Category: Gearbox

Gearshift Tower Overhaul on the Model A Sport Coupe – Part 2

Gearshift Tower Overhaul on the Model A Sport Coupe – Part 2

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After removing the shift tower from the car (see Part 1) I took the it over to see John Cochran and we got a good look at what was quite a bit of wear in the lever  and the selector forks, which I hope is the source of my 2/3 shift issue.

In this video we discuss the wear in the components

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Step by step pictures of the assembly as much as I could take whilst actually assisting!

We replaced the shift lever, the selector forks and inspected all the other components were found to be serviceable. The worn detent bullet you can see in the pictures is from an old gearbox and is being used for comparison only.

As you can see we used the special tool to ensure we didn’t get taken out by the famous “killer spring”

Thanks to John Cochran for his assistance as always

Now to get the tower reinstalled and see if it improves the 2/3 shift.

 

 

Gearshift Tower Overhaul on the Model A Sport Coupe – Part 1

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I’ve been meaning to take a look at the gearshift on the Sport Coupe for quite a while as it seem quite loose in neutral and third gear can be be a bit of a crunching affair when engaging unless you are really careful. John Cochran sorted me out a good used gear stick a while back

As you can see the ball on this one is not too worn

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On to removing the shift tower in preparation for taking  over to John’s to be overhauled. Overcame a seized top bolt and then removed quite a bit of sludge from the top of the gearbox and the shift tower. As I had to push the car back into the garage I made a cardboard lid to keep the lidless gearbox clean and fitted it after carefully scraping the old gasket off.

The spring on the shift tower is known as the “spring of death” and is very dangerous to work with without a special tool.

You can find a really good article on the overhaul of the tower by Tom Endy here

 

So Begins the Model B Gearbox Conversion

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My friend John Cochran put me in touch with a very nice chap in Scotland named Ian Caldwell who happened to have a Model B gearbox for sale. The Model B gearbox offers the advantage of synchromesh over the Model A by removing the need to double declutch.

Wikipedia description

In a synchromesh gearbox, to correctly match the speed of the gear to that of the shaft as the gear is engaged the collar initially applies a force to a cone-shaped brass clutch attached to the gear, which brings the speeds to match prior to the collar locking into place.

Now I still need to gather quite a lot of extra parts to effect the conversion, these include a clutch pedal, shift lever. I’ll post the progress!