Posted by Craig
on 9/29/2009, 9:56 am
211.27.115.220
About 15 years ago I bought a GT6 Mk3 site unseen. I got it off the truck, drove 2 miles, and while shifting from 2nd to third, broke a tooth off third. I was a complete mechanical numpty back then, so I gave it to a so called expert, who rebuilt it, charged me many dollars, and gave it back. Two months later, 2nd gear went. Not the same gear = no warranty. I went to another "expert" and had it rebuilt again. This one lasted 3 weeks, and 3rd went again. I declared it haunted and parked it for a while. When I calmed down (3 months later), I took it to a more reputable firm, and asked them to have a look.
"It's the wrong gearbox, if we rebuild it it'll break again, leave it with us, we'll fit a bigger box..."
So, I agreed to leave it with them for a month. Near the end of the month I dropped in to see how they were going. The business had gone broke, my car was in bits, and the liquidator gave me the choice of paying an exorbitant sum (more than I'd agreed on for the fix) to get the thing back (still in bits), or hand over the title. No way was I going to let the smarmy suit win, so I scraped together the dollars, and arrived with a towtruck.
At this point I'd bought a car and 3 gearboxes, but had a car and no gearbox, who's interior was strewn with bits of gearboxes. Angry, dissapointed and broke, I towed it to an available spot in a garage, and parked it.
Fast-fFoward 13+ years,
The GT6 is still where I left it, and the garage it rests in is changing hands. Move it or lose it time. I decided 13 years is long enough to stay angry, and visited the old girl to see how she was. Saggy tires, and covered in 13 years of dust, dirt, and the odd possum dropping. Not looking good. Still I pumped up her tires, threw her on a trailer, and took her home via a carwash.
The wash revealed mostly good news. The paintworks pretty tatty, and needs some work, but the resting place she's been in was dry and mostly warm, and she's pretty much rust free. Emptying out the parts from the interior reveals that everything's there, just a few bonus bellhousings and gearbox casings. The tunnels been opened up, but not too badly, and suddenly it's time to show the olg girl some love.
My ability with spanners has improved since the mid 90's, so this time I'm going it alone...
Turns out, the drivetrain is a bit of a hotchpotch. The engine block is a HB/HE series from an early Vitesse 2 litre, and the gearbox is a HB series from a 1600 Vitesse with a laycock overdrive.. No wonder it kept breaking. I'd really like to meet one of the "experts" who fixed it for me back then. "You must have driven it too hard" Yeah. Right. Bastards.
So a toyota t50 is going in using Dan's excellent instructions (although my T50 has a round centre bearing flange- later model maybe Dan?).
New rubber all round is a given, she need's a screen, and maybe some suspension work having sat for so long. She's a '73 non rotoflex.
So for not too many dollars, and a bit of workshop time, I can get her back on the road.
Problem is, evertime I look at her, I want to spend more.
I've been offered a Jigsaw Racing Stage one 2.5 litre engine set up for a GT6 with twin 1 3/4" SU's and a modified inlet manifold for a reasonable price, and given the unknown probity of my engine, I'm sorely tempted.
My research tell me that the 2.5 might give me (more handling problems, and be sluggish under acceleration.
So, some questions:
What are the handling issues that fitting a 2.5 may cause, and how can they be mitigated?
Is a 2.5 with a lightened flywheel sluggish, or is it a myth? Anyone got a GT6 with a 2.5 who wouldn't do it if they had their time over?
Will the T50 handle the extra ponie the 2.5 provides?
Is the non-roto rear end a good choice for this swap?
Anythi9ng else I should be looking out for?
Thanks for reading, hope you can help,
Craig
