CR3171 Finally going back together!

[Aussie Mike]

The gearbox is in a million bits while I freshen up the internals. My own box was the first one I built and I'd done a fair bit of development since then. It was time to roll that back into the original one.



A mod I've been doing to a lot of the T56 boxes is changing out the pressed steel synchronizer keys for much stronger billet steel ones. When I first built mine aftermarket retaining springs weren't available for them and I had to use the originals. The spring has a hook on the end of it that's designed to engage in the hollow back of one of the pressed steel keys. This stops it rotating and potentially popping one of the keys loose. The issue with that is there is no hollow in the back of the billet keys, they are solid. The spring hooks over the side of the key instead and there is a chance the spring could rotate and one of the keys pop loose. I set them up so the rotation of the gear would keep the hook snug against the side of the key but it still worried me. The aftermarket springs have hooks on both ends so they can't pop loose (Green one on the right).



Another upgrade I figured I'd do is to change the stock plastic pads on the selector forks for some bronze ones. The plastic ones can distort under hard shifting. I had one older gearbox come in where the 1-2 and 3-4 pads were stuffed and I replace them all. The bronze ones should be a lot tougher and provide a more positive shift feel.



A fun job I finished off today was the engine cross member. A few hours on the mill and I whittled away a lot of material out of it. I removed a lot of weight and improved the aesthetic while keeping it's strength.



Looks pretty cool bolted in place.



Cheers