Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: chrisbeck on Monday,November 19, 2018, 08:43:45 AM
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I'm about to start restoring (in the UK) a 1973 Federal TC Special that currently has a 4-Speed 'box. It will be built on a new Spyder chassis so I've got the option to upgrade to a newer 5-Speed 'box.
Can anyone direct me to a composite list of the various Renault gearbox type numbers and the Renault models they came from so I can start my search? There is a lot of information in the knowledge base on here but I need some help to home in on what I want.
Thanks, Chris
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The usual replacement is an NG3 but I have heard of people using other NG series boxes. Our own jbcollier has a 395. JB feels that the 1st in too low and the gap between 1st and 2nd is too wide in the NG3 and I have no trouble believing it could be better. I have an NG3 and it doesn't bother me, but my motor (BDA) was built by the late Dave Bean and compared to his best 1600cc TC, it has a bit less torque till you get to 6000 rpm so that may be a contributory factor. Another factor is that I may not be sensitive or skilled enough to appreciate the difference.
I know that Spyder supports the NG3 and that would be a reason to go with one. You might check with them to see what other boxes they support. Richard at Banks would be another person to talk to about this (call him as he doesn't do email). He sells NG3s that are set up for the Europa. There are some modifications needed to do this (explained here: http://www.greytower.com/jon/lotus/europa/gearbox/gearbox.html) in case you're interested in doing it yourself. NG3s went out of worldwide production in the early '90s (in South Africa) so parts are still available. The 365 that came with the 5 speed TCs, utilized custom parts so parts (especially the 5th gear) so some of those parts are either rare or unavailable.
Hopefully somebody who has more knowledge and knowledge about other options will chime in.
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Send me a PM with your email and I will send you an excel file with all the Renault gearbox options. It has the gear ratios, final drives and a speed in gear function.
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Here is another site for reference, as the author claims, accuracy is not guaranteed.
http://www.syer.net/donor_cars.htm
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JB feels that the 1st in too low and the gap between 1st and 2nd is too wide in the NG3 and I have no trouble believing it could be better.
Yes, my own experience is that the 1-2 gap for the NG3 is wide as first is pretty short.
No the bonus side, you won't stall getting away from the line.
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I went with an early 395 (3.4x first) and fit an 0.86 fifth out of a later 395. The gap between third and fourth is a bit wide but I'm otherwise very happy.
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As noted the 1st gear on the NG3 is extremely low. I just start in 2nd and effectively it's a 4 speed.
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With the Zetec/NG3 combo in mine, 3rd gear works just fine for starting :P
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A different final drive would be wonderful. There are 3.4s out there for the NG series but no idea how easy they are to find.
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The NG9 has a lower final drive of 3.45:1 as opposed to 3.78:1 in the NG3: http://www.aussiefrogs.com/forum/renault-forum/107620-1990-r21-5-speed-gear-ratios.html