I think the sanctioning of Japanese boxes for brit iron is probably an OK
thing for the sport. Most of the people who campaign these cars do not
have the endlessly deep pockets required to keep a period-correct 1959
Testarossa on the track--or an Austin Healy 100-6 with it's very expensive
and fragile stock transmission.
On the other hand, with enough demand, the price for Qaife dog boxes might
come down, or at least stabilize. It's unpleasant to see great old cars
bastardized to keep them on the track, but the only real alternative for
many folks is not to run them at all--and a Toyota transmission in the
tunnel is not a really obvious change. In the broad spectrum of people
there are those who think that would be just fine--that running historic
cars to death on a track is some sort of sacrilege. At the other end is
folks who think anything from the Summit catalog should be OK.
-----Original Message-----
From: Russ Moore [mailto:rem@cbord.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2003 1:55 PM
To: 'Chris Kantarjiev'; fot@autox.team.net
Subject: RE: corvette tranny in GT6?
It's possible to mate any transmission with any engine. It's just a
question of how much time and $$ you want to invest in it. There are lots
of instances currently of folks putting Orient based boxes into British
iron, some vintage sanctioning bodies now even allow it. (unfortunately) A
company called Advanced Adapters manufactures conversion parts for some of
the more widely done conversions, ie Chevy and Ford V-8s into Jeep CJs and
even many of the imported 4x4s.
Making a modification on an input shaft is a simple task along with the
nose housing and custom built clutch disks with matching centers are also
available.. Adapter plates can be fashioned for bell housings and drive
shafts can be custom built. A corvette box is a pretty heavy lump, but I
suppose if you wanted more ballast, one could do such a conversion.
Perhaps it had straight cut gears and was desirable. Anything is possible,
the question is, is it practical? One magazine in the past featured
someone dropping a Cat diesel engine into a Spitfire. All that comes to
mind is "Why?" Remember it's stuff like this that allowed Ripley the
"Believe it or Not" books.
I have a 1984 C4 Corvette that has the Doug Nash 7 speed in it, I suppose
there are some who would like that in a Triumph, I am not among them. As a
result it still lives in the plastic pig. Possibilities are endless with
some creative machining, (and deep pockets). Likely the story had some
factual basis to it.
Russ Moore
Spitfire #49
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-fot@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-fot@autox.team.net]On
Behalf Of Chris Kantarjiev
Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2003 3:35 PM
To: fot@autox.team.net
Subject: corvette tranny in GT6?
Got this in my email today. Anyone have a clue of just how much this guy's
leg was being stretched?
> Its probably been 14 or 15 years ago now, but I was walking through
> the pits at the Sebring 12-hour and someone had a GT-6 entered. Since
> I owned one, my brother (the mechanic) and I stopped for a look and a
> chat. Imagine our surprise to see a Hurst shifter. We asked how
> theyd made it fit and they said they had a Corvette transmission in
> the car! Of course, we found this incredulous, but we looked again in
> the engine bay and sure enough, it was the standard Triumph 6-banger.
> They insisted that a Corvette transmission would bolt right up to a
> GT-6/TR-6 bell housing and that the only thing you had to work out was
> the input shaft. However, they were equally insistent that a good
> machine shop could make short work of adapting one to the other.
>
> Now, I cant vouch for this information as my brother was subsequently
> disabled and we didnt continue with our participation in motorsports
> beyond the level of spectators. However, it sure would solve a lot of
> problems for many a Triumph racer if this turned out to be worthwhile
> information.
I can imagine that a new rear plate would be necessary, at least. Or an
adapter for the bellhousing. But if the length were about right...
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