Auto to MOD conversion

[singapore stag]

Hi, I may be interested in changing from Auto to Manual, but I have not got the facilities to do it my self. Is the costs reasonable if given to a garage? Any one recommended in the west london areaor nearabouts?. Feedback much appreciated.

[Arbman Al]

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Hi Sukh,

Stagstr has just put his complete auot to manual conversion kit on ebay. See the foresale section.

Rgds....Al.

[Sheepdip]

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Hiya - I did mine 2 years ago with indifferent results.

1) Bought an A type + some bits at National day. Buyer beware.....gearbox noisy, prop out of balance, flywheel needed skimming then you need a full clutch.

2) I found the gearchange very heavy, don't know why. Overdrive was violent. Then.....

3) Reverse failed after 500 miles soI reinstalled the 65.

I will repair the box and give it another go but reckon so far its cost me around ÂŁ800.

I mainly tried it as never hada manual Stag and the 65 is a pain, but even when the manual worked Imissed the auto, getting it up the slope into a tight garage for instance was a doddle. The Mrs hated the manual.

My recommendation: If you can find a known good manual setup then give it a try. However if you like the auto I'd be very tempted to go for the 4spd auto setup.

Paul

[Russell]

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BW 35 all the way (lol)

[singapore stag]

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Sheepdip wrote:

Hiya - I did mine 2 years ago with indifferent results.

1) Bought an A type + some bits at National day. Buyer beware.....gearbox noisy, prop out of balance, flywheel needed skimming then you need a full clutch.

2) I found the gearchange very heavy, don't know why. Overdrive was violent. Then.....

3) Reverse failed after 500 miles soI reinstalled the 65.

I will repair the box and give it another go but reckon so far its cost me around ÂŁ800.

I mainly tried it as never hada manual Stag and the 65 is a pain, but even when the manual worked Imissed the auto, getting it up the slope into a tight garage for instance was a doddle. The Mrs hated the manual.

My recommendation: If you can find a known good manual setup then give it a try. However if you like the auto I'd be very tempted to go for the 4spd auto setup.

Paul

Thanks Paul, You just made my mind up for me. It will be a Four speed Auto set up,and also the fact that my Daughter only drives an Auto.

Cheers...Sukh.

[Kevin Garrod]

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singapore stag wrote:

Thanks Paul, You just made my mind up for me. It will be a Four speed Auto set up,.

Cheers...Sukh.

You won't regret it, the zf 4 speed is great!

[Dieter H. Marschall]

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Hello,

Have you ever thought of installing a 5-speed Getrag gearbox - e.g. from a BMW? There are adapters for Triumphs available.

Kind regards, Dieter.

[Sheepdip]

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Do you know whats involved in fitting Dieter, and any idea on prices?

I'm not averse to manuals, modern manual gearboxes are much better than the clunky Stag box (my opinion with briefest experiences), and our other two cars are manuals. But I find the auto Stag much nicer hence my comments.

Paul

[Guest]

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Kevin Garrod wrote:

singapore stag wrote:

Thanks Paul, You just made my mind up for me. It will be a Four speed Auto set up,.

Cheers...Sukh.

You won't regret it, the zf 4 speed is great!

I've come across a couple of BMW four speed autos in Stags that have failed, has anyone else come across this ? Did we all know that the "Z" in ZF, stands for Zeppelin ? I'm great at pub quizzes, not much else though. Martin.

[richardthestag]

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My rapidly failing BW35 Autobox was pulled out early in 2006 and a reconditioned Manual J-type Overdrive box was installed – by a mate and I, over a long weekend.

The primary reasons for the swap were the high recon costs for the autobox compared to a complete conversion kit including a freshly rebuilt man o/d (j-type). The autobox rebuild was the wrong side of ÂŁ800 + torque converter + VAT + fitting (no guarantees unless the reconditioner fitted it!!!). The man o/d worked out at just under ÂŁ700 including new clutch and as I said above a nice long weekend to fit it.

The car behaves very nicely indeed though I have had to dramatically adapt my driving style of the car. The low torque at lower revs are easily dispatched with an auto as the TQ allows the engine to rev and slip the power gently through to the autobox, thus allowing for easy access to rapid acceleration. The manual box just doesn't do this, the wrong gear just gives pitiful acceleration regardless of how hard the throttle is shoved into the carpet, it may sound obvious but after 12 years of driving an Auto Stag it caused me some minor bother..

Driving round town is easiest in 3rd gear, flicking the overdrive in gives pretty much the same ratio as 4th gear so it is just no worth the bother going any higher up the box.

