Fletcher Williams, who won the Runoffs in 1991 in a TR-6, used the 'welded,
but not solid' differential. I didn't see it on the inside, but as
Fletcher described it, they welded a lump on the spider grars so that the
gears could move a slight distance (e.g. 1/4 inch) before it would lock.
He felt this was a better solution than welding it solid as I did. If
anyone is interested in more info on this approach, I suggest you contact
Fletcher. He is in the Atlanta area. Last number I had was (404) 564-0972.
At 09:54 AM 3/5/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Hi,
>
>Cosmic wheels are period accessories.
>
>The GT6 had several ratios - 3.27 and 3.89 included. If you have a higher
>ratio, it is likely out of one of the other Herald derivatives. Spitfires
>had 4.10 gears on some of the earlier cars, for example. However, Andy
>Mace would be the authority on what ratios would be available.
>
>As for your welded diffs allowing any movement, I'm not so sure this is a
>good thing or not. My understanding is that a welded diff is exactly that -
>a welded diff. Put more succinctly, they heat the pumpkin really hot and
>then weld all the spider gears together into one big lump. Thus, there is
>no movement of anything (at least with regard to the spider gears).
>
>For a final say on the matter, show it to a race shop and ask them.
>
>Regarding axles, there's a guy named Wayne Snyder from Grand Rapids, MI who
>runs a Spitfire in E Mod autocross class. He has a 2.5 liter
>Toyota 4AG motor in there - making much more power than a GT6 would
>likely make (assuming you don't have a $25k motor, of course), and it
>turns out that he makes (or has made) special super tough axles for
>Spitfires. A lot of folks run these axles, from what I gather. All
>reports that I've heard is that they are super reliable.
>
>Failing the Wayne S. solution - some folks have modified TR6 axles to
>work with the Spitfire rear. A guy on the Triumphs list who goes by then
>name Barry Schwartz has done this conversion. Seems the V6 Ford engine in
>his Spitfire makes a bit more torque than a stock Spitfire... ;-)
>
>C ya,
>rml
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