Reasonable quote???

[OLSCHL]

Gday Guys,

Well i started getting quotes for the new gearbox and diff installation on my 1995 DRB cobra. So far thank you to the guys for the advice its been excellent.

Well so far heres a quote that i have had:

Went up to Castlemaine Rod shop and spoke with Brad and Harry up there.

They have quoted total of $7000 for the whole job.

heres the break down:

Reconditioned 9" LSD Ford DIff with VB discs and 3.5:1 ratio $3100

Handbrake cable: $150

T5 Kit with reconditioned box $2300

Labour @ $77 / hr 20 max hrs. $1540

The housing around the diff is tight with the 9" installed got about 1/2 inch to the back of the tyre fibre glass housing. Gonna have to knotch the upper crossmember slightly to allow for a little amount of travel. Will need new shocks as the ones on it are on the way out. May even need new springs as there is alot of travel in the back end. So there could be extra costs for sure.

So how does the quote sound????

I am aware the parts for this project are expensive so it was no surprise to hear the amount.

Can anyone else recommend any other diff and gearbox specialists??

Thanks for your help guys.

Cheers,

Al

[Philm]

HI Al,
While the 9inch are very stong they are also very expensive, if you do not have big power it may be overkill.

For the price you have quoted is that a "world class" T5?

Phil

[400TT]

Yeah, make sure it's a World Class T5. Basically that means it's off a Mustang V8.

We've noticed a lot of Cobra's going around with Mustang 6cyl T5 boxes. They seem to be the ones that get lunched easily and give the other World Class T5 boxes a bad name.

Correct me if I'm wrong on this guys...

Ford 9" is a nice way to go to have an entire Ford drivetrain. If that's what you are after. A cheaper way to go is to find a 9" housing & axles that have already been shortened for Torana. I think it still needed to be modded though.

To fit a 9" in a DRB required notching of the rear chassis cross-member in front of the fuel tank.

I'm guessing you are going shortened 9" as you can keep the same Torana stud pattern & same offset(deep dish) on the rear. So can basically use your existing wheels.

To save a bit of money you could with Commodore VN/VP rear end. Would not need to shorten it, but would mean new wheels for rear.

Warwick Harrsion was master of modifying DRB's. He has fitted adjustable coil-overs to a few, panhard rods, watts links, Commodore rear ends etc etc.

[OLSCHL]

Thanks guys for the opinions much appreciated!

I will be in contact with Warrick some time in the next coupple of weeks but i know his time is precious with all the projects on the go at the moment.

In regards to the box i will check up on that type of T5 they quoted so thanks for the heads up in regards to this. As for the knotching of the rear cross member infront of the fuel tank....i actually dont have a fuel tank as shes on gas but there is still the spare tyre housing to deal with but not a biggy as there is still room to adjust that also.

I have spoken with the Mrs' Father (real car buff/ car engineer) and he has mentioned that a panhard rod and watts linkage would be ideal for it as rear end does end up giving me trouble around corners. All that depends is if there is enough room to fit these. From memory ive got a 2nd generation DRB.

In regards to keeping the whole drivetrain ford.... yes thats the idea while at the same time looking for a permenant fix to the drive train problems ive had so far. (single railer and torana banjo diff) they are the problem!

I would like to also use the 9" as it adds a bit more weight to the rear end as im runnig the car on LPG and the weight of course is very nose heavy.

Ill get on to Warrick ASAP!

Thank you for all your help guys... just want to make sure that im not being taken for a ride!

Cheers,

Al

[Aussie Mike]

Panhard rod will be the easiest to fit. On a Cobra where there isn't a huge ammount of suspension travel it will work well. My only thought is that if your rear end uses angled upper control arms to limit side to side movement then the panhard rod may cause some binding with it's slight side to side movement.

Adding weight is never a good option in my opinion. The rear axle assembly is un sprung weight so won't make any difference to the weight balance of your car. What it will do is make life harder for the shocks to control the rear end. I reckon the BTR commodore diff would be a good choice. The whole thing will be lighter than the Ford 9" and plenty strong enough. There are lots of ratios available as well as LSD options.

Cheers

[boxhead]

The Hilux diffs are also very strong.

[OLSCHL]

Thanks guys been looking in to the whole thing but yet to contact Warrick. Got the car back on the road...bloody roll pin on the gear box....

Well as mentioned the above quote was for a "non world class" T5 as suspected by Philm and 400TT. So is it true that the non world class variants have been giving grief to a few cob owners??

Does any one know where i could obtain a reco'd world class T5???

Does the AU XR8 use a world class T5???

Thanks once again for the help guys!

Al

[400TT]

I'm not 100% sure of the "World Class" tag. Our old blue Cobra had a World Class box, it came with 1992 Mustang HO engine.

