Rebuild questions

[John Ryan]

Hi

 

I have recently bought a crashed and partially dismantled 1995 1600cc crossflow and a 4-speed gearbox, which the previous owner had bought back from the insurance company and them gave up. It had covered 18,000 miles.

 

The car is currently in bits with the chassis at Arch for a rebuild, and now I need to look at the running gear. As it had been taken apart to a degree I have not heard it running. I have 2 questions

 

- Can anyone recommend a company in the Bucks area to refresh the engine?

- Same question for the gearbox?

 

Thanks for your help.

[JampJ]

Hi John, wouldn't this be a good time to fit a type 9?

Cheers John Hall

 

JFDI

(Just F*****g Do It)

[Irrelevant]

A type 9 and a Zetec.

[John Ryan]

 

Thanks for this. I have thought about fitting a type 9, but from what I've read, in standard form the benefits over the 4-speed are marginal, unless you fit different gear ratios.

 

If this is not the case, I will look at it again. Any feedback most welcome!

 

As to the Zetec, I just can't afford one at the moment.

[Barry]

even if you don't go for the zetec, the quaife sc/cr cluster for the 4-speed makes a great deal of sense.

[Mick Day]

Hang on a mo, all John wants are contacts at the moment not a wallet opening excercise.

 

Gearbox: Brian Hill: 01580-714114. Phil Stewart, Road & Race Transmissions: 01959-525105. Brian is in East Sussex & Phil is in Kent. Both v knowledgable & can advise on options such as 4 to 5 speed.

 

Engine: don't know much about xflows but maybe Chris Wheeler at the 7 Workshop could point you in the right direction: 01992 470480. Oh & don't forget Redline at Caterham: 01883-346515 & James Whiting in Ashford: 01784-241466

[Adrian M]

Hi John, we rebuilt a crashed Superlight last year that had done 18k before it was written off. After talking to a few people we made the decision not to refresh/rebuild to the engine, gearbox and diff as they weren’t damaged in the accident. However the engine was serviced and all the belts changed also we replaced the oil and seal in the diff and gearbox.

 

Ade

[Irrelevant]

John: Depending on what parts you need to replace, IF ditching the Crossflow is a medium term goal, doing the change now rather than refreshing the Crossflow and then changing it in the future makes a lot of sense. Steve (Se7en-Up!

) has just put a Zetec in his car so if you are interested in doing this, he would be a good person to talk to.

 

As far as gear ratios go, I do not know what the standard 4 or 5 speed boxes have in them. If you are sure the standard 5 speed benefits are marginal as far as your intended use is concerned, then that's fair enough. The 4 speed box is, IIRC, significantly lighter than the 5 speed so if you can live with it's ratios, keep it.

 

A 4 speed cr/sc Quaife gearset (or even a 5 speed cr/sc type 9) would be great, but if the budget's tight, it's a hard thing to justify.