ZF ID??

Hi all

There is a great reservoir of knowledge in this forum and I would like to ask if anyone can identify what car this gearbox may be from. A friend stopped by today with it in the back of his truck. He said that he went to a garage sale at the residence of an elderly gentleman that had passed away. The gentleman was a collector of British cars. My friend saw this gearbox and thought that it was more interesting than all the shelves of old British stuff.

Aloha
Larry
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Well, Firstly I am no expert on these things, but the gearbox data plate says ZF S5-20.
A quick bit of googling reveals from ZF themselves the following.....

All in all, the S 5-20 was produced between 1964 and 1976. It was offered as an option for the models 230 SL, 250 SL, 280 SL, as well as the 300 SE, SEb, and SEL for a price of DM 1200. In total, quantities amounted to 3664 units. The transmission was supplied to Maserati with an aluminum housing; the basic concept of the design however was identical for the two transmission variants.

I believe Maserati used it in at least the Mistral. I stand by to be corrected, but hope that's at least of some help.

Regards. Mark.

 

My ZF is being rebuilt but a ZF and Gearbox expert in the UK. He has something similar on his website but he will also know all about this if you want the full details. He is also reasonable on the rebuild.
http://www.motorsporttransmissions.com/home

 

It'd be very interesting to know which Maserati's, as it would potentially make finding spares for these boxes easier.

Cross-referenving anything from ZF helps|: Some Ferrari-gearboxes use, for instance, synchros that stem from a Volvo truck box.

 

Hi I spoke to Wayne and he said the 20s were mainly Mercedes applications and maybe even the Gullwings. He knows them well. Not sure if there was a Maserati application but this is likely a Mercedes unit.

Best

W

 

http://images.craigslist.org/5E25Kc5J73Eb3md3H2c5t179747c54e411b1c.jpg
This sale is for a ZF S5-20 aluminum case 5 speed transmission. It is complete with shifter, grease cup, and tail flange. It is correct for Maseratis with the 3.7L and 4.0L inline 6 engines and 4.2L V-8's. It can also be used in early Lamborghinis with some modification and the Maserati 3500 with a modification to the transmission tunnel. This transmission came out of a running Mistral and is in very good condition.

 

Here is a picture purportedly from a Mistral

Another site lists this for the Merc W113 which is the Pagoda series.

Bingo - listed for 67 Mistral http://www.ferraris-online.com/pages/imgview.php?reqcardir=MA-MISTRAL4000-1641&imgnum=P058

Maserati 5-speed gearbox, ZF S5-20, 1965, as used in Mistral, Sebring, Mexico and QP (4.2), but also Lamborghini 350GT, good condition

From yet another ad out of the Netherlands
Specifications:
The gearbox is complete with shifter and rear flange, even the first flange of driveline (drive axle) is present. Also present are the axle and levers for the clutch, clutch bearing, clutch slave cylinder and flexible hydrolic line.
The gearbox turns freely, without any strange noices and shifts nicely throught all gears. Previous owner told me it came from a Quottroporte and was working perfectly when removed.
http://home.kpn.nl/marcflorie/ZF%20S5-20%20Maserati%20gearbox/index.htm
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William, Mark, Jack thank you all very much. My high opinion of this forum has been reaffirmed.

I sincerely appreciate all your input.

Aloha
Larry

 

I believe I had this box in my Mexico.

 

Hi Larry...

Long time since we chatted.... Hope all is well with you???

I find the pictures of the ZF S5-20 interesting, as I suspect this
is what is in my 1967 Mexico (112-074)... Unfortunately, I do
not know what is in my 1967 QPI, but suspect it is either a S5-20
or S5-325... If what I read is correct, the 3.7 L cars, such as the
Mistral may also have the S5-20, and maybe even the later 4.0
cars...

Attached are two pictures of the transmission that came out of my
1964 3.7L Mistral (109-102)... I am pretty sure this is an S5-17 unit..
Funny thing is there is no ID plate or markings to indicate such..
Can anyone confirm this is indeed an S5-17???

Mike
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I believe the S5-20 was used for the Mistral, Some of the Series Two Sebrings, and for the small sized V-8 engined Quattroporte I and Mexico as well as the 4.2 Indy cars. The use of the transmission with the V-8 cars was problematic as it really couldn't handle the additional horsepower and, more importantly, torque. Currently you can buy a new S5-20 from ZF and they also offer additional kits with bearings and gears for rebuilding the olds ones. You have to go to the ZF heritage site and download the information. I have somewhere in my files the microfitches that were sent to me by the company that bought out the old inventory of parts for the S5-20 many years ago when ZF decided that they wanted to no longer clutter the shelves with parts for very old transmissions. There were several different iterations of the S5-20.

EMS

 

Mike, what you have is an S5-17. It was used primarily on the 3500cc engines, but I've seen a few on 3.7 liters. The S5-20 was used on 3.7L, 4.0L sixes and 4.2L V-8's. One difference aside from the all aluminum case, is the shifter in the 20 is dead center with the driveline and on the 17 it is offset to the driver's side.
Hope this helps,
Larry

 

Hi Larry,

Would your friend be interested in selling this Maserati ZF gearbox?

Best regards,

Matteo