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#1 (permalink) |
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Member
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Quaife LSD's, Trannies and Steering Racks
does anyone have any experience with these guys?Products manufactured for Opel by QUAIFE - Quaife Engineering 4 speed close rato gear clusters, ATB differentials and rack and pinions
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#2 (permalink) | |
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Project 1450 supporter...
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I have a 4-speed Quaife straigh-cut gearbox for my Ascona rallycar project. Unsuitable for street use, not because it doesn't work, but because: A) It has straight-cut gears, and therefore is LOUD as heck in 1st thru 3rd gear (4th is direct drive). I mean LOUD. B) Unless you have a steeper rear axle ratio, first gear with a stock 3.44 is good for about 65 mph. Which means the car is absolutely lethargic until about 40 mph or so. Try starting off in 2nd gear with your stock 4-speed to see what I mean. On the other hand, once you're rolling, the acceleration through the gears is pretty nice. Definitely made for road racing or rallying, not for street. C) The gears are still in an Opel case, with Opel-sized gears and bearings. It will still fail if you punish it. Consider 180 hp or so the max power it can handle under hard use. I will have about 165 hp behind mine, and in order to make it last I built a deep-sump oil pan (Opel 4-speeds run hot), and I am contemplating a pump/cooler setup as well. I only use Redline MTL synthetic gear oil with any Opel tranny that is worked hard. There are no Quaife fast rack-and-pinions to fit North American-spec cars. They only sell fast racks for later Manta B's (they are wider than the US cars). Now, you CAN fit these into the older Manta A rack housings (you're only buying the guts BTW, not a complete rack), but you need to perform some machine work to both the rack itself, and to the end bