Carledo wrote:The Type 9 is probably the best choice, giving a wide range of intermediate ratios, good back up, strength, rifle bolt precision and it's simple to work on. But it needs an expensive mod on the shift mechanism to get the gearlever to come out in the right place on a Dolly.
As I have said before, it is hardly expensive. I paid £36 (inc VAT) for the alloy welding (minimum charge, less than 30 minutes work).
Thanks for the link Clive, that is interesting indeed.
Rather than retain the original petrol tank I would have fitted a Ford Fiesta mark 6 one,
it is plastic and has an integral pump and swirl pot. This would create a little extra space in the boot too.
Ian.
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I like the Getrag box in my M3. It is all ally cased and has a nice close ratio 5 speed with overdrive 6th. I expect significantly lighter than a Sprint box. It has an integral ally bell housing though so I expect wouldn't anywhere near fit.
1979 Carmine Dolomite Sprint
1974 Saphire Dolomite Sprint (Soon to be tastefully modified)
2005 Mystic blue BMW M3
2004 Mystic Blue 330d
2001 Peugeot 206 Hdi180
The weber manifold I have is the one with the injector bosses cast into the runners Steve. I could get it machined to take the injectors there and blank the bosses in the throttle bodies. Is that likely to make any real difference?
1979 Carmine Dolomite Sprint
1974 Saphire Dolomite Sprint (Soon to be tastefully modified)
2005 Mystic blue BMW M3
2004 Mystic Blue 330d
2001 Peugeot 206 Hdi180
Throttle bodies are great for top end power, less good elsewhere. For a largely road car where tractability is an issue, a plenum and single large throttle is better - and considerably cheaper!
In my own quest for more power, I have been considering using the manifold/plenum and throttle body from a Cavalier II SRi, this is almost unique in having a progressive twin choke throttle body akin to a 28/36DCD Weber. I have one of these "lying around" and have driven behind one on many occaisions (I've had 3 cars equipped with it by the factory) Where my single throttle system tends to run out of steam above 4500 rpm, the second choke on the SRi system doesn't come into play until about 4000 rpm, giving a useful boost just when it is needed and good economy if kept below 4k. The only downside is I would need to completely rewire the injection and ignition systems and use a different ECU (none of which I still have) to make it work. And CavII SRi bits are rather thin on the ground these days.
Well the Getrag box is an expensive one to chop up, but i'll bet its not outside the bounds of possibility to ally weld the critical part of a Sprint bellhousing to a cut down Getrag one, at the gearbox end, all bellhousings are much the same shape and size. Just remember the golden rule of engineering, measure twice (at least) and cut once! I know an aluminium specialist who is probably capable of such exacting work.
Steve
'73 2 door Toledo with Vauxhall Carlton 2.0 8v engine (The Carledo)
'78 Sprint Auto with Vauxhall Omega 2.2 16v engine (The Dolomega)
'72 Triumph 1500FWD in Slate Grey, Now with RWD and Carledo powertrain!
Maverick Triumph, Servicing, Repairs, Electrical, Recomissioning, MOT prep, Trackerjack brake fitting service.
Apprentice served Triumph Specialist for 50 years. PM for more info or quotes.
Some mid 90s VWs have a twin choke TB like that Steve. I had a PoloGT with one. That was a cracking fun little car.
I do love the sound of ITBs though. My M3 manages to be quite tractable with them on. I'm building an engine closer to race spec than fast road to run them on and hoping for somewhere close to 200bhp and a reliable 7000rpm. It may all fall flat on its face, but I am doing my research and hopefully it will be a stormer when it's done.
I wonder if there was a production issue with mintex for a while. My mate is known as captain slow and managed to warp a new mintex disc on his diesel mondeo in the spCe of 3 weeks recently. I was thinking of getting it some by anothe make. Do you have any experience with the grooved ones from black diamond or Tarox?
1979 Carmine Dolomite Sprint
1974 Saphire Dolomite Sprint (Soon to be tastefully modified)
2005 Mystic blue BMW M3
2004 Mystic Blue 330d
2001 Peugeot 206 Hdi180
tom16v wrote:Some mid 90s VWs have a twin choke TB like that Steve. I had a PoloGT with one. That was a cracking fun little car.
I do love the sound of ITBs though. My M3 manages to be quite tractable with them on. I'm building an engine closer to race spec than fast road to run them on and hoping for somewhere close to 200bhp and a reliable 7000rpm. It may all fall flat on its face, but I am doing my research and hopefully it will be a stormer when it's done.
I wonder if there was a production issue with mintex for a while. My mate is known as captain slow and managed to warp a new mintex disc on his diesel mondeo in the spCe of 3 weeks recently. I was thinking of getting it some by anothe make. Do you have any experience with the grooved ones from black diamond or Tarox?
I generally regard drilled and grooved discs as an expensive and noisy affectation, the improvement in braking effort gained is marginal at best and certainly not cost effective. The TJ kit is SO much better than standard brakes, it's really not worth going for the extra 1%. There might have been a production issue with Mintex, or (far more likely) there are some counterfeit ones about. Mine came in Mintex boxes but were quite old when I got them as I didn't get them from Jon but from another member who had had them on a shelf for some time. If you want a good quality standard disc, you could do a lot worse than buy the ones marketed by "Blue Print" which are OE fitment on the bulk of Japanese cars. Me, I'm a cheapskate and fit whatever the factors send me, the 256mm Passat discs for my Sprint are Apec, who seem to have a shrugged off their early downmarket image and now make some pretty decent stuff. I'm certainly not expecting any problems with them.
I completely agree that ITBs sound much better, in the same way that Webers sound better than SUs. All I get from the Carledo is a sort of snorting hiss under heavy throttle. Fortunately, the exhaust note tends to drown this out! It doesn't really bother me though, I am all about substance and style is a serendipitous side effect (or there isn't any!) I assume your M3 is a straight 6 which is a naturally smoother and better balanced motor than the slant. But time will tell! I wish you joy of the job and success in the mission, it should be a lot of fun once properly sorted, though a reliable 7k might be more down to careful crank work (and maybe a ladder frame) than the EFi! But accurate fuel management throughout the rev range has got to help!
Steve
'73 2 door Toledo with Vauxhall Carlton 2.0 8v engine (The Carledo)
'78 Sprint Auto with Vauxhall Omega 2.2 16v engine (The Dolomega)
'72 Triumph 1500FWD in Slate Grey, Now with RWD and Carledo powertrain!
Maverick Triumph, Servicing, Repairs, Electrical, Recomissioning, MOT prep, Trackerjack brake fitting service.
Apprentice served Triumph Specialist for 50 years. PM for more info or quotes.
tom16v wrote:I was going to go with a wide ratio od box with third od in place of 4th rather than switching to type9 or lt77 though. I realise it will be heavier and less efficient, but with an uprated od it should easily go north of 60 in second and should give a lovely close set of ratios.
A sprint box with overdrive weighs the same as an LT77
