Type 9 Gearbox in a Dolomite.

[Jon Tilson]

Bit of lateral thinking....

Does a transit shifter go in on the top plate instead of the remote?

Or could use use a 3 rail remote to pick up on whats under that plate instead?

What was the reason for not using the single rail o/d box? Is it shot? Sorry If I lost the plot somewhere.
feel free to p-m if you want to be rude...


Jonners

[beefertoo]

i may be talking out of turn, but on a type 9 there isnt a way of bolting on a shortened remote. it has to be machined/welded.
at work we've done maybe 5 or 6, each with its own results down to the varying quality of the ally casting...

craig.

p.s i'm following with interest,something i've been toying with for a while but you've got further than i have

[sprint95m]

A little bit more to report.




The adapter plate has five tapped holes for attaching to the bellhousing, but only three line up with the existing
holes (in the bellhousing). Canley Classics suggest only drilling one hole because the fifth "will be very close to the
clutch release pin" and thereby using four fixings. Given that Ford only use four fixings I guess this is okay?



The drilled hole looks like this.
It is necessary to use a spacer to properly fix the bolt, which I will have to make.




"on a type 9 there isnt a way of bolting on a shortened remote. it has to be machined/welded.
at work we've done maybe 5 or 6, each with its own results down to the varying quality of the ally casting..."
Yes Craig, the existing remote has to be shortened.
I have a few options locally for getting this done I expect.

[topfuel]

hi craig what sort o fmoney would hi change for shortening to remote????

terry

[sprint95m]

More progress.


Removed bellhousing from the Ford 'box (and persuaded a plastic tub to act as a cradle ).



(The (rubber) gasket came off intact.)
The release bearing sleeve needs to be cut flush at the point indicated. It is no longer needed because a Triumph release bearing
will be used.





Before cutting the sleeve I tried fitting the adapter plate.
(The cut out on the RH side is to accommodate a four cylinder ohv slave cylinder and bracket.)




Bearing sleeve removed. Again the rubber gasket has survived intact.
(There is an oil seal inside the bearing sleeve for the input shaft.





After cutting the nose of the bearing sleeve I refitted it followed by the adapter plate and the Dolomite bellhousing.
Using a ruler as a straight edge I was able to check the input shaft position relative to the bellhousing.
The good news is that it is only slightly too long so needs only a little filing to fit, but the bad news is that
I am thinking I'll need to get a bespoke spigot bearing made.






Previously I had been pondering the position of the gearlever.
This is the Ford lever in place with first gear selected.
Getting the remote modified to move the stick forward approx. 70mm is possible but the throw for the gearlever will be
completely wrong, which will mean modifying the lever. Maybe it is better to leave the remote as it is, instead modifying the
gearlever? I suspect that I will have to trial fit the gearbox to my car to find out for sure.


(According to Canley Classics, it is necessary to use a shortened remote on a GT6 & Vitesse but not on a Herald or Spitfire.)



Next I considered the gearbox crossmember.

This is a Dolomite o/d crossmember with a Sierra mount (left) next to a Dolomite one.
The Sierra mount, despite being much bigger, is a very close to fitting the o/d crossmember, as the photo below illustrates

Less than a minute using a saw, file and drill will have it sorted .

[tinweevil]

I'm sure I've picked up somewhere along the years that spigot bearings come in a known range of sizes. Kinda like bearings, if you know the correct size code the application is irrelevant. I'll have to stracth the grey cells some more and see if I can come up with where I saw them sold by size.

[sprint95m]

They quite possibly do come in a range of standard sizes Julian.
However, tomorrow evening I shall be speaking to a friend who should be able to make a bespoke one for me in the factory
where he works.


This evening I enlarged the aperture in the o/d crossmember to accept the Ford gearbox mount, a very easy job.
(I have yet to take photos of this, but will do.)

(I wonder if these Ford gearbox mounts might be the way forward for Dolomites with o/d, given that the cheap aftermarket
mounts give rise to excessive noise and vibration?
Another option could be to use a quality T2000 mount from Chris Witor but, in my opinion, the Ford one will be much
easier to fit.)

