SAM-UK300

iTrader: (8)

Hi All,

A Close ratio Type RA Gearbox has come up for sale for a decent price and I was thinking about sticking it in my Bugeye, I used to have a classic Type RA and loved the acceleration! Can anybody see any potential downsides? Will fuel economy change where revs are consequently higher? Oh and FYI I'm only running around 330bhp.

Cheers
Sam

NOCK

Hi, as much as I'd like to encourage this, I think that fuel consumption increase is an absolute given to be honest.

**jay**

iTrader: (1)

yeh of course it will as it will be running much higher rpm and constantly changing gear.

SAM-UK300

iTrader: (8)

Yeah I assumed as much and remembered my old one used to be bad on fuel...

Besides from that is there any other downsides anyone can point out?

Obviously top speed is reduced too. I think if I recall they maxed out around 120?

NOCK

While I can't profess to knowing the first thing about Scoobies as I've never owned one (this is going to change soon!), I'd think that simple logic would say that:

More time spent at higher revs = more chance for oil starvation and heavier engine wear = less engine lifespan.

It depends what you use your car for really and how deep your pockets are if you need a new engine.

riiidaa

iTrader: (2)

taller 5th gear for the RA box, is worth a thought.

SAM-UK300

iTrader: (8)

How expensive would this be to do? Woul it be possible to use 5th gear from a normal 5 speed?

little'un

iTrader: (9)

Don't forget to change the rear diff for the correct final drive ratio too.

Depending on what year r160 diff you're fitting, you may need to swap the rear shafts too..

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

The early boxes don't have the same bolt patterns on the clutch bell housing as a Newage. As mentioned the rear diff, shafts and hubs will all need to fit. I am not sure but I think the shafts are shorter (newage track is wider) and will need serious modifications to get them to fit. The V3's don't run 2 pot rears and have solid rear discs too.

Why not just change the current set of gears instead?

SAM-UK300

iTrader: (8)

OH, It came as a kit... with diff, drive shafts, prop etc... I was told it would fit straight on?

How would I go about changing the cogs in my current setup? I'm not too familiar with gearbox workings etc.

little'un

iTrader: (9)

It's not much of an issue to swap at all - the classic rear shafts are the same length as newage Wrx, and will fit fine - if the donor rear diff is pre 1998 then the inner cv joint is different, hence the requirement to swap the shafts - the rear brakes or hubs have no influence, and the shafts can be swapped from classic to newage Wrx no problem, so long as you are replacing your current r160 diff with another r160. You will only need to swap the hubs and brakes if you are trying to fit an r180 setup

The bell housing difference is also a non issue - just use the 2 bottom studs and 2 top bolts, as per the early car setup - there is a stud fitted to the early box for the bottom starter motor bolt fixing.

You will be able to use your existing prop.

There are some different gear linkages for 5 speeds - you may be able to use your existing linkage without changing anything, or you may need to swap over the 'uj' bracket on the back of the box that the linkage bolts to, or swap the entire linkage in from the donor.

It will all fit, and is a very simple swap over...