Blew the trans in the race car again

Sorry to hear this. Last year, I lunched the ring & pinion gears when a tooth chipped off 3rd gear. Same gearbox guy, btw. IIRC, about $10K to purchase replacement and labor. Not too, too bad. Could have been a LOT worse. Regrets.

CW

 

Sorry to hear this news , and hope that you're 512 is ready for Lime Rock!!

And that car looks f#%*in' sinister !!!

 

I have a early TR (86/87) engine/trans for sale if anyone is in the need

 

very sorry to hear...

 

How many miles on the engine, and the tranny??

Did they both come out of the same car??

I know someone who needs a 1st gear for his TR... Any chance you could open up your tranny and sell just the 1st gear?? I'll send a PM to the person now.

 

racing a Ferrari has got to be expensive...i can only imagine. it sounds like you can afford it, but be careful with the F40. It isn't worth a big ticket, is it?

 

Anybody ever remove the fuel tanks and move the flat 12 forward, drop it lower, and install a real transaxle? No more trans problems, better weight distribution and CG.

 

Unfortunately, I'm sure your repair will be $$$ as well. Sorry to hear about the misshap, and hope you're up and running again soon

 

Who needs those fuel tanks, anyway?

Anyway, this has been done before - it was call the Countach.

 

What transmission are you using?

If not already, have you thought about putting a racebox in?

 

Sorry to hear the horrible news. I am babying my transaxle: hard acceleration only when rolling at a good clip. It's not just the money, it's the downtime. Argh! The hopped up motors and large tires really put the extra pressure on the in-between parts. Did you get the beefy race transaxle made?

 

It might be more money up front, but getting a hewland/xtrac would be better in the long run. More gears available, easier to rebuild, and cheaper in the big picture when you considering everything...plus it means less downtime.

 

To the best of my knowledge, no BBLMs have an xtrac. Yet. It's something I know was contemplated a couple of years ago, but one of the problems with making this change is that it would most certainly make the car Historic Challenge ineligible. It is now reported that ALL cars competing in the Historic Challenge must go through the Classiche Certification program. Unfortunately, most, if not all, BBLMs no longer have the original components. Be it motors, transmissions, electrics (MSD boxes), brakes, or what have you. Anyway, the organizers choose to ignore these modifications as they're still illegal under today's rules. At some point, however, that may not be the case.

I do know of at least 2 cars that have the Hewland drop gears set up. It works well. But, again, it technically makes the car ineligible.

The biggest problem seems to be the input shafts. They frequently snap. Most BBLMs are now running titanium input shafts, which have held up reasonably well. They still snap but with far less frequency.

CW

 

True, and true.

CW

 

You must really like TR's to put up with the weak trans!! Seems like a hard car to race constantly. Ever consider switching to another model?

 

Regarding the F40LMs, I'd take a close look at their operating costs. I've found them to be VERY expensive, with a poor parts supply. I think they're beautiful and wicked fast (faster in a straight line than a 333SP, btw), but I've always kept my distance. Kind of like owning a F50GT, and you can ask Art Z about his costs of running that.

Moreover, they were never built for pure racing, so they're not terribly easy to work on.

I'd have a conversation with Scaife or Caiola, if the opportunity presents itself. You might also give a call out to Maranello Motorsports in Oz (ferrarifixer here on Fchat, IIRC). They've owned/supported a LM/GTE for quite a while.

Still, they're wonderful cars.

CW

 

It seems you are trying to race the car rather than just have it as a collector/project. That tells me an F40Lm/333sp/F50GT/etc is not right for you.

What you need is a clean 360GT, or a 430gt, and you'll have lower operating costs and a much faster car that is driveable.

As far as the Xtrac, It should not be a problem. You just need the proper adapter, and that should not be that hard to get done. But as stated, it will put you into an unlimited class or ineligible for any racing in the US as far as clubracing goes.

How much torque are you making? Its not the HP that kills the trans, its the torque (as you know its just a derivation from a torque measurement).