You've just got to make sure it's a T5 from a V8. So yeah, any Oz V8 T5 will be fine, quite a few Cobra guys up here are punishing these.

We've seen a few T5's fail in the club. It seems much more likely to fail if it's a 6cyl variant.

We've got quite a few guys regularly drag racing & circuit racing pretty healthy engines and still running T5's with not problems. Have a look at Peter's Gold Cobra photos I posted a little while back with him launching at the drags, he is running a T5.

[OLSCHL]

Craig,

Thanks for the info! Yeah i saw that photo!!! and hes running a 9" as well with 3.5:1 ratio right???

Will keeping on looking ofr a T5 from a V8 thanks once again for the heads up!!!

Cheers,

Al

[Rebel1]

Here is the good oil on WC T5's.
http://www.moderndriveline.com/Techn...t5_history.htm

Anything less than a Word Class will not last for any length of time in a cobra unless it's driven by your granny.

It really is a great transmission. If you want to pump HUGGGEEE horsepower through it then it can be upgraded as detailed here.

http://www.gforcetransmissions.com/tran_gt-5.asp

Cheers

[OLSCHL]

Rebel,

Thanks for the extra info..had seen that website some time ago great little info package for a beginner such as myself!

In regards to the horsepower i dont think my 302 windsor on LPG would do much damage to a world class box but i stand corrected...

Cheers thanks once again,

Al

[OLSCHL]

Ive found a 5 spd tremec for a Ba XR8. Would that be similar in dimensions to the single rail i currently have? My main worry is of course where the shifter point comes through the tunnel as i dont want to be modifying the tunnel in any way!

[Aussie Mike]

I believe the bell housing patern is different on the new modular motors. Unfortunately these boxes also have the bellhousing intergrated into the gearbox casing as one unit. There's been a few of these boxes at some real bargain prices. It'd be great if they could be adapted up some how.

Cheers

[400TT]

Just out of interest, our president broke an axle in his BTR Commodore diff on Sunday. He was just street driving at the time, so I expect it was just too much prolonged punishment on the track & at the drags. He runs a 347 stroker.

Talking about broken axles, Pete with Gold Cobra, is also looking at replacing an axle in his 9". The shortened axles is showing signs of stress. We've had a few people brake axles in these, it's always the shortened axle. I expect due to the fact the new spline is no longer hardened. People braking these just run healthy 302's.

[OLSCHL]

Thanks Mike i was wondering if that would be the case ohh well the search continues for a T5.

[OLSCHL]

Gday guys,

Well spoke with another diff and gear company today.

Heres their opinion:

T5 housing with BA XR6 Turbo internals modified input shaft to fit to suit tunnel set up. This eliminates the world class and definantly would hold up behind the 302w even if i use the car on the track. The bell housing adapter is no problems as there a several offered by castlemaine rod shop in varied lengths so no dramas there.

9" LSD shorterned (from later model mustang) with commodore discs . The housing is the slim lined to allow for room requirements and the rear of the housing is rounded.

Now we are looking at a locker for the diff and i would be of course looking at a auto locker. I may think this maybe over kill...... i have heard there are some severe drawbacks such as understeer etc.... I have also heard it is quiet loud especially the Detorit Locker. They are really designed for a 4WD's is my understanding but i know alot of Drag cars use them as well as Nascars... for traction mostly in straight line.


Of course at the end of this then theres the suspension set up to do.....


What do you guys think opinions????

Cheers,

Al

[Aussie Mike]

The locker may give you a lot of clunking and banging from the rear end in regular street driving. It might be quite noticable since you are nearly sitting on top of it in a Cobra.

You could perhaps look at a torsen differential

Torsen Differential

Cheers

[400TT]

Just get a recon. LSD centre for it. Will give best bang for buck and work really well for street and track work. Even the guys circuit and drag racing regulary(a few times a month), still use LSD's.

Don't even think about full time detroit locker. Apart from being against the law, your street driving pleasure will definitely be deminished.

I can still remember pushing a club members cobra with detroit locker. Turn the wheel slightly and it felt like someone had put the handbrake on. Really hard to push.

[Plums]

Detroit lockers are street legal, as they still retain differential function.
I think you are referring to a spool (either full or mini-spool). Spools lock both axles together and are a real pain on the street, besides being illegal. Spools are great on the strip - had one in the Torana - but general street driving will cause an axle to break eventually. Many circuit cars use spools (eg. V8 supercars) because they are predictable and tough....

[400TT]

oops, yeah sorry, was thinking of mini-spool.

On the Gold Coast a standard test by Transport authority is to perform a circle on full lock. If you can do that without fuss from the back wheels you pass, if not, you go in for a full inspection.