S10 TAILHOUSING
Discussion
Hi all.
Having previously owned a Chimaera with the later S10 tailshaft, I am keen to convert my present car to one of these.
I have contacted the usual specialists and no one seems very keen to actually sell me one......
I am therefore wondering if anyone has an S10 tailhousing / conversion kit they are willing to sell? If not I shall order the parts from the USA, as I know some of you have done.
Regards Chris.
Having previously owned a Chimaera with the later S10 tailshaft, I am keen to convert my present car to one of these.
I have contacted the usual specialists and no one seems very keen to actually sell me one......
I am therefore wondering if anyone has an S10 tailhousing / conversion kit they are willing to sell? If not I shall order the parts from the USA, as I know some of you have done.
Regards Chris.
I got mine from John Reid at Readman Racing (Grantura Engineering). Was a number of years ago now though.
I did I few other mods to mine at the same time to improve the shift feel, more detail below:
https://matthewpoxon.wordpress.com/2016/04/07/t5-g...
I did I few other mods to mine at the same time to improve the shift feel, more detail below:
https://matthewpoxon.wordpress.com/2016/04/07/t5-g...
phazed said:
Not knocking those that have done the conversion but, is it actually worth it?
My personal opinion was it was not night and day difference, more a subtle difference. If you are taking the box out anyway then yes worth the money. I probably wouldn't bother taking the box out specifically to do this mod. One the be biggest differences in feel was the custom Stainless Steel gear knob from Chris at Lathewerks in the USA. Machined from a solid block of steel and weighing in at 550G it is approximately 3 times heavier than the original TVR item and has a slightly bigger circumference.
Whilst I agree with Matthew that it’s probably not worth doing as a “stand alone job”, having owned and driven cars with both types of gear change I think there is a noticeable difference between the two.
The S10 somehow seems more positive, just my opinion of course!
I have tried the two usual T5 experts and neither seem to want to sell me the parts even though they have them. They will however fit them when rebuilding my gearbox, which unfortunately works perfectly well....
Regards Chris.
The S10 somehow seems more positive, just my opinion of course!
I have tried the two usual T5 experts and neither seem to want to sell me the parts even though they have them. They will however fit them when rebuilding my gearbox, which unfortunately works perfectly well....
Regards Chris.
Matthew Poxon said:
My personal opinion was it was not night and day difference, more a subtle difference. If you are taking the box out anyway then yes worth the money. I probably wouldn't bother taking the box out specifically to do this mod.
One the be biggest differences in feel was the custom Stainless Steel gear knob from Chris at Lathewerks in the USA. Machined from a solid block of steel and weighing in at 550G it is approximately 3 times heavier than the original TVR item and has a slightly bigger circumference.
Now that's a big knob!One the be biggest differences in feel was the custom Stainless Steel gear knob from Chris at Lathewerks in the USA. Machined from a solid block of steel and weighing in at 550G it is approximately 3 times heavier than the original TVR item and has a slightly bigger circumference.
not quite Ford single rail and a short shifter slick but slicker all the same 
not done mine yet parts still collecting cobwebs 
I'm very happy with my switch to the S10 tail housing, the TVR linkage was only needed to put the gear stick in the right place and no designer would do it that way if they started with a clean sheet of paper.
Indeed Borg Warner didn't do it that way, they designed a number of different tail housings to achieve a range of different gear stick positions. As soon as TVR realised there was a more suitable tail housing available from Borg Warner they started using it because quite simply it was a way better and properly engineered solution to putting the gear stick where it needed to be.
The TVR linkage is a series of joints that are all subject to play which only gets worse with use, if you add up all the potential points of wear then the linkage is inevitably going to introduce a less direct shift than a correctly sized tail housing running fork rods of the correct length.
My TVR gear linkage had also been bent in the past by some ham fitted clutch replacement work, I decided an S10 tail housing made for a better solution than trying to straighten it. When I inspected my TVR linkage not only was it slightly bent but there was wear in every bush too.
The S10 tail housing would have been a good improvement even if everything was in perfect as new condition, but in my case with all the wear and the bent linkage it was a no-brainer upgrade when I switched from the heavy Helix clutch to the lighter AP unit.
The end result was a big improvement in shift feel and gear selection, combined with the lighter AP clutch changing gear became a much nicer experience. I then discovered the threaded rod on my Leven clutch pedal was just touching the bulkhead before the master cylinder was fully stroked, so I trimmed some off which improved things further.
I'm now considering changing my slave cylinder bore size to alter the hydraulic ratio and shorten the pedal stroke which I still find a little long for my liking, this will of course make the clutch heavier so a clutch servo will be used to lighten it up while retaining that shorter pedal stroke I'm looking for.
As you can see I'm rather obsessed with the feel of my TVRs controls, because for me the tactile feel and feedback you get from clutch, brakes, throttle, steering is a big part of the way the driver connects with his machine.
Improve the feel of the car's controls and you improve the pleasure the driver gets from the car.
Indeed Borg Warner didn't do it that way, they designed a number of different tail housings to achieve a range of different gear stick positions. As soon as TVR realised there was a more suitable tail housing available from Borg Warner they started using it because quite simply it was a way better and properly engineered solution to putting the gear stick where it needed to be.
The TVR linkage is a series of joints that are all subject to play which only gets worse with use, if you add up all the potential points of wear then the linkage is inevitably going to introduce a less direct shift than a correctly sized tail housing running fork rods of the correct length.
My TVR gear linkage had also been bent in the past by some ham fitted clutch replacement work, I decided an S10 tail housing made for a better solution than trying to straighten it. When I inspected my TVR linkage not only was it slightly bent but there was wear in every bush too.
The S10 tail housing would have been a good improvement even if everything was in perfect as new condition, but in my case with all the wear and the bent linkage it was a no-brainer upgrade when I switched from the heavy Helix clutch to the lighter AP unit.
The end result was a big improvement in shift feel and gear selection, combined with the lighter AP clutch changing gear became a much nicer experience. I then discovered the threaded rod on my Leven clutch pedal was just touching the bulkhead before the master cylinder was fully stroked, so I trimmed some off which improved things further.
I'm now considering changing my slave cylinder bore size to alter the hydraulic ratio and shorten the pedal stroke which I still find a little long for my liking, this will of course make the clutch heavier so a clutch servo will be used to lighten it up while retaining that shorter pedal stroke I'm looking for.
As you can see I'm rather obsessed with the feel of my TVRs controls, because for me the tactile feel and feedback you get from clutch, brakes, throttle, steering is a big part of the way the driver connects with his machine.
Improve the feel of the car's controls and you improve the pleasure the driver gets from the car.
Edited by ChimpOnGas on Friday 13th July 06:01
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