Manual Tunnel patch

[Gary P.]

Ok, looking for someone who has a MK2 wrecking in SEQ I want to cut out an oversized piece from around the gearlever hole for when I put the Standard 5 speed out of the Racecar into the Ghia.

[gen mk 1rs2000]

there is another trick to fix this problem without cutting the tunnel
brett madren did it with his panelvan , i will ask him if you like

[David W]

I can sent you a template from one of the car magazines where you cut out a rectangle that includes the hole and 4 inches to the rear of the car, then reverse it and weld it back in.

Or you could just do what my mechanic did and hack the daylights out of the tunnel - I fixed this when I pulled the car apart for the respray and rust removal.

One of 2 things happening here Gary - the daily drive on the highway at 100kph is doing your head in, or your starting to wreck out the Mk 1. Putting the 5 speed in drops the rpm by 500 at 100kph - or you can carry the same revs and keep up with the traffic.

[Gary P.]

Dave,
My idea is to cut a rectangular pce out of the Ghia that extends approx 80mm rearward from the current gearbox hole. Then cut out a piece from another shell that is 10mm larger on all 4 sides, rotate it 180 degrees and bond and rivet it on with the hole 75mm further back. Remember it's a rusty ol' bucket and not worth doing it properly and this way I don't have to go to all of the time & dramas to prepare the floor for welding. As i'm using the car daily for the forseeable future I need to get the job done over 1 weekend. It's more for the fuel economy benefits as I have an iPod for the noise issue!

I am taking the engine out of the racecar shortly to fix a crack in the LHS chassis rail just behind the swaybar mount and to fix a leak from the rear of the engine. I am putting the standard 5 Speed in the Ghia and will put the engine back in the racecar with a Quaife Heavy Duty 5 speed hanging off it.

[gen mk 1rs2000]

[Gary P.]

Settle down Mr King! It's nothing exotic, just a Sierra 5 speed with a Close Ratio gearset in it!

[stuart]

Gary what i did was to cut the lip off first then weld in a patch to fill the old hole then cut a new round hole with a 100mm hole saw that also cuts thru the stiffener below then weld the old lip around the new hole. very easy and neat ill attach some pics

[Gary P.]

[stuart]

then a tin can tex screws and silicon and dont forget the race tape

[Gary P.]

Maybe that's going a bit far the other way!!

[escortmk1600gt]

Gary,
Buy one from Ralloy !

[Gary P.]

[crusey]

I've got one from the UK you can probably have - will post a picture over the weekend.