E12 five speed fitting.

[mr bump]

The 74 3.0cs ive got is a manual, i originaly thought it was a factory 4 speed, but after moving the shift around, its a 5 speed. Now a few people have said it was common to replace the 4 speed with a 5 speed for better motorway (freeway) driving, better fuel consumption ect ect. Ive had the car up on the lift and if i didnt know better, id say it was factory fitted. Ive also been told that the 5 speed replacment which is a gartrac box with the detatchable bell housing was out of an E12 5 series, is this correct?

And also, is a straight cut gear set available for this E12 bearbox?

And last question, the propshaft has a big rubber donut on the tailshaft end, what is this for? Balance? A little stumped on this one , any help is greatly received.

joe

 

[x_atlas0]

The "rubber donut" is called a guibo. It is a vibration absorber / reducer for the rest of the drivetrain. Some others have altered their original driveshaft with a pair of U-joints (one at each end) rather than the central U-joint like it has stock.

The easiest 5 speed upgrade is the Getrag 265 unit. It is easy to determine if it is the 5 speed unit visually as it has a 3-section case. The 4 speed uses a 2-section case. The Getrag 265 is good for 400+ lb-ft of torque, so there aren't a wide assortment of gearsets.

 

[Arde]

That is a pleasant surprise, when I got home I'll try to see if I find a 6th gear in mine.

I read that there were no 5-speeds in 74 so it must be an upgrade.