T9 5 speed conversion

[koobs90]

Hello all, I am new to elan.net and have been combing thru many posts to learn about my newly purchased 72 elan+2 s130. Bought it as a stalled restoration but much work has been done, newly rebuilt motor on the stand 4 and 5 speed transmissions with clutches,shifter, bellhousings etc. body work done and in primer ready for paint. Alot of assembly required but that will come later. The 5 speed is a t9 and as mentioned earlier I have everything needed for the conversion but the tail shaft and shift rod modifications. I have already read about Voigt kits etc and waiting to here back from Quantumechanics in Conn on a estimate for the conversion. also read that voigt kits may be unavailable for months to a year. I have many talented friends, machinists, welders etc at my disposal. Would tackle a dyi conversion as i have read it was possible but could not find technical data ie: measurements for the mods necessary. do they exist on the forum? I dove deep into the posts but did not see any yet. Any help would be appreciated.

[Foxie]

Have you tried contacting Alan Voigts (hope he's well, he's in his eightys now ) or his son in Liverpool
00 44 151 630 3575

It's 19 years since i fitted Alan's T9 conversion to my 1970 Plus 2S. It never let me down and and it's still going strong.

[berni29]

Hi

I am in a similar situation, but have a T9 box that had already been chopped by a PO. I have another waiting for the chop. Measurement wise you could offer it up to the chassis assuming the body is off and measure from there, or else just compare to your 4sp box. Position does not have to me mm perfect front to back, It needs to be far forwards enough not to foul the chassis though.

Best of luck

Berni

[koobs90]

Have the 4 spd to measure and compare. I imagine measure from front of bellhousing to the shift rod and the make 5 speed the same dimension, then shorten the shift rod accordingly, but I'm no engineer or tranny expert.

[koobs90]

Body still on the chassis

[rjaxe]

Hi koobs90, attached is a write up of the conversion and installation I did of a Type 9 gearbox into my Plus2 S130. I hope you will find it of interest.
Richard

[HCA]

mmm. Now I am happy that I let Alan Voigt do all the work..

[alanr]

I am still waiting for the Voigt T9 gearbox I ordered last September 2022. I spoke to them the other day and they suggested I will have at least another 3-4months wait!. .A shortage of the modified tailshaft casings is the backlog problem they say.

Alan.

[berni29]

Hi Richard

What an amazing write up. I wish I had seen that earlier haha. Well done for some great work there.

Here is a picture of my relocated T9. Please excuse the rust. A different route has been taken with this one. I would be interested in your comments.

I was hoping it would go into a Spyder Zetec chassis, but I am getting less convinced. I will find out soon enough.

All the best

Berni

[koobs90]

That right up is awesome, will try a print out and see what I can put together. Really... huge help. Gives me hope. Don't think I can wait 8- 9 months for voigt kit.

[alanr]

My thoughts..
I haved toyed myself numerous times with doing a homemade T9 conversion but it is not just as straightforward as doing a 'cut and shut' on the tailshaft case as I think the excellent rjaxe rightup above points out.

In adddition to the tail/bell casing mods there is the clutch and propshaft mods that are needed and numerous other headscratching niggles that will also no doubt arise along the way.
Also the Sierra that the T9 originally came from was a much heavier car than the +2 so I personally think consideration needs to be given to changing the 1st gear ratio to something similar to what 1st is in the 4speed box, a 2.98:1 first gear or similar, which Voigt will do in their conversion.This alone is not just a matter of changing the gear on the mainshaft it also needs a modified cluster gear. All of which of course adds to the expense.

So my current view is there is a lot to consider to make the end result work really well and just right, that is why I have currently gone down the Voigt T9 conversion route. Time will tell though if my waiting patience is going to run out!
I think If I receive my Voigt t9 conversion in under a 18months waiting time from first order I think that will be fine. Any longer and I suppose I will have to reconsider what I am going to do.

Alan.

[HCA]

It is all down to your level of competence if you cannot wait.
Totally beyond me, hemce my appreciation that Voigt has done all the work for me!
I was quoted a minimum of two years, so short circuited the route and took one he had on the shelf with the original spec higher first gear ratio…

[alanr]

It is all down to your level of competence if you cannot wait.
Totally beyond me, hemce my appreciation that Voigt has done all the work for me!
I was quoted a minimum of two years, so short circuited the route and took one he had on the shelf with the original spec higher first gear ratio…

When was that?
If that had been offered to me I would have have jumped at that offer as you obviously did. I would have then fitted a BGH gear set to sort 1st gear out.

Alan.

[HCA]

It only end of last year Alan - October or so. Alan mentioned the box a few times before and a bit emarrassed he made the box when all the demand was for the lower ratio. When he mentioned delays on castings, like you, I jumped!

Back to competence, I would dearly like to fit an automatic box to the car. I hear shouts of sacriledge, but I think the +2 cries out for an auto option. Too much for me though, so an old spec T9 will have to do

[koobs90]

Lots to think about thank you. Car is currently apart, have a 4 spd ready to go, may throw that one in just to get the car running and driving, paint it and get on the road and then invest in the 5 spd. Or get on the waiting list for voigt kit. Being in the US makes it more difficult with shipping etc