Improved gear linkage for MT75 5 speed gearbox

[Spyder fan]

One of the memorable aspects of driving a 4 speed Elan or +2 is how nice the gear change is, but on a long freeway/motorway trip you are always wishing it had another cog.


The Ford MT75 gearbox is an option for replacement and can take a fair amount of power & torque, but although the gear change is “acceptable” it is nowhere near as good as the original 4 speed. The standard linkage that comes with the gearbox is intended for a Sierra or Granada and needs replacement to get an acceptable position for the gear lever. The previously available items did the job, but the gate pattern could hardly be described as an H. To select 1st you have to pull the lever to the left and aim for 10:30, 2nd is around 07:00, it then gets a lot better with 3rd at 12:00 and 4th at 06:00, there’s no problem selecting 5th either.

Spyder have thankfully invested in a redesign of the linkage and the transformation it gives to the selection and gate pattern puts it on a par with the 4 speed in terms of satisfaction of use.

For those that already have an MT75 fitted it’s possible to swap the linkage in situ, there’s no need for removal.
Cost is £850 inc vat fitted or £690 if you fit yourself ( for £160 I would let Spyder do it).

For those of you considering a 5 speed conversion you will need a hydraulic clutch version of the MT75 and a new prop shaft. The boxes are becoming quite rare now, but good ones do come up. The overall cost of the conversion would be lower than using a Lotus 5 speed.

[gav]

I’d love to fit one of these but can’t justify the expenditure - especially as I have one of the earlier types which whilst not rifle like, does work fine

[Spyder fan]

I know what you mean Gavin, the old linkage works fine and £650 is a chunk of cash. I justified the cost in that I haven’t spent anything on my +2 other than service items for at least 10 years.

I now have to get it fitted to my S4, but that may be later this year as I have just shelled out nearly £2000 for a bespoke exhaust header and system (Duratec engine).

[alex.mcguffie]

Hi All,

I have a Spyder +2 with probably the earliest MT75 gear lever linkage , which could be better. Would anyone have a photo of the latest Spyder version? Is it a good enough improvement to be worth the price?

On the same subject, if the laver can be replaced (and therefore removed) in situ, that would suggest the engine and 'box can be removed without lifting the body. Everything I've read so far points towards the body needing to be lifted to remove the engine which seems a bit crazy!

Alex

[Spyder fan]

Hi Alex,
I have driven 85 miles today with a lot of stop start traffic, so the gear linkage got tested a lot. I rate it very highly and yes I think it's worth the cost. Sorry I don't have a picture of the new linkage, but I can photo the old linkage so you can see how it comes apart to remove the lever.

Spyder prefer to remove the body to change the engine or gearbox on a zetec, simply because most of the converted cars have very nice paint and they reckon it adds just 4 hours labour to take off the body and replace it, which is a lot cheaper than possibly damaging the nose and engine bay dragging the engine and box out.

I'm back home Monday if you want a picture of the old linkage, I'm having a bit of a tour around St Alban's this weekend, visiting Malcolm Ricketts bbq tomorrow.

[alex.mcguffie]

Hi Alan,

Thank you for the very quick reply! Yes, a few photos would be appreciated. Did you change yours yourself?

I can understand Spyder taking the body off but then they have the luxury for 4 post lifts. I'm not planning taking mine out any time soon but its always good to know whats possible. I remember helping my Dad lift the original twin cam out many times when I was a kid and it was always a bit tight!

Alex

[gav]

Alex
I have a twin cam and MT75 and the original Spyder linkage all of which come out and go in with the body on (sprint)

I havent seen the new linkage so dont know whether you can do the same with it but that is a start if nothing else....

Gavin

[stugilmour]

My car, a ‘69 Plus 2 with Twin Cam and Spyder supplied MT75, also allows the engine & transmission to be removed without disturbing the body. I believe my present linkage setup is the Spyder original design but with a running change update to help a bit with gear sizzle.

Here are a couple of pictures and a bit of explanation that might help.

I didn’t discuss this modification with Spyder, just got guidance on how to set it up from other forum members. Not sure if others had something similar done, either by Spyder or locally. The stub has to be pretty short so it will clear the body by tilting the engine and transmission. I have to have the car standing on roughly 6 1/2” tall blocks to tilt the transmission low enough.

Regarding the MT75, I had a lot of challenges getting it serviced here in Canada. I actually ended up shipping it back to Andy & Sean at Spyder to get their transmission expert to rebuild it. It works great now, but something for guys this side of the pond to consider if thinking of a five speed upgrade, as a T9 is way more common here so might be a better option in the long run.

As Alan has mentioned, it may be getting harder to find a good MT75 core. Also, I can’t remember the exact details on the particular donor car, but apparently there are a lot of MT75 variants, and you have to get the correct one to start with.

I would definitely consider getting Spyder to refurbish the transmission before installation, along with installing their latest and greatest linkage and clutch assembly, which uses an annular style slave cylinder (you can see the clutch hydraulic line emerging from the right side of the integral bell housing in the picture below). Spyder also supplied the correct length prop shaft for me to connect to the stock Lotus diff (rather than the upgraded diff they normally install in a Zetec). I can’t remember if Spyder mounted the speedometer angle drive, so that is something to perhaps ask about. It is a bit of a fiddle on my car, requiring attaching the speedo cable while the transmission is hanging at an angle on the engine crane.

Not sure if they still offer this service, but worth a call. I don’t know any direct contact info for their MT75 guru, but my sense was he would not really be equipped to receive and prep the unit for overseas shipping anyway, so dealing with Spyder had a lot of merit in my case.

HTH.