Which brings me onto my biggest bug of the manual o/d setup. The gearstick is like the Eiffel Tower, which means that in fourth gear I cannot get my foot comfortably off the clutch. I have 34inch legs and stand a shade over 6foot 3 tall. To combat this I have found that 3rd O/D “in” to 4th O/D “out” can be done quite easily without the use of the clutch. Similarly down changes can be achieved by slipping out of 4th gear before depressing the clutch to engage 3rd. With practice I have this licked and probably won’t bother cutting and shutting the gearstick to shorten it..

So do I like the Autobox or the Manual O/D? Oh if only life were that simple, the Auto equipped car is certainly easier to drive, but I can’t do double declutched down changes using an auto and when you get one of those right you are totally addicted.

My first stag was Man A-Type and it was horrible – but then the rest of the car wasn’t that great so maybe it was a bad un’. My current Stag with Man o/d is a peach and I love driving it – BUT the exhaust note is not so nice when cruising. Big question is whether I’d do it again and I think that I probably would but then I might buy an auto Stag as well arghhhhhhhh

Below is some text that I lifted from my website on the matter, it was written before my latest conversion to man o/d…

Which Gearbox
When buying a standard Triumph Stag you are faced with one of three gearbox options, Automatic, Manual or Manual with Overdrive.

Having owned both a Manual o/d and automatic transmission Stags I have noticed advantages of both setups;
1. The idea of selecting your own gears is too involved for what should be a laid back drive.
2. The Automatics gearing is perfect for rapid acceleration when cruising at motorway speeds, its' higher gearing puts the engine right in the middle of its power band.
3. A good Auto box with clean fluid gives very very smooth changes both up and down the box.
4. However some owners who have an auto BW35 Stag will tell you all about propshaft vibration. Tis a nightmare to do with the rubber connector between the main shaft and the trailing UJ section.
5. A bad manual box feels and sounds fairly agricultural, I think mine on my first Stag was duff!
6. The engine certainly needs exercising in 2nd gear to maintain acceleration in 3rd on a car equipped with the manual box. Good or bad you make up your own mind on that.
7. The foot well can be too small for three pedals and a pair of clodhoppers.
8. The Manual Gearbox works well when pressing on or when racing by allowing for better driving control at the limit of the cars handling.
9. String Back gloves and an automatic gearbox look a bit blousey!
10. The exhaust note can be made to sound fantastic if you can perfect the double declutched down change on your manual box.
11. The Manual Overdrive option offers better fuel economy than Auto or non overdrive models. Many manual o/d equipped cars seems to achieve getting on for 30mpg on a run. My auto struggles at 21mpg

So apparently in conclusion, the Automatic gearbox saps the revs and guzzles the fuel but it seems so much better suited to the Stag. It makes the car easy to drive and leaves the driver with nothing to concentrate on other than whether it is going to rain or how much longer they can hold that inane smile for. Sure the Automatic BW35 could cope with an extra gear at about 60-70mph to keep the revs down but then the engine wouldn’t be at exactly the right revs for rapid acceleration at motorway speeds.

[Sheepdip]

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I agree with all you say Richard. Maybe the A type is a bad box (thats what I have). I also found the o/d quite violent on disengagement, requiring declutching. Talking to an o'd man at Stoneleigh it could be due to prolonged sitting in oil (I checked the valves). I also found the gearlever a pain till I discovered it was a Triumph 2000 I'd been given in the "kit". I chopped and welded it but also bought another but not tried.

I hear the 4spd auto is generally much better on fuel when cruising. If not bothered on acceleration and performance that would be my choice now. 2 foot manouvering is brilliant. Double declutching? Haven't had to do that since my artic test!

Hows High Wycombe these days?I grew up in Tylers Green.

Paul

[Guest]

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Hiya Richard, those are interesting observations, thank you. When I go under bridges I knock it down to 2 and boot it, LOVE that sound. Martin (age 7 3/4)

[Stag Andy]

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Try Enginuity in west london, at least the advice is free, 020 8993 7737. Tony Hart works there too

[mjheathcote]

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Dieter H. Marschall wrote:

Hello,

Have you ever thought of installing a 5-speed Getrag gearbox - e.g. from a BMW? There are adapters for Triumphs available.

Kind regards, Dieter.

Do you have any further information about adapter plates for use of BMW gearbox's, sounds interesting.

[Dieter H. Marschall]

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Hello,

Thereis at leastone company in Germany which can handle the Getrag adaptation:

Bernd Schneier, Joh.-Schmidt-Str. 10, 61194 Niddatal,

Workshop: 61130 Nidderau-Erbstadt, Bönstädter Strasse (Birnbaumhof)

Tel: 049-6187/3036, Fax: -26369.

Mr. Schneier ist a bit difficult to get hold of on the phone, but worth a try.

What they do is, they testdrive all the gearboxes in an old and battered BMW, which was slaughtered in a way that they can install a gearbox within minutes and testdrive it.

Good luck!

Dieter.