transmission options for series III stage 1 v-8, any thoughts?

[gobie desert]

hello all, i am setting up my series III and was wondering what transmission options i have with the 3.5 v-8 engine. currently i have the 4spd with no overdrive. car runs great but i would like to get the rpms down a bit on highway, i def need to at least get an overdrive but i was wondering if the 5spd will bolt up to this. any advice on a good solution, should i do an overdrive or swap out for a different trans altogether? which overdrive or which trans. any help would be great.

keep those rovers on the road.

[msggunny]

hello all, i am setting up my series III and was wondering what transmission options i have with the 3.5 v-8 engine. currently i have the 4spd with no overdrive. car runs great but i would like to get the rpms down a bit on highway, i def need to at least get an overdrive but i was wondering if the 5spd will bolt up to this. any advice on a good solution, should i do an overdrive or swap out for a different trans altogether? which overdrive or which trans. any help would be great.

keep those rovers on the road.

Everyone i talk to says that you will destroy the 4 speed and over drive with a V8.

Best bet is to get a 5 speed R380(?) and LT230(?) and fab new mounts.

Thats what i would do.

[yorker]

no you won't destroy a tranny in a stage 1 with the V8- the tranny isn't the same as a standard series tranny it is an LT95, Plus the 3.5l V8 in the stage 1 is detuned to something like 90 HP or something like that, supposedly because Rover did not feel the stage one was capable of high speeds- it would be easy to outstrip the capabilities of the brakes for example with a SD1 full horsepower type 3.5l...

http://members.shaw.ca/red90/gears.html#lt95

Overdrives are available for them used. It is possibly the strongest tranny Rover made, it was used in the 101 forward controls, Range Rovers etc.



Your axle gearing is 3.54 and you can run 32" tires, possibly larger even so an OD should not be really required. You might find one used in the UK though if you really feel you need one.


Check with these guys:

http://www.nkrecovery.co.uk/gearbox.html

Of course you can call Rovers North and ask if they have an OD too...

[msggunny]

My bust,

I thought he was putting the 3.5 in a regular Series.


OOps

[yorker]

You can do that too! I know of a surprising number of 3.5s in series trucks without any tranny problems.

Axle shaft problems- sure!


There are probably better solutions if you want to stuff a V8 in an 88 or something but the swap doesn't mean instant death to a series gearbox.

BUT anyway the Lt95 in the Stage one is another thing altogether...

[KevinNY]

Matt covers it pretty well. I am using a Santana Series III gearbox with my Daihatsu 2.8 Td conversion. Santana made 6 cylinder versions of the venerable 2.25 by simply adding 2 more cylinders in line. They put out over 100 HP and 180 ft/lbs of torque and Santana upgraded their gearboxes and axles to handle it.

[gobie desert]

yes this is the original tranny for a stage 1, i did not put the v-8 into an 88. it is a legit 109 series III stage 1 v-8. i just wanted to see if it would be worth it to either upgrade to a different tranny or throw on an overdrive. i can cruise at 60 mph no prob, i just wanted to see if i could do something to get better gas mileage and less stress on tranny when loaded up.

can a 5spd be bolted up to this system?
which overdrive is the right one?
thanks again.

[yorker]

you need an LT95 overdrive. It is not the same as the one for a series. Your best chance is to look for one in the UK, check the UK boards.

You could replace the tranny/transfer with a LT77 or R380 but other than the 5th gear overdrive I thin they'd be a step backwards and detract from the originality of the vehicle. I think if it was me I'd hunt down an OD for it and leave it at that.