Ford 5 speed coversion

[JOWETTJAVELIN]

A friend has asked me to come onto the forum and get him some advice.

He has converted his Series MM to the 5 speed box, mated to the sidevalve (he had some adapter specially made), but is concerned about the rest of the drivetrain, ie prop shaft and back axle.

Does he need to upgrade the axle and prop shaft? He covers 8,000 miles a year.

[twincamman]

Unless he's upped the power of the sidevalve significantly, there is no need to upgrade anything. Changing the gearbox doesn't put any extra strain on the propshaft or axle.

[bmcecosse]

A 5 speed side valve - well I never!!

[JOWETTJAVELIN]

He said something about an Alexandria conversion to the engine, if that means anything?

[twincamman]

Could that be an Alexander conversion?
I think he should be OK as the axle is derived from the MG T-series Midgets and I'd hazard a guess that the old XPAG motor puts out more than a tweaked sidevalve.

[mike.perry]

The side valve transmission will handle far more power than delivered by a standard 918. The engine has been fitted with Alta and Mazengarb OHV conversions, twin carbs and has been supercharged with no detrimental effects to the box or diff so a 5 speed box is not going to have any ill effects.
Whether a 5 speed box is worth the effort is a different argument as the standard diff is already quite high at 4.55 the same as the 948 engine, although if the car is being used for motorway cruising it will drop the revs from 4000 at 60mph to something a little less frantic. Still an interesting conversion
Could you please ask your friend to supply me with the details of the car for the register?