Toyota 5 Speed Conversion
There are a few
"modern" conversions that have always piqued my
interests, among them:
Dan Masters Wire Harness (done that),
Rick Patton's Throttle Body Injection (done
that),
Jack Drew's Stub Axles (done that),
Aluminum Radiator (Yup....done), Brake
Upgrade (Started),
Herman Van den Akker's Toyota 5 Speed (in
progress) &
Richard Goods' Nissan Differential (also in
progress). So.......obviously by the heading up
top, this section is about the 5 Speed
Conversion. There will be another section about
the Nissan differential being cleaned up in my
basements along with the brake upgrade.
So what's required
to put a Toyota 5 speed in your Triumph?
Well..........obviously a Toyota 5 speed
transmission from an '82-'85 Celica/Supra or an
'84-'96 Truck. I stayed away from the trucks for
two reasons: 1st gear is a lot lower (stump
puller so to speak) and you never know if
they've been used to plow snow which can really
beat up a truck and its drive train. These units
also go by the designation of W58 and are
encased in an all aluminum housing. Just because
the housing is aluminum don't think you'll be
seeing a big weight savings over the stock TR6 4
speed. The Toyota weighed in at 74 pounds while
my TR6 unit was 73 pounds. If I had an overdrive
unit, it would have added about 30 more pounds
to the stock total. So basically there's no
weight savings for me but if you've got an
overdrive unit you will be a significant
savings.
When I found
one from an '83 Celica on eBay for $65 plus $60
shipping.....I grabbed it. When it arrived I was
a little concerned.
Look at
the bent bolts and bent flange
cover!! What have I bought?? |
|
|
As it turns out
the cover gets knocked off and the flange gets
removed. Luckily the threads in the housing
weren't damaged either so everything is OK. It
did require quite a bit of cleaning with an
assortment of wire wheels to get it looking
presentable. Well...actually it didn't need to
be cleaned at all but this was the one
opportunity I'd have to "buff" it up. The
pictures don't really do it justice.
Dirty |
Clean...
the tranny shop guys loved it! |
|
|
After a few phone
calls with Herman, I found out what I had to do
to "prep" the tranny for installation. Depending
on the condition of your tranny, you may or may
not have to remove the ring you see below. The
ONLY way to get it out is with a hacksaw. You
can't knock it out because there's a small
flange below it that gets in the way.
This ring
needs to go |
And with
it removed |
|
|
It took a
hacksaw to cut it out. You can't
"knock" it out. |
|
Once I got the
ring out I discovered that the speedometer worm
gear in the housing was floating free. This gear
rides on a shaft and engages the plastic
speedometer drive. The metal clip that holds it
in place was missing. A search of the web turned
up a
parts catalog with the needed parts and an
email to my TBI friend and NAPA store owner, Rick Patton, secured the
parts in no time. Herman recommends temporarily removing the
plastic speedometer drive as it provides easy
access to cleaning out the bottom of the gear
shift housing.
Worm Gear
was missing a securing clip |
Remove
the bolt on left to pull the speedo
gear |
|
|
This is
the internal plastic speedo gear
that engages the metal worm gear |
|
|
I brought it to a
very reputable transmission shop which replaced
the two seals, installed the worm gear clip and
declared it a transmission in excellent
shape........whew............ I had shades of a
$400 rebuild in my brain which was no longer a
concern. That little worm gear clip is
impossible to install without removing the
tail-stock on the transmission to gain easy
access to the shaft, gear and clip holes.
Considering what's involved, the $100 I paid for
this work was well worth the price.
NOTE WELL: If you
should find one of these W58 transmissions and
it needs new bearings................you are in
for a very expensive service visit. The bearings
CAN NOT be replaced with out tearing the whole
transmission apart. If you find one with sloppy
end play at either shaft end..... move on to
another tranny.
NEXT......Gear Ratio |