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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG TD TF 1500 - TF gearbox

TF 2071 has been on the road for a couple of months now. My plan was always to log some miles to iron out as many gremlins as possible (and there have been a few!) before stripping it down to finish the painting. But, with barely 100miles covered, it is obvious that, despite being ‘rebuilt’ by a local ‘specialist’ the gearbox is truly awful. Synchro seems ineffective on 2 and 3, it jumps out of third and rattles in all gears. So, I will be on the lookout for a T9 box locally in Aus if possible and hope to be able to bring a Hi-Gear kit back from England after my annual visit.
My question is, which is the preferred option, move the engine forward 10mm or cut the crossmember and does either kit require any other modification to the bodywork or interior?
Comments appreciated.
Chris
C I Twidle

I've recently fitted the HI-Gear modification which I believe is now only supplied by cutting the cross member. The instructions supplied are excellant and the average guy should have no trouble following them.I had the first gear upgraded to allow getting up to a practical speed in 1St before having to change up. Peter -the owner, is also extremely helpful and although I'm obviously don't know the additional cost I believe regularily ships to Oz and the US. Infact although no help I believe Peter holidays in OZ virtually every year.Personally I'd bite the bullit and just get it all done by Hi-Gear.
JK Mazgaj

I don’t have a TF but, I would think moving the engine forward would would be least favorable. It would make carb maintenance that much more difficult. The plus side is that it preserves the original transmission crossmember if that is more important to you. . Is your car RHD? Steering column to exhaust manifold clearance may also become an issue. Are both options available for RHD installations? I have not looked at HiGears website regarding RHDs. Call HiGear and have them tell you what the pros and cons would be.

On the other hand the kit that uses the original engine position requires cutting out the transmission cross member and using a very robust crossmember that is well engineered piece in the kit. If you chose to got this route I wouldn’t discard the old crossmember in the off chance the next owner would want to put the the old setup back into the car. I have seen both setups in TDs.

LaVerne has a five speed in his TF. I don’t remember if it is the HiGear T9 or the Datsun transmission that is no longer available from another vender.

When you say a local rebuild was done by a shop, what exactly does that mean? Did they simply replace bearings without replacing the sliders,hubs, synchros and neighboring gears sets? To properly rebuild these old transmissions usually requires replacement of marginal parts on the mainshaft. The popping out of gear would indicate this wasn’t done. Were these symptoms you describe present before the rebuild?

W A Chasser

I priced the kit recently, they still sell both options. RHD is a few pounds more, my guess is because changes are made to the brake pipe running across the chassis.

Peter
P G Gilvarry

Chris,
I doubt if you will bring the kit back with you. It comes in three rather large boxes and will cost a fortune in excess baggage. I certainly would consider buying the gearbox from Hi-Gear with the longer first gear as JK has mentioned.
The T9's supplied by Hi-Gear are fitted with a drain plug. The T9 only had a filler plug on the side and no drain plug. The side filler plug is difficult to access so I fitted a filler cap on the gearbox cover on my car but I do miss the drain plug.
Regards
Declan



Declan Burns

Declan
It's an easy job to drill and tap a drainplug
William Revit

William,
I would not attempt it in situ unless there is a good trick. I would fear the swarf!
Regards
Declan
Declan Burns

Here's a photo taken last year at Hi-Gear. The second gearbox on the left has the modified first gear (2.98). Note the casting is different and exclusive to Hi-Gear.
Regards
Declan


Declan Burns

Chris. I have a Hi Gear T9 gearbox with the higher first gear. Mine is mounted 10mm further forward. Access to the carbs isn't helped by moving the engine forwards, but I suspect the difference it makes in that respect in very small. I have oversized K&N filters in the Vokes casing and with some wrangling can still get them off and on. Getting at the water pump and fan is made more difficult, but can be done. A benefit is a bit more space at the back of the head for a heater take off (Wolseley did it this way). Obviously you can have a closer look and try it out when over here.
Dave H
Dave Hill

No mods to the bodywork from what I recall, just a corner to cut off some metalwork under the floor. The plastic gearbox cover provided is wider than the steel original and the original carpet cover may not fit without widening. The T9 speedo drive kit works fine, but the indicated speed will be wrong without a correction gearbox (contact Declan). My T9 came with a reversing light switch - I've never set it up, but it could be.
Dave H
Dave Hill

I think that Hi Gear probably get the gearboxes from BGH Geartech.
Dave H
Dave Hill

I just went to the Hi_-Gear web page and it indicates that its products are distributed in the US by Moss. I have no qualms with Moss and buy a bunch of stuff from them but am wondering if y'all (in the US) bought your units through Moss or directly from Hi-Gear?

Thanks.

