Ok, looking at the manual conversion of my 82 xjs

I'm based on new Zealand and recently bought a manual flywheel insert for the XJS, so now I'm committed

I would like to keep as original as I can so the getrag manual gearbox option is the most appealing

The problem is you just don't see the xjs getrag 265 gearbox available in new Zealand, and I've been looking for 4 years

You do however see bmw getrag 265 sometimes available, so the question is - are these gearboxes the same as the xjs getrag and could they fit? Clearly the betl housing will be different

The alternatives appear to be the Ford T5 or the Toyota W58

Any recommendations or comments will be greatly appreciated

 

I would be inclined to go with the T5 as the parts are more readily available and Dellows in Sydney have a bellhouse to fit the V12.

 

There is a company in the UK that sells complete conversion kits incl. Getrag transmission. Shipping cost will be significant, but life is short and you have to have some fun.

 

IMO ! Going the finding part by part route for any reason (to save money or "keeping it original") to convert auto to manual can be very frustrating to say the least unless you know exactly the parts you need & will fit. Again,"IMO" a complete manual kit or a manual donor car is the only way to do this conversion.

 

I would agree with Lawrence. Going with a complete kit is still plenty of work. Plus you get to spend more time driving vs. laying under the car cursing.

 

Found it: http://simplyperformance.com

 

I'm sure that Graham at www.grublogger.co.uk used to put kits together incl. pedal boxes, clutch, gearbox, even skislope etc of used parts to do an XJS manual conversion. Worth contacting him to see if he'll still do it. If so, get a getrag 290 rather than 265 as used in 4 litre cars.

Good luck

Paul

 

Thanks for the responses - clearly the sensible thing to do would too 'buy a complete kit' - however I suspect shipping to New Zealand would be horrific
So at this stage - I think i'll likely go the Dellow bellhousing route to the Ford T5 manual gearbox
I'll post updates on this for those interested

 

Just in case you have had no luck i have a factory XJS getrag 265 for sale so it has cross member slave cylinder hydraulic lines and a XJS pedal it was fitted to a 3.6 uk spec car but is the same gearbox TRW used in their V12 manual cars.
Cheers
Chris 0417891392

 

Mobileman .... have you checked out this link.
I spoke with him some time ago and he has parts to do the conversion.
And being based in good old NZ... is a plus.

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