Manual Pedal Box Wanted

Hello fellow P6 owners, and those who aspire to one day own a P6 but have thus far only managed to find parts and project cars :)

I am looking for someone who has a manual pedal box out of a 3500S, 2200TC or any late model P6 manual pedal box that they are willing to sell :D - I need the box, pedals, springs, push rods, nuts, bolts etc (but don't need the brake or clutch cylinders).. Pedal rubbers would be nice though ;)

My car is:
1974 P6B 3500 A <-------- (I am hoping to get rid of this A as soon as I can)
BW65

Before anyone whips out the quill starts listing reasons as to why this is a difficult task, be aware that I drove my P6 every day, rolled it over (odometer I mean, I didn't land in someones living room!) anyway a big end cap rattled loose, the crankshaft snapped and now the old fella is sitting outside my house staring into the headlights of my brothers BMW 635 (which I am sure laughs at him every time it drives off).. So the engine and box have to come out of the car anyway, might as well use the opportunity to make it 10% more fuel efficient :p

For those interested, it was the front bearing cap, and yes, you turn the key and it starts without any hesitation at all, even has 40lbs of oil pressure o_O - Being an old British fella, that's probably its way of saying "I'm not dead yet boss, I can still work!!" :(

Thanks in advance for any replies :)
 
Yup try Wins, MGBD and also try the various facebook groups.

Manual into an auto I think is fairly well covered on this forum. I seem to remember Stan(vaultsman) had a particularly good thread on this subject.

I have an LT77 in my shed waiting until the BW35 goes pop which hopefully will be a while yet :)

Welcome to the forum.
 
Thanks for the advice lads, I will try them once they re-open in the new year..

Gearbox wise, LT77s and R380s are apparently the best bet - but they are a bit thin on the ground.. I might have to go in blind and buy a Borg Warner T5 from the states, put the gears out of a mustang in and see how it goes.. Should make for an interesting install, and at least I will then have something "interesting" to post for others to read, since T5s are still in production :) - if people put them in MGBs, they can be put in P6s (at least that's my twisted logic anyway)..

I have a BW65 in mine, which I have tried to kill on several occasions (being a 27yo in possession of a V8).. 3 years of constant use, burnouts, red line driving and just general abuse seem to have done nothing to it, still has cherry red TQF that smalls as fresh as the day I put it in (which was soon after I got the car) o_O - I hear the 35s are weaker boxes, but I cant really say as I have never had one.
 
Anything other than an LT77 is going to be insanely expensive. You'll also likely need a custom prop. You just happen to be lucky that the LT77 is the right length for the standard auto prop.

Another option is the Toyota box which is an Aussie conversion. This will give you a much nicer shift than either alternative.

Why not think about the ZF auto? Much better than either BW box and with overdrive and lock-up.
 
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Hi Peter,

I think that IronandCopper is looking for a little more performance than the autoboxes have to offer - I am going the same route as you with the ZF, but based on the references to burnouts and red line driving I am thinking that manual is the way he wants to go ;) BTW let us know how your ZF is coming - mine is stalled for now...

Back on topic - that Aussie Toyota conversion is something I thought about and looked in to - now that is my idea of expensive :eek:. Maybe the prices have come down, but when I was looking they were in the $5 - $6 k range.

The T5 was used in a few UK applications - Sierra Cossie, various TVRs, Nissan 280ZX and 300ZX - so, with a bit of digging one might be found locally.
 
V8tuner does t5 boxes and conversion parts. If you have that sort of money it may be worth a chat with him?
 
In the words of a certain penny pinching office manager "money is no object! Unless of course you plan to spend it!"

But in all fairness, I am one of those unfortunate people who has significantly more skill than money, so I cant afford to spend 1900 squid on a gearbox :oops: (but I do have friends twice my age who work in engineering companies!) :D

The less money you have, the more skills you will inevitably end up gaining :) - from what I have seen on the tinterwebs, there are plenty of companies out there putting together kits for a lot more than they are worth, best option I have seen so far, is to import a US T5 body, buy the internals and a rebuild kit (still cheaper than a whole box), buy the bell-housing that So Cal V8 handily provided a link to (or buy one from eBay, but try and avoid the obvious chopped up BW bell housings that some git welded a T5 plate to!) Then buy a prop shaft or just the splined UJ carrier - then "attach" it to the P6 prop shaft, there is a company that my brother used when he converted his 635 from an auto ZF 4HP22 to a Getrag 260 that take two prop shafts and make one, cut, weld and balance the whole assembly for 200 squid :D - Cooksferry BMW pointed him there (Cooks Ferry Engineering)..

He abused his 4HP22 in much the same way I abused my BW65, except the ZF box is dead! Only reverse works :( - and I abused my BW65 until my car snapped the crank, so I guess they are strong boxes, just not nice to cruise on the motorway at 3500rpm, and they don't shift gear when you tell them to! That and the noise from the webasto is enough to make anyone go mental!

As a side note - ZF 4HP22 boxes have a design flaw in the valve body, that means that if you like to rev your engine in neutral (like what I do), you will destroy the box in no time, as the valve body slowly loses pressure on the clutch bands when in neutral, which gradually bring the clutches into contact with one another, and they get eaten away by the gradual application of high speed friction! :eek:

But all that being said, if I can find a good LT77, or an R380 and a shifter, I would go for that as its easier.. eBay might yet yield something useful..

Anyway, those interested in R380s should check out these links!
Ashcroft Transmissions <----------------- They sell 2WD boxes for 925 squid with no shifters o_O
Search results for: 'r380' - Paddock Spares

Those looking for used Getrag boxes and used T5s (and I means used as in, taken to Santa Pod and didn't make it back) - or BMW parts :rolleyes:
PRISTINE BODYWORKS | BMW Restoration and Repair Specialists, Essex
Or add Mick on Whatsapp 07880 992 999 - he runs the place and he can help you out, hes good at finding odd stuff!

And those with bottomless pits of money buy this o_O
V8Wizard

Now, just need to make up my mind, and then decide if I will go for a standard clutch, or a hydraulic throw out bearing... I will leave that up to my wallet - as throw out bearings are great for avoiding "problems" with protruding exhaust pipes, but they are also very expensive :(
 
I'm still trying to figure out how you broke a crank before the box, diff or driveshafts... I was under the impression the ZF fault was well known and applies mainly to early versions and those sourced from BMW, apparently Jaguar fixed this with a relatively simple tweak. Most aftermarket seal kits have improved rather than the original metal on metal seals too.

Anyone feel free to correct me.
 
PeterZRH - You are absolutely right about the ZF box, however according to the Pat over at Cooksferry, its not as easy as all that, it requires modification of the valve block in order to correct the problem on the older boxes.. Even the owners handbook for my brothers 635 mentions that you should not leave the box in neutral for more than a few seconds - Jaguar might have fixed it in a later revision, but if it was as easy as changing some seals, you'd think BMW would have done it to what was then a £100k car o_O

I am refusing to take any responsibility for the crankshaft though! I changed the oil every 3000 miles, and in my ownership I overhauled most of the top end and took good care of the P6 (excluding any driving abuse)..

The front most bearing carrier rattled loose, and dropped into the sump, then the crank snapped diagonally taking the front timing cover with it :(

I will put it down to bad luck.. Car had only done 114000 miles, didn't burn oil, had good compression etc.. Poor thing..

My mechanic friend over at P&O Motors had a look inside, and found the cap sitting in the bottom of the sump with the two bolts next to it, bearing still had nearly all of it's white metal too :(
 
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