Alfa GTV 5 Speed Conversion

[1969Elan]

I had a spec some years ago from an owner in NZ who completed a 5 speed conversion of an Alfa GTV gearbox I nto an Elan Plus 2.

My copy has disappeared after lending it out, does anyone out there have a copy of the document ???

It was held by Club Lotus in their library but sadly this has now been cleared of some old documents such as this.

Regards Iain

[fatboyoz]

Hi Iain,
Don't remember an Alfa gearbox conversion, but there is this one from an NZ member:
lotus-gearbox-f37/detailed-report-five-speed-isuzu-t19828.html
Cheers,
Colin.

I had a spec some years ago from an owner in NZ who completed a 5 speed conversion of an Alfa GTV gearbox I nto an Elan Plus 2.

My copy has disappeared after lending it out, does anyone out there have a copy of the document ???

It was held by Club Lotus in their library but sadly this has now been cleared of some old documents such as this.

Regards Iain

[1969Elan]

Thank you Colin.

It's a very comprehensive article.

The problem I guess with this conversion would be sourcing a suitable gearbox.

[toggle45]

I know of one Elan, a '66 Coupe, that received a conversion to an Alfa 5-speed. It was done in Los Angeles in the late '60s. The owner IIRC was R. Elsinger, a mechanical wiz. Don't know if this helps, except as an indicator that it is possible.

[lotusS2guy]

i knew that car and its owner, Dick Elsinger, well. The Alfa transmission was a beautiful installation. You would not have known that it was not factory stock. Does anyone out there know the whereabouts of car and/or owner?

[types26/36]

When I first got my S2 it had been fitted with an Alfa 5sp box although the car was in pieces at the time, I never refitted the Alfa box as after some research I decided it was not the way I wanted to go and reverted to the 2000E box.
Probably of no help to you as from memory it was a 60's giulia box but here are some pics anyway.

[alan.barker]

Looks like a nice job to me. Did you sell it or have you kept it.
Maybe it is a stronger gearbox than the Lotus Maxi 5 speed
Alan

[gjz30075]

What are the ratios of said box? Usually first gear is pretty short to handle the weight of a sedan

[65sunbeam]

It's a shame no one does the mods to the bell housings to fit up an Alfa 5 speed-they are very nice transmissions and maybe that way I could use the ones I have on my Spider parts cars on my Elan?!
Eric

[types26/36]

Did you sell it or have you kept it.

No I never kept it, I sold it years ago as from memory the ratio?s did not seem suitable with the fist gear being something like 3.5:1.

[crannyr]

I did an Alpha 5sp conversion at least 10 years ago in my plus 2. To keep design as simple as possible we designed a spacer that duplicated the back of the Alpha bell housing on one side and the back of the Lotus Ford bell housing on the other. Therefore there was no modification for the starter assembly or the slave cylinder (I did decide to incorporate a concentric slave for reliability which added some additional design and fab) the spacer also allowed for more appropriate location of the shiftier. The only other mods were to the nut on the speedo drive, a change in the clutch assembly to suite the Alpha first motion shaft, modification of the Alpha case to accept an original Lotus trans mount, and a custom drive shaft. Still running today with no mods or replacements. Let me know if you are interested more details.

Rick

[vstibbard]

I rallied and raced a 105 Alfam standard final drive is 4.1 with 165 x 82 series x 14" wheels, the gear ratios are as follows:
Standard gear box, ( there is a shorter 5th by using 1300 ratio)
5th - 0.791
4th - 1.000
3rd - 1.355
2nd - 1.988
1st - 3.304

I used the following Collotti Close ratio gear set in my race/rally car:
5th - 0.680
4th - 1.000
3rd - 1.260
2nd - 1.700
1st - 2.540

Lovely box to use, porsche type synchro's strong, lightweight all alloy, longer gear selection movement than 2000e.

Cheers

V

[jono]

I've got an Alfa Spider Veloce with this box in it.

It's an intriguing thought to put on in the +2 - it is a nice box to use however it has a very long throw to the shifter and the synchros are it's achiles heel.

...still, it's an interesting idea!

[The Veg]

My dad had a '76 Spider Veloce and a '74 Berlina, same powertrain in each. I liked that gearbox, which was made by ZF IIRC. Seems like the synchros were less than perfect but then I was a teenage kid with little driving experience and Dad's cars had some miles on them, each having had previous owners. I wonder how nice one of these transmissions would be after a rebuild and how long it would last.

As an aside, not long ago there was a Seven-family (LoCost?) Car for sale in my area that had the Alfa transmission and engine too. I should have gone to look at it.

[jono]

..mine's a 76 as well!

I didn't realise the tranny was a ZF but the final drive certainly is a ZF LSD.