Tracsport gear kit in Ford T9 5 speed gear case anyone?

[Stagmatt]

I am still in the planning stages of the conversion to a T9 box to my (not yet present) +2.

Having studied posts here pertaining to T9 conversions and the associated issue of the "best" gear ratios I stumbled across the Tracsport offering of a "Tracsport T9 Full Helical Sport Touring Gear kit". This is interesting for several reasons:
- ratios appear well spaced
- mostly new parts except for 2nd gear
- improved layshaft bearing
- price is competitive to the BGH conversion "long first gear" for the T9 box for 2.8 litre engines.

Tracsport advertise this set for 864 GBP :
https://www.tracsport.com/gearkits-1/tr ... g-gear-kit.
Of particular interest to me: fifth is given as 0.815 ratio. The set contains the fifth gear pair, new. There is the option of installing some other gear set for fifth from elsewhere for a taller fifth, I called BGH, they do sell their 5th sets for a reasonable sum.

I was surprised not to find any mention of this in the forums - or is it my blindness (searched for Tracsport)? Or is it so new?

Anyone knows this set/has any experience/knowledge/rumour?

Cheers, Matthias

[HCA]

Why are you labouring so on this? Alan Voigt sells a T9 especially for the Elans. Even has an .815 5th ratio! Box is complete with concentric slave cylinder and clutch assembly.

Who are Tracsport when you have Voigt!

[Stagmatt]

Hal,
labouring? I read through various sagas concerning the Voigt conversion, the many changes, sloppiness, high cost, difficult communication and non-availability. I had a close look at the design and the execution - as far as one can tell from the photographs - and that does not convince me. It certainly convinced many others and that is fine. I would never argue with anyone over their choice.

Anyone who wants a Voigt conversion - go ahead! I do my thing and I think there are others who do/did the same.

Regards, Matthias

[Donels]

There’s lots on here about Voights because many have done the conversion. It’s not as easy as dropping a type 9 straight in as the gear lever is in the wrong place, the associated rear casing is different, the rear mounting is in a different place and the bell housing is unique to make the clutch work.
Tracsport may make the gear set you want but they probably don’t do all the other stuff. But hey, give us a running report on how your conversion goes. You will get lots of helpful advice on solving the problems and another T9 gearbox source can only be good.

[alanr]

I have had a Voigt T9 gearbox on order for some time now and they are unable to tell me currently when i will get it!
The problem they tell me is due to a lack of tailshaft cases and they are unsure and cannot exactly say when they will have these and be able to resume T9 gearbox conversion deliveries.
Whilst this situation is frustrating I am not too concerned at the moment in time. For the time being i am happy to just wait. The Voigt gearbox is a recognised and proven T9 5speed conversion for the Elan and +2 and the easiest solution it seems without too much complication.

However having said all the above, the thought though does run through my mind what if the situation with my order of the Voigt gearbox drags on into years and what alteratives could be done?
The gear ratio's for the T9 are not a problem at all and can easily be sorted. The bellhousing can with a bit of ingenuity be sorted. So can the necessary propshaft shortening. It is the alloy cutting and re-welding the necessary alterations to the T9 tailshaft case and the gearlever selector mechanism to create the actual gearstick position in a +2 that would create a bit of headscratching. Having done some reading on doing this it is not it seems always easy to do this well and create a good gearchange. I do not like bodge ups of any kind so whatever I would do in these circumstances I would definitely want to create a solid and satisfactory 5speed conversion for my car.
So, for now at least, I will patiently wait for my Voigt T9 conversion order....

Alan.

[h20hamelan]

I could easily put a crate of 20 T5 boxes together, and ship them to the UK
More gears, tight, but still likely not as nice as original.

[Donels]

Alan,
Voights had the same problem when I ordered a kit. It took about 18 months from order to delivery. Alan was very apologetic.

H20,
What’s a T5 from and have you fitted one?

Dave

[h20hamelan]

I have not, awaiting time.
5 others have though, and they are the obvious choice.

[mbell]

T5 is widely used 5 speed in north America. Used in a lot of fords and gm. There are many versions of it, with a lot of variables. Things like input shaft, gear ratios, tail housings, gear stick location, Bell housings.

My understanding is for used transmissions you need to get together the right combinations from multiple boxes to use in an elan as no production car had the right setup.

There are multiple new versions available so I think you can get all the stuff new in the right combinations. Just not as a package or cheap....

Also the t5 is designed to be used in American cars with V8 it's designed to handle a lot more power and torque than a twincam produces, so it's not a very light transition.

