5 speed gearbox

[Plus2cabby]

Hi all ,
yes another thread about gearboxes!
but with a slightly different slant, my specific enquiry is in regard to which particular 5 speed gearboxes the forum's members have managed to fit to a plus 2 with early ,circa 1985 ,Spyder space frame chassis I have been advised by Spyder that only the lotus gearbox will fit.
I wish to retain gearlever position as near to standard as possible
also is there anyone who has managed to fabricate a extension or commission a tailhousing for a type 9 similar to Voight's ?
and of course if anyone has a surplus gearbox for sale please let me know

cheers
mark

[RichardHawkins]

Mark,

The comment by Spyder is interesting. I thought that Spyder had been fitting Ford MT75 gearboxes to their chassis. MT 75's are probably hard to find now, which might explain their comment.

Richard Hawkins

[vxah]

I'm sure I saw somewhere that they were fitting the MX5 6 speed box but only as a fully fitted job not diy?
It stuck in my mind because it listed the ratio's and it said 6th was 1:1?
So what's the gain with a 3.77 diff other than lots of shifting?

[gus]

nope .843

[Spyder fan]

The earlier Spyder chassis cannot take an MT75 box without major alterations, the Zetec specific chassis is designed for taking an MT75 box. The latest Spaceframe chassis will suit a Lotus twin cam with an MT75 box.

The Mazda 6 speed conversion is interesting, but appears to suffer from a lack of progress in producing a kit or indeed an affordable fitted by Spyder only option.