Just to add my experiences with the toyota 5 speed conversion....
I have a humber sceptre (basically a 4 door saloon version of a series 5
alpine) which a previous owner had done the transmission swap as supplied by
Conversion Components in NZ. I have had no problems with it. other than the
box is getting a bit noisy in the bearings, and as such will have to come
out for an overhaul. They are apparently good for 200hp, and many cars in NZ
run this conversion with no probs also. Many of these vehicles are classic
racers, so they get a good hammering. As I did not install it myself, I can
not comment on its ease of installation, but as I said, I have heard of many
cars undergoing this transformation without any difficulties.
The rear gearbox mount was fabricated by the previous owner also. I don't
know if there is a standard adaptor plate available, but I would suggest
that this be confirmed. I ended up destroying the one he made by axle
tramping wildly of the start line when doing a 1/4 mile sprint in it once,
and had to make another myself. The modded bell housing looks very good.
The 5th gear in this box is the 0.86 ratio, but my diff is 3.55 giving good
overall gearing. 1st gear is however very low, at 3.58 (the standard box is
3.35, and the close ratio alpine 3.122) It makes for quick getaways, but the
jump to second is a bit bigger than I'd like. However, at low speed where
there is an "excess" of power, this is not too much of a problem. The other
gear ratios are 2nd: 2.022, 3rd: 1.384 and 4th 1.000
I am however going to remove the box and return the vehicle to standard, as
sceptres are quite rare and I would like to keep it original. The feel of
the toyota box is also not as nice as a sunbeam all synchro box in good
condition, however this is the prob in that most sunbeam boxes are no longer
the silky beauties they once were. I also prefer the "romance" of the
overdrive on the sunbeam boxes. The toyota 5 speed will probably find its
way into my race car, where its obvious strength, and reliable changes will
be of most use. I expect that it is also significantly lighter than the std
gearbox/overdirive combination.
Greg
----- Original Message -----
From: Sergio Dimarmo <iwander@att.net>
To: Alpines Mailing List <alpines@autox.team.net>
Sent: Monday, 26 June 2000 18:14
Subject: Re: 5 speed conversion info LONG, so delete if not interested
> Paul, just in case you might want to check out this speed calculator I
wrote
> in Visual Basic. I used it to calibrate my speedometer after buying a set
of
> Goodyear Eagle GT's for my Alpine that were a little smaller that the
stock
> tires. Let me know how it works for you.
>
> Sergio
>
> http://www.team.net/www/rootes/sunbeam/alpine/mk1-5/techtips/speedcalc.zip
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Paul Almjeld" <palmjeld@home.com>
> To: <alpines@autox.team.net>
> Sent: Monday, June 26, 2000 3:16 PM
> Subject: 5 speed conversion info LONG, so delete if not interested
>
>
> > Hi All: If the number of e-mails I've received is any indication, there
> > is a LOT of interest in finding a suitable 5 speed tranny for our
> > Alpines. I've tried to answer each of the individual e-mails requesting
> > information - I hope no one has been overlooked. Allow me to post the
> > following for all of you - this should answer those questions I've
> > received most often:
> >
> > 1) I used a 5 speed tranny from Toyota. The particular model I used is
> > referred to as the 5 speed MA/61 Supra transmission. The 5th gear is a
> > .783 ratio. In my application with 3.89 gears and 71 inch tire
> > circumference it provides 11 mph for every 500 rpm - thus 3000 rpm gives
> > me 66 mph. Many of the Toyota 5 speeds come with .85 or .86 5th gears.
> > For them you will get about 10 mph for each 500 rpm with 3.89 gears and
> > 71 inch tire circumference. The Toyota 5 speeds are widely used and
> > readily available. My cost was about $100, though I did have quotes up
> > to $250. Shop around. You can visit the gear ratio information by going
> > to the following web site:
> > http://www.picknowl.com.au/homepages/paradise/ratios.html
> >
> > 2) I used a conversion kit provided by Conversion Components, Ltd. in
> > New Zealand. The kit is very complete, and includes the bell housing,
> > the pilot bearing bushing, pilot bearing, throw out fork, bearing,
> > clutch disk and pressure plate - even the new speedo cable. The kit is,
> > for the most part, a bolt-on conversion. My cost was about $640 US,
> > with air freight shipping, plus customs. I had to hire a customs agent
> > to act on my behalf at the airport since the tranny was located in
> > Minneapolis and I had no time to get there myself. Total cost for the
> > kit, shipping, customs, etc. was about $760.00 Was it worth it? You
> > Bet! You can visit the web page of Conversion components, Ltd at the
> > following address: http://www.conversioncomp.co.nz/. Colin at CC, Ltd.
> > was very responsive to all my queries and concerns.
> >
> > 3) I found a used drive shaft at a local recycling center and had the
> > Alpine drive shaft modified to accept the Toyota yoke. Drive shaft cost
> > me $100 - modification cost me $50.
> >
> > 4) The Alpine speedometer works with the new, supplied cable, but is not
> > accurate. I solved this dilemma in the short term by modifying and
> > installing a speedo head from a Toyota Celica that had the same tranny
> > as the one I used. It doesn't look vintage Alpine, but it is
> > functional.
> >
> > 5) Total cost was about $1000. It came to more than I'd hoped, but the
> > additional customs costs contributed to at least part of that. Your
> > cost will depend on shipping and customs, plus the cost for a tranny,
> > drive shaft, cross member (if you choose to go that route), etc.
> >
> > 6) I'll finish up my article soon and submit it to the editor at TE/AE
> > and also to Jan and Ian for their web page. I'll include jpeg "photos"
> > with the article.
> >
> > Hope this info helps. Again, if you do have additional questions, I'll
> > be glad to respond.
> >
> > from sunny South Dakota
> >
> > Paul
>
>
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