On Thu, 28 Oct 1999, James Gambony wrote:
> I've seen trannies with both a thin casting and a thick casting alloy bell
> housing recently, and jotted down some serial #s:
>
> thin FC 38909
> thick KC 5204
>
> Both were unassociated with any cars so I can't swear to the exact
> lineage...
FWIW, the former would be a later Spitfire 4 "Mk.1" gearbox and the
latter an early GT6 "Mk.1" gearbox. Where is the starter "boss" on the KC
gearbox? More than likely it is an alloy bellhousing but designed for the
GT6 motor with its right-hand-side-of-the-engine starter motor.
although it wouldn't surprise me if the alloy housings slotted
> to go on the Heralds might not have slipped onto a Spitfire or two, either
> as an intentional performance upgrade or a "I need a tranny mate, hand me
> that one over there. Wot, it's for a Herald? Sod it, this Spitfire is
> going out now". (my apologies to anyone of English extraction! :-)
Since the Herald 1200 gearbox is almost identical, for all practical
purposes, to the Spitfire 4-Mk.3 gearbox, it's not uncommon to discover
swapping back and forth. And I've seen alloy bellhousings on the Heralds
as late as 1963 or so, such as my own GA119167LCV (1964 model, mid-1963
built, original gearbox, thin-style alloy housing). But my late, lamented
GB19033LCV, a later 1964, had a cast iron bellhousing.
--Andy
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