Darcy, the OD is a huge improvement and the dimwits that decided the majority
of the cars exported to the US didn't need it should have been locked up. You
will be hard pressed to do this conversion on your own for less than what John
is quoting plus he will stand by his work. You have to take the gearbox apart
to fit the longer mainshaft so it is not a simple bolt on and John will have
to dismantle it anyway so it's a great time to do this conversion..
You will mostly appreciate it for adding a huge range to 3rd gear, pretty much
20mph to 70+ mph with just one touch of the column switch and for highway
driving it will reduce the engine rpm in top gear (about 800rpm),
significantly reducing noise and aiding fuel consumption. I added the
inhibitor switch on 2nd for flexibility in stop/go traffic like DWH in Nashua
on Saturdays..
Some people here will suggest the 5 speed conversion but that is not the same
experience as the OD for me. There is something about flipping that switch and
hearing the OD engage that is very satisfying.
Stan
-----Original Message-----
From: 6pack-bounces@autox.team.net [mailto:6pack-bounces@autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of Hunter, Darcy
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 8:41 AM
To: '6pack@autox.team.net'
Subject: [6pack] Transmission Issues - Update and Overdrive??
Taking the advice of a few, this Saturday I drove the 2 = hours to Quantum
Mechanics to drop off my TR6 transmission with John Esposito. Great guy and
spent lots of time with me (shop is fantastically clutter with British car
transmission parts). Pulled the cover off my unit and quickly determined
that, in fact, the box did need work. Box had excess slop in it preventing
the syncros from working properly. Reverse gear had a few bad teeth and John
expected that the top hat bushing was bad. Will get it replaced with the
updated steel unit. Estimated bill around $800 which seems reasonable. In
addition we talked about the clutch chattering I was getting and John showed
me where a few worn items in my cross shaft mechanism could be contributing
to
the problems. That's also encouraging.
Now.....the big question is where the conversation went after that. John
went
on to show me some of the type J overdrives he was bringing in as cores and
rebuilding. He provides the complete kit including the steering column
switch
and wiring hardness included is the change required with a shaft in the
transmission. A lot more $$ at 1500 and certainly not what I had expected
doing. It is appealing, however, to envision myself going down the road and
adding two extra gears and frankly, it was an addition I might have done in
3-4 years anyway. So two questions, is overdrive a significant improvement?
If it is, what would I expect to spend if I pieced it together myself instead
of getting the whole kit from John? Thanks
Darcy Hunter
'73 TR6
No. Easton, MA
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