[tinweevil]

The cogs turn slowly but turn they do. Ashley Power

[topfuel]

ah ashley bearings... sited on wait for it ashley road, parkstone. very helpful and friendly.

terry

[sprint95m]

Thanks for that Julian.

I bought a new spigot bush (£9 delivered from Robsport via ebay) and my friend has bored it out to fit...

He also made a suitable drift to make fitting the bush into the crankshaft easier.
When he refused to accept any payment we compromised, I made a donation to Click Sargent.

Before setting off on this conversion I did some internet research and found a thread covering the work and also Clive
(Cliftyhanger) kindly gave me a link to another similar thread. There is a difference of opinion on how much clearance there
should be for the input shaft. One is very close and the other rattling slack, the latter being supplied as part of a kit.
The former gives the input shaft diameter and it is approx. 0.3mm smaller than mine .
Last year I also spoke at length to someone who builds racing Ford Escorts. He warned me about having insufficient spigot
bush clearance, it causes much damage to the crankshaft if the input shaft picks up the spigot bush.
I tried the new spigot bush on a Dolomite input shaft and it is definitely a slack fit, even on this rusty shaft so
I have gone for a decent clearance.
Yes, I am aware that before being fitted the spigot bush should be steeped in oil overnight.




In my last post I stated that I had enlarged the crossmember's aperture.
I drilled small holes for each corner, marked lines, then used a saw to cut notches.
Using vicegrips I broke out the resulting fingers before finally filing to remove sharp edges.

I then drilled the two new holes required for the Ford mounting.

In due course I will plug the old holes and also reinforce the sides of the crossmember (I'm not sure the latter is really
necessary but I will feel happier having done it).

[sprint95m]

A little more done.

Crossmember, plugged the old holes and welded on reinforcements to the sides and painted it in zinc primer.

A new hole is now drilled and tapped into the adapter plate to allow a fifth mounting bolt to be employed.
Made mounting plates for this and the other hole that had to be drilled in the bellhousing, said plates to spread the load
onto the thicker sections of the bellhousing, as per the original holes.


I am toying with the idea of making a gearbox cradle to fit a trolley jack.
Have got plenty of suitable box sections (that were once table legs).
Now that I have written this I guess I'll have to go and do so ?

[DoloWIGHTY]

Sorry to go off topic here Ian, why can't a LT77 box be fitted to a Dolomite Slant 4?

Known to be a strong box and of course already a 5 speed.

I know the later 2.0 TR7 have them fitted so I must assume it must fit okay to the rear end of the engine?

Is it a width issue?

[DavePoth]

Clutch slave's on the wrong side IIRC, but it will fit - Alun N had a car with one fitted to a Sprint.

[sprint95m]

Sorry to go off topic here Ian, why can't a LT77 box be fitted to a Dolomite Slant 4?

I have never said anything about the LT77 at any time.
To be honest I have not considered fitting one. I don't have an opinion on them.

There was a thread a while back on fitting an LT77 to a Sprint (was it by an American forum member?) and it can be done
with some effort. As Dave has said, Alun's Quicksprint has an LT77.


Why Type 9?
I like the smooth precise gear change and the well spaced gear ratios. It is nice and compact and light.
They are not the most durable of gearboxes but a Dolomite is not going to tax it.
Given that I am almost there, I am not going to stop now .

[JPB]

The LT77's enormous! OK, so JikovRon has one in his "3500HL", but for a Dolomite that doesn't have substantially more torque than an 1850, like Ian's 1850, I think that a truck gearbox is probably overkill.
Then there's the nature of the LT77, they suffer terribly from weak synchro action, or at least did in the SD1s that I saw with presumed (but never actually completely) dead gearboxes. Admittedly this was usually a result of people filling them with gear oil instead of the correct ATF and the oil pump not being able to keep up as a result, but I'm liking Ian's idea of making good use of something that started out in a Ford.