[h20hamelan]

1984-2002
4 cyl
8 cyl
Turbos
Chev
Ford

IIRC Chev tail (as this extends to Élan gear position), Ford 84-88 4cyl box is sufficient, unless your turbo and 220+ho

[h20hamelan]

I have 6 Chev boxes, and 3 ford 4 cyl, 2 v8 ford here.
The Chev are the stronger like the ford V8, as Chev had them in trucks
The Chevs are getting tougher to find, hence I bought all available in BC.

[alanr]

Alan,
Voights had the same problem when I ordered a kit. It took about 18 months from order to delivery.

Dave

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the info..
Is your car now up and running with the Voigt box? How are you finding it?...Are you finidng that it was all worth the long wait?

Alan

[englishmaninwales]

I am still in the planning stages of the conversion to a T9 box to my (not yet present) +2.

Having studied posts here pertaining to T9 conversions and the associated issue of the "best" gear ratios I stumbled across the Tracsport offering of a "Tracsport T9 Full Helical Sport Touring Gear kit". This is interesting for several reasons:
- ratios appear well spaced
- mostly new parts except for 2nd gear
- improved layshaft bearing
- price is competitive to the BGH conversion "long first gear" for the T9 box for 2.8 litre engines.

Tracsport advertise this set for 864 GBP :
https://www.tracsport.com/gearkits-1/tr ... g-gear-kit.
Of particular interest to me: fifth is given as 0.815 ratio. The set contains the fifth gear pair, new. There is the option of installing some other gear set for fifth from elsewhere for a taller fifth, I called BGH, they do sell their 5th sets for a reasonable sum.

I was surprised not to find any mention of this in the forums - or is it my blindness (searched for Tracsport)? Or is it so new?

Anyone knows this set/has any experience/knowledge/rumour?

Cheers, Matthias

I can recommend BGH if you are looking for a revised gearset for for your T9 - I’ve used the E7 kit (2.66:1 1st gear) with uprated synchro rings for 15 years in my Caterham T9 gearbox. They have other gearset choices that may be considered more appropriate for the Elan.

I have not used SPC (Tracsport), but his prices seem cheaper than BGH, but I don’t know about quality. I’m aware that he has a good reputation for LSDs for the Sierra differential.

I’ve only needed gearbox rebuild as a result of over enthusiastic use on hillclimbs and my own stupidity with oil.

BGH have also some nice mods including a drain and plug (T9 doesn’t have one) plus a top plate filler/dipstick (not necessary on the Elan).

http://www.bghgeartech.co.uk/html/5_speed.html

Obviously you need to add the costs of a donor gearbox and Voight’s conversion…all gets quite expensive.
Malcolm

[Stagmatt]

As I initiated this thread, just a quick Thank You to all who took the time to add to it!

First, it is not my intention to compete with the Voigt design and I will not comment on this particular design. This here is directed at those attempting to convert a T9 box themselves, given the means. More fun and likely less cost - we´ll see.

Transpires to me that the Tracsport kit so far is really an unknown quantity. Well, I will need more time to make decisions on this, so maybe new old knowledge may appear.

Just a few technical comments on the replies (for those who are not too annoyed by the continuation of the long- winded 5-speeder discussion):

- welding aluminium is an issue, of course. I have some experience with that, but there is also the alternative of using adhesives. Done it before, using a special high-temp curing adhesive (expensive) and I never had a failure (among them a Stag V8 manifold sectioned and butt-joined, fuel on one side, coolant on the other). transplanting the gear lever receptacle has been done before (re posts by worzel) and the mechanical loads in this area are low, so bonding is a viable alternative. This will be one of the next steps and I will report.

- bellhousing, from all I have seen so far, is not really a problem, providing you are willing to accept a design not fully looking like the 4 speed housing. I ordered a "RS2000" housing in aluminium which will be fitted with the direct hydraulic clutch actuator. Acceptable cost. And there are other alternatives.

- the real problems for the DIY man/woman with access to machine tools are: a) getting the gearlever movement to the 5th gear fork with minimal friction; b) finding a good solution for the centreing of the lever in the 3rd/4th gear plane, preferably without the need for a rearward extended housing (aft of the gearlever). The reverse lockout is not a problem when using the original casting for the receptacle as the original Ford solution works great.

Which gear set to use is a completely unconnected issue so it may be better to open a new thread; something like "DIY T9 to Elan conversion"?? Would that conform to the forum habits here? Comments, please.

Regards, Matthias

[Donels]

Alan,
Voights had the same problem when I ordered a kit. It took about 18 months from order to delivery.

Dave

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the info..
Is your car now up and running with the Voigt box? How are you finding it?...Are you finidng that it was all worth the long wait?

Alan

Hi Alan,
Unfortunately not, it’s been delayed in the body shop, but the gearbox and fitting kit all fit fine and the quality looks good. Apart from the delay in getting the box Alan and his son were very helpful. They also rebuild the Lotus 5 speed gearbox for the usual suspects.