transaxle question

[dtargonski]

i bought an old (late 70s) reynard i wanted to use primarily for solo. is there a cheaper alternative to locating a hewland gearbox for the ford 771 1600? i would appreciate any suggestions

[EYERACE]

something to think about. you will gear a solo car so low that it will render it more likely the torque will tear up the tranny on launch or hard on the gas shifting into second

[Christopher Shoemaker]

I believe there was a tranny for sale - CHEAP ($1800). You can also look to get a rebuild, all in all though that is about what they go for.

GOOD LUCK!

[Larry]

The Hewland is a great gearbox for FF. It handles the power well, and is relatively trouble-free. The bad news is that they are rather pricey. I don't know of ANY less expensive substitute. The Staffs gearbox is good, but it generally isn't any cheaper. I'd suggest you bite the bullet and buy a good used one.

BTW, the one I had is sold!
Larry Oliver
International Racing Products

[Rick Kirchner]

You could try a 914 gearbox. A friend had one in his Supervee and 1st and 2nd were so low as to be unusable for a road race car, and you are only likely to use 1st and 2nd in solo. It should bolt right up but you'll have to flip the ring gear and fab a linkage.

Beefy enough for a street car weighing 1500 lb more, you aren't likely to break it, but it's a synchro box, so it will shift a little slower. Can't beat the price tho.

[R. Pare]

something to think about. you will gear a solo car so low that it will render it more likely the torque will tear up the tranny on launch or hard on the gas shifting into second

MK8's have been used for about 30 years in Solo to great effect with very few problems. You WILL want to contact other solo users to find out the weak points so as to get it prepped correctly at the start.

[Terry]

Get a Hewland box, or one of the clones. You say "primarily" for solo. Are you thinking Solo I, Hill Climbs, Track days? You'll need to replace gearing if you try anything else other than Solo II. Adapters and parts are readily available, not so true for some other combinations. I have a late 70's car and run in many different venues.

You'll also need an integral first. I believe (not sure) that the lowest slide on is a 14:36 and I guarantee you'll break that on launch, if not the first launch, then on a subsequent launch. 14 is simply not enough meat on the gear. The slide ons strong enough for standing starts are just way too high. My RR first is not a bad Solo II second, for example.

I'm not positive, but I think you'll find that once you're done setting it all up (the car, not just the box) there will be very little difference in price upon completion. I also feel that a Hewland type box will enhance the value of the car. If you put in a synchro box of some kind the car will be slower as well, due to lost time.

Just my 2 cents. The information is worth what you paid for it.

edit: spelling

[SCOTTY81]

Terry is correct,If you run the car in Solo you have to go to a fixed first in order to handle the standing starts.A MK9 gearbox with MK9 M gears is good for around 180HP.You can bump the HP up to around 240HP by going over to the MK 5 gear set.

Scotty
Taylor-race.