Jud
J. K. Chapin

I bought mine direct from HiGear. Saved a bunch of money! It "stiff" getting it into 1st gear for a while but a few years later is seems to have smoothed out. Cutting the cross member was no big deal! A cheap saws all from Harbor Freight is all it took. Getting the old box out and installing the new one without a lift took 3 of us but it's doable. The TD loves 5th gear!
Ed
efh Haskell

If you want to pay an outrageous markup buy from Moss. Best to buy direct from the manufacturer when ever possible.
W A Chasser

Thanks for all the good info guys, much appreciated.

Bill, the car came in buckets and I have only a verbal “I had the gearbox rebuilt” from the PO. The car was in a shed over 40 years.

JK, I hadn’t realised the optional 1st was so useful, we are in a hilly area with twisty roads so it sounds like a good option. If I do that then then the drain plug issue is by passed.

Dave, Its RHD and I have a removeable panel on the carb side so access isn’t too much of a problem but having become aware of the suspect nature of modern water pumps I think I will leave myself the extra room for a potential replacement. A 20km drive has been enough to demonstrate that a heater is NOT going to be necessary in sub tropical Queensland!

Excess baggage only becomes a problem if I exceed 2@ 30kg allowances. (The spouse travels light!) Oversized items such as a 1.5m roll of Karvel carpet is OK! I believe a T9 box would be too heavy but I will contact Hi-Gear re the size of his boxes.

Ed, I already have a saw and I’m not afraid to use it!

No point in going to Moss as that would involve double freight so I will go straight to Peter.

I had hoped that Vitesse would have come up with an MX5/Miata option by now to match their MGA/ MGB kits but it doesn’t seem to be happening so a decision has been reached thank you gentlemen. Now I just have to convince the chancellor - maybe I should wait to see what Brexit does to the £.


Cheers,
Chris
C I Twidle

Declan-
It's a tiny bit messy but if you use an air drill (or a battery drill with a plastic bag on it)and drill it while the box is still loaded with oil the outgoing oil will flush it out as it drains, you can get most of the way through dry but just the last little bit as the hole gets through gets a bit wet
And most of them I've seen done have had it drilled in the wrong spot, too high up on the wrong side of the little rib inside the plate
If you decide to do it ,yell out and I'll put some pics up---It really does make oil draining easy

willy
William Revit

Coincidence, I've literally just been looking at those Willy photos (careful now!).

So I have them to hand.



Nigel Atkins

And, see below.

Too many (no really, too many) times I wished I'd had a drain on the box, would have made things much easier and quicker.




Nigel Atkins

Cheers-
Needs a little explanation though-
Needs to be 'just' to the right of centre-not left as it could cause a weak spot if it lines up with the through hole in the plate and in the rear half of the plate to miss the vertical casting
The bung in the pic is 1/8 BSPt-- and take care tapping the thread , just a bit at a time to get the bung at the right height, if you tap too far in the bung will go too far in---I guess a different thread with a flat headed bung and washer would be ok as well but I sort of like the hidden look of the BSP bung
William Revit

Update on T series 5 speed conversions. First a run down of the options in no particular order:

Skyhook/Datsun NLA

Rod Brayshaw uses a Corolla box which he currently doesn’t have in stock and he needs the box in NZ to do the mod (I suspect he needs to cut off the bellhousing). Advantage may be no relocation of engine and no cross member cut. Freight would be an issue.

Andy King (UK) currently has no stock of his Ford T9 bellhousing and no plans to make any kits in the foreseeable future.

Peter Gamble Hi-Gear engineering (UK) is still sourcing reconditioned T9 boxes (and possibly new ones from GDR).
He has two kits: Move the engine forward or cut the crossmember. Expensive but well engineered.

Dellow in Sydney still does a kit for a Celica/Corolla split case T50 (T2 or T3). Also becoming rare. May need some mods to crossmember.

I just made a road trip of around 1000 miles to inspect a Ford T9 ‘kit’ for a TF found on Gumtree. Turned out to be a home made kit with no history of the T9 box, a rusty second hand MGB prop shaft and clutch, an original TF bellhousing, a GRP transmission tunnel and a home made crossmember. I left it where it was.

Apparently there were never any vehicles brought to Australia with a T9 box as original equipment which accounts for their scarcity and possibly makes spare parts a problem.

I have now sourced a Corolla AE86 box with known history and am having an ongoing conversation with Dellow. I would appreciate any information from anyone who has gone down this route as I haven’t found much in the archives.

Chris
C I Twidle

A homemade casing, slightly shorter than a Hi Gear

The front shaft had to be reshaped a little.

Thus the engine need not to be moved.



YS Strom

Another home made conversion.




YS Strom

This thread was discussed between 22/01/2020 and 11/02/2020

MG TD TF 1500 index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG TD TF 1500 BBS is active now.