all it was 25 years ago.....Only problem I had was the lever touching both sides of the console when in 1st and 5th, but that may be something you don't suffer with as your lever will be higher so won't have the range of movement level with the console to cause any problems.

Regardless of all that, I'm glad you're happy with the result.
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I did wonder about dropping the box at the time, particularly as you'd said you only had to use 1/4"-ish spacers, but as well as the relative tailshaft flange heights I also had in mind the original position of the exhaust clamp relative to the body.

Maybe with hindsight I could have lowered the box by 1/2" or so, but even at that I'm sure the gearlever would need shortening.

Thanks for all your help talking me through this job Harvey, both before and during.

Cheers,
 
Well done Stan! I'm particularely pleased to hear that the change quality is so good. They can be very variable, so we'll put it down to the SMX!

Chris
 
Great work Stan

You've gotta be happy with 2500 rpm at 70mph. Should make quite a bit of difference to fuel consumption and noise levels when cruising :D

Well done.

Dave
 
A job well done Stan, bet you're glad it's done now?

There's a place in Nottingham called Speedograph who say they can service and recalibrate speedos http://www.speedograph-richfield.com/. I've not used them before, but it might be easier or quicker than sending yours away to Speedycables (who I have used and did a great job by the way).
 
chrisyork said:
Well done Stan! I'm particularely pleased to hear that the change quality is so good. They can be very variable, so we'll put it down to the SMX!

Chris
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...or luck that I may have found a good box! :)

Looking round the Landy and V8 forums though, the SMX seems to get most votes.

According to Opie Oils, Castrol are about to re-brand this as Syntrans Multivehicle 75W/90.

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-739-castrol-smx-s-75w-85-fully-synthetic-manual-transmission-fluid.aspx

Maybe so, but not quite got the same ring about it has it? :(

Might explain though why I had to go to two different Halfords - each was down to their last litre bottle.
 
Dave3066 said:
Great work Stan

You've gotta be happy with 2500 rpm at 70mph. Should make quite a bit of difference to fuel consumption and noise levels when cruising :D

Well done.

Dave
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Cheers Dave,

Sure you're right on that, but flashing up the A6 yesterday the noise was a bit intrusive - with no gearlever-to-body gaiter and no carpets fitted! :)
 
testrider said:
A job well done Stan, bet you're glad it's done now?

There's a place in Nottingham called Speedograph who say they can service and recalibrate speedos http://www.speedograph-richfield.com/. I've not used them before, but it might be easier or quicker than sending yours away to Speedycables (who I have used and did a great job by the way).
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Thanks Paul. Yes, seem to have spent the last month lying on my back under Occie...I'm sure I'm getting too old for this! :D

Thanks for the heads-up on Speedograph Richfield...I remember them now 'cos I had the fittings from them when I put the mechanical oil pressure gauge in.
 
Well done Stan - nice job.

Sparky's speedo was recalibrated and is now spot on - I have to be careful with speed cameras now as I don't have the 2 or 3 mph to play with like I used to have.

Most speedos show 30 when driving at 27-28, but Sparky's shows dead on 30, at 30

He is doing dead on 70 at 2,500rpm in 5th, and 3,000rpm in 4th, so it does make a nice difference.

Now you just have to go out and enjoy it :D

Richard
 
quattro said:
Well done Stan - nice job.

Sparky's speedo was recalibrated and is now spot on - I have to be careful with speed cameras now as I don't have the 2 or 3 mph to play with like I used to have.

Most speedos show 30 when driving at 27-28, but Sparky's shows dead on 30, at 30
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Thanks Richard!

Thinking about that, it makes me wonder whether to build in a safety factor when I have the calibration done. Hmmm...

quattro said:
Now you just have to go out and enjoy it :D
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And that I will! :D

Still a couple of things to do before my March-end deadline though...pics of one of them later! 8)
 
vaultsman said:
PS - how's the job search going?
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Hi Stan - Well I had an interview in St Neots today for a sales job, fingers crossed. I took Jinx down there on a 180 mile round trip, it performed wonderfully but I couldn't help but wish for another gear... or maybe even two. Is there a quickshift kit available for these boxes? I like a short-throw box anyway, and in theory (in my head at least) it should reduce the problem of the lever fouling the surround... possibly.
 
adamhotrod said:
vaultsman said:
PS - how's the job search going?
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Hi Stan - Well I had an interview in St Neots today for a sales job, fingers crossed. I took Jinx down there on a 180 mile round trip, it performed wonderfully but I couldn't help but wish for another gear... or maybe even two. Is there a quickshift kit available for these boxes? I like a short-throw box anyway, and in theory (in my head at least) it should reduce the problem of the lever fouling the surround... possibly.
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Fingers crossed here as well Adam!

And just think, Jinx as your company car would be one-up on all the Focus's (Foci?) out there! :)

Good luck mate!
 
Well done Stan, glad you're pleased with the results. Looks like you paid far more attention to detail than I did :oops: , looks very neat!
Regards,
Dave
 
dmcsweeney said:
Well done Stan, glad you're pleased with the results. Looks like you paid far more attention to detail than I did :oops: , looks very neat!
Regards,
Dave
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Thanks Dave, and for the notes you sent me. Although I didn't follow them to the letter, they were a great help.

Cheers,
 
Well, with yet another deadline approaching - ferry to France on Saturday :roll: - it's high time I got the gear lever arrangement sorted out, and looking something like factory.

Reverse stop sleeve...

100_3545.jpg


...shortened by 30mm...

100_3548.jpg

100_3550.jpg


Which isn't going to be enough. Would anyone be able to measure the standard height of the sleeve for me please? Yes...should've done this before starting! :oops:

e.g....

100_3557a.jpg


I know there are two lengths of lever - I'd like to go for the shorter length if possible.

Spring sleeve...

100_3561.jpg


Problem/challenge here is that it measures 9.6mm at the waisted point - less than the M10 threaded LT77 lever. So I'm going to have to make a new sleeve around 11-12mm at the narrowest point, and have it chromed. This will have a locating diameter to fit inside the shortened reverse stop sleeve as there won't be a spring in there.

Once I've got these two sleeves sorted, I can shorten the lever itself down to suit and extend the thread. And top it off with an Alexander-style wooden knob! :)
 
Horses and stable door and all that, but an easier way would have been to cut the top off the P6 lever and weld it to the bottom of the LT77 one, that way you have all the fittings for the gearknob and the chrome bit, and the plastic sleeve won't spin on the lever.
 
harveyp6 said:
Horses and stable door and all that, but an easier way would have been to cut the top off the P6 lever and weld it to the bottom of the LT77 one, that way you have all the fittings for the gearknob and the chrome bit, and the plastic sleeve won't spin on the lever.
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Indeed you're right Harvey, but my horse was obviously a bit too quick out the stable door for me! :)

I don't think the sleeve will spin on the lever, as I've reamed it out to a tight-ish fit on the shaft, and the new chromed sleeve will lock it down. Fingers crossed.
 
Hi Stan,

i just took some measurements from my car that has the short series 1 lever.

The height that you marked with the red line is just 6 cm.
The height to the top of the knob is 14 cm.

I hope that this helps,

Demetris
 
Demetris said:
Hi Stan,

i just took some measurements from my car that has the short series 1 lever.

The height that you marked with the red line is just 6 cm.
The height to the top of the knob is 14 cm.

I hope that this helps,

Demetris
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Excellent...many thanks!

Wow...6 cms? That's a lot less than I thought!

Found a pic of Rebekah....does this strike a chord visually with your car Demetris?

100_1540.jpg
 
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