Anyone got a spare TVR gearbox?
Discussion
Thanks George, I was hoping he'd chime in and say 'Yeah, I've got one of those, you can have it for a crate of beer!'. We can all dream I suppose.
I've come back to thinking of converting the Rover to a manual 'box as it's probably less hassle in the long run and probably a fair bit cheaper.
I've come back to thinking of converting the Rover to a manual 'box as it's probably less hassle in the long run and probably a fair bit cheaper.
My motor would eat one of those LT77s without blinking. I had one on my original 4.3 Griffith and it couldn't take the power of that motor and it's a horrible 'box too. Nah, I'd go for a Toyota 'box or the T5 and that's mainly because they're both fairly common. LT77s are starting to get harder to find and more expensive to repair as well from what I've read. If I was feeling flush I'd just buy a new T5 - they're about $3500-$4000 in uprated form. Then there's the T56 of course!
jamieheasman said:
My motor would eat one of those LT77s without blinking. If I was feeling flush I'd just buy a new T5
I don't understand that at all. The T5 has roughly the same torque rating as the LT77 and although they aren't fashionable they're tough little boxes. Mine did around 50,000 miles with the original 4.0 (235 lbft) and then after being refreshed it did another 100,000 with the 4.6 (280 lbft). It's done several years with around 4 psi (360 lbft ish) and another few thousand with 8 psi (around 450 lbft) and still hasn't broken anything. They weren't easy miles either - that included well over a hundred sprints and track days. I've gone through several diffs and sets of half shafts along the way. I know it's asking for trouble to say things like that but even if it goes pop tomorrow I'd say it's taken the abuse extremely well.
Hi Peter
That is a remarkably reliable 'box you've had there! However, my 4.3 Griffith went through it's first 'box in about 20k miles and was showing signs of wear 10k miles after it's recon'. Sure it could have been down to poor workmanship, parts or even poor driving on my part but at the time two dealers I spoke to said they were finding them a bit 'marginal' for 4.3 and 5.0litre engined Griff's and Chimaeras.
Buying a used LT77 to cope with a 5.1litre motor putting out in excess of 300-350lbs/ft and dragging 1600kgs of Rover around might be a bit much to ask. So, i'd have to have it recon'd straight away and I've heard parts are getting a bit more difficult to find and a lot more expensive than they used to be. In NZ T5s seem to be a lot more common, mainly due to the fact they were used behind ford and GM 6s andV8s. I can also buy a brand new T5 rated at 450lbs/ft for about $4000NZD. There are also other specifications of that 'box available.
On top of all of this I never liked the feel of the LT77 as much as the T5!
That is a remarkably reliable 'box you've had there! However, my 4.3 Griffith went through it's first 'box in about 20k miles and was showing signs of wear 10k miles after it's recon'. Sure it could have been down to poor workmanship, parts or even poor driving on my part but at the time two dealers I spoke to said they were finding them a bit 'marginal' for 4.3 and 5.0litre engined Griff's and Chimaeras.
Buying a used LT77 to cope with a 5.1litre motor putting out in excess of 300-350lbs/ft and dragging 1600kgs of Rover around might be a bit much to ask. So, i'd have to have it recon'd straight away and I've heard parts are getting a bit more difficult to find and a lot more expensive than they used to be. In NZ T5s seem to be a lot more common, mainly due to the fact they were used behind ford and GM 6s andV8s. I can also buy a brand new T5 rated at 450lbs/ft for about $4000NZD. There are also other specifications of that 'box available.
On top of all of this I never liked the feel of the LT77 as much as the T5!
Actually I've been doing a bit of reading and it would seem the newer versions of this box and especially the R380 version developed for Landies and commercials was very strong indeed. I wonder what version I had in my TVR then?
I'm certainly open to alternatives and it would seem my own experiences and perhaps some dealers experiences could have been tarnished with previous versions of this gearbox. I'll look into it further, thanks Peter!
I'm certainly open to alternatives and it would seem my own experiences and perhaps some dealers experiences could have been tarnished with previous versions of this gearbox. I'll look into it further, thanks Peter!
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