(1) I have decided for convenience and economics that I would like to
add an overdrive to my 1966 Series V by going the Toyota route that
Bill Lewis mentioned in a recent post. I contacted the guy in
Australia who is organizing this, and I have some more information to
pass on for those who are interested. They need five people to do
this, and I think we're only one or two people short.
a) For $500 Australian (approx. $380 U.S.) you get a new
bellhousing, speedometer cable, spigot bering, clutch plate actuating
arm and bearing, to put a Toytoa Steel Case 5-speed into an Alpine.
b) For another $380 U.S. they'll sell you a reconditioned
Toyota gearbox and yoke, or you can get your own.
c) They say you have to get a tail shaft made (Approx. $75
US)
d) The gear stick will come out of the original hole.
e) The gear ratios of the Toyota come very close:
They say that the original ratios for a Series V are
4th 1:1 3rd 1.392:1 2nd 2.141:1 1st 3.35:1 O/D .803:1
There are two types of Toy boxes they can supply, and they
differ only in their 1st gear ratios:
4th 1:1 3rd 1.390:1 2nd 2.040:1 1st 3.28:1 O/D .85:1
4th 1:1 3rd 1.390:1 2nd 2.040:1 1st 3.52:1 O/D .85:1
f) They need five people to do part "a" (the supplementary
parts) in order to proceed. So far we have three or four: Me (Dan
Levitin), Rick from Sunbeam Specialties, and Peter Thompson, the
fellow in Australia. If Bill Lewis is interested, that makes four.
If you are interested, let me or Rick (408-371-1642) know
soon!
(2) I found the James McMurtry song that mentions a Sunbeam. It is
on the album "Where'd You Hide The Body", Columbia 66188, 1995. The
song is "Fuller Brush Man". I'm attaching the first two verses and
the last (they're the only ones that mention our favorite car):
When I was maybe three or four
the Fuller Brush man would knock at the door
he'd always tell me "boy you're gonna miss the fun
time you're old enough the honky tonks will all be gone"
mama had no sense with cars
she drove a Sunbeam and she drove it hard
it left her stranded, time and again
it didn't matter, you could do that then
....
you don't too often see a Sunbeam anymore
and you never seea Fuller Brush man or a dinoaur
the voice of reason rules with an iron fist
please forgive me if I'm not prepared to handle this
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