Ford 3-rail gearbox question

[Rich G]

This is a tad embarrassing. Due to my medical condition I've not been in the garage for a couple of years. My old Ford pop has the engine and gearbox from a 1500 Cortina and I have forgotten where reverse is! Can the collective help? Forgot to say that the box has a 2000e gearset.

Edited by Rich G on Thursday 24th September 20:08

[Dogwatch]

Top left hand corner as far as I remember. Been a while since I mixed a Cortina box though.

[aeropilot]

Rich G said:

This is a tad embarrassing. Due to my medical condition I've not been in the garage for a couple of years. My old Ford pop has the engine and gearbox from a 1500 Cortina and I have forgotten where reverse is! Can the collective help? Forgot to say that the box has a 2000e gearset.

From memory, reverse on a 2000E box was pull over to the right and down.

[Lotobear]

Well, the 3 rail on my Elan was across to the left, lift and pull back so there's 3 possibles!

...but I do seem to recall the Cortina application with a remote link may operate reverse in the opposite way.

Edited by Lotobear on Thursday 24th September 20:24

[aeropilot]

Just looked up an old 60's road test of a Mk.2 Lotus-Cortina, where they used to put those fantastic charts including a little diagram of the gearbox gate pattern, and I was right, over to the right and pull down

Can't access scanner to scan and post it right now, but can do so tomorrow.

[Lotobear]

I'm sure you are right - on the Elan the stick goes straight into the top of the box and acts directly on the shift rails. The remote link on the Cortina/Mex/Lotus Seven application which is needed in order to move the lever position much further back acts in the opposite way for reverse.

[aeropilot]

I was impressed I had remembered, seeing its 32 years since I last used a 2000E 'box

[Lotobear]

aeropilot said:

I was impressed I had remembered, seeing its 32 years since I last used a 2000E 'box

.....you never forget a Ford 3 rail; it's 'rifle bolt' action has never been beaten!

[Kinkell]

Lotobear said:

aeropilot said:

I was impressed I had remembered, seeing its 32 years since I last used a 2000E 'box

.....you never forget a Ford 3 rail; it's 'rifle bolt' action has never been beaten!

And named Bullett as opposed to Rocket.

[aeropilot]

Kinkell said:

Lotobear said:

aeropilot said:

I was impressed I had remembered, seeing its 32 years since I last used a 2000E 'box

.....you never forget a Ford 3 rail; it's 'rifle bolt' action has never been beaten!

And named Bullett as opposed to Rocket.

Not quite, as Bullet was the name given to the ultra close ratio competition gearset for the 2000E 'box.

Just as Rocket, was the name given to the ultra close ratio gearset for the single rail 'box as fitted to the RS2000.

[Lotobear]

Indeed, I have a bullet ratio gearbox sitting in the corner of my office. My elan would do 55 in first gear with that box installed!

[Kinkell]

Gearbox nomenclature evolves so 2000e from the Corsair 2000e and type3 became associated with projectiles celebrating speed. Bullet, Rocket, wonder who first penned those titles? The 5 speed ZF was homologated because it was stronger and more versatile than the Ford offerings but not as user friendly.

[aeropilot]

Kinkell said:

The 5 speed ZF was homologated because it was stronger and more versatile than the Ford offerings but not as user friendly.

And had the all important extra cog.
It was very user friendly, don't know why you think it wasn't.

[Mark A S]

From personal experience i would say the 2000E 4 speed Box, Rocket box, Bullet box etc is a nicer faster change than the ZF, BUT as has been said, along with the extra gear it was also a lot stronger hence being used in the Works Rally Escorts.
I liked the dog leg 1st gear weirdly enough, although many did not.

[Lotobear]

A 5 speed 2000E was developed but of dog engagement.

Mark Kinman (deceased) of MKF Engineering did it. I bought one of his helical bullet gearsets before he was discovered making illegal handguns at his workshop, talented engineer who also developed the Caterham 6 speed - god knows why he got involved in what he eventually got busted for!

[aeropilot]

Mark A S said:

From personal experience i would say the 2000E 4 speed Box, Rocket box, Bullet box etc is a nicer faster change than the ZF, BUT as has been said, along with the extra gear it was also a lot stronger hence being used in the Works Rally Escorts.
I liked the dog leg 1st gear weirdly enough, although many did not.

For a road car, the 2000E box was almost perfection.....the Bullet ratios were OK in a lightweight Elan, and just about OK in an Escort, but were far from OK in the heavier Cortina's, where much slippage was needed getting the things going with that oh so long 1st gear.

While the ZF gear change wasn't as slick (depending on gear lever type used) for road car use, for a competition car the gearbox was the best there was available at the time (as well as some high end road cars as well, such as the Aston DB5 & DB6, Iso Griffo, Maserati's and a few others as well as use in the Vauxhall Firenza Droopsnoot and Sunbeam-Lotus)

[Retro_Jim]

On my mk1 Cortina reverse is up then to the left past 2nd.

[Kinkell]

aeropilot said:

Kinkell said:

The 5 speed ZF was homologated because it was stronger and more versatile than the Ford offerings but not as user friendly.

And had the all important extra cog.
It was very user friendly, don't know why you think it wasn't.

I know it was more expensive to purchase and rebuild as a user. The dog leg throw from 1st to second was never as slick as the Ford box thus Quaife became the go to gearbox provider for fast Fords. The current Quaife 5 speed dog box is a gem to use.

[aeropilot]

Kinkell said:

aeropilot said:

Kinkell said:

The 5 speed ZF was homologated because it was stronger and more versatile than the Ford offerings but not as user friendly.

And had the all important extra cog.
It was very user friendly, don't know why you think it wasn't.

I know it was more expensive to purchase and rebuild as a user. The dog leg throw from 1st to second was never as slick as the Ford box

There was nothing wrong with the dog leg 1st to 2nd change - as long as the steering wheel was on the proper side of he car , and in a rally car, it was generally only needed to get of the start line, and then you were in the H gate for pretty much the vast majority of the time.
Anyway, back in the hey day of the Escort as a competition car, there was no alternative, and if you are running a historic FIA car today, there still isn't.
Of course for other applications in the current era, for a non-FIA car there are better alternatives.

[Rich G]

Thanks gentlemen for all your replies. Managed to get into the garage today and reverse is indeed bottom right next to fourth gear so it does seem to have the 2000e gearset. Far better box than my 08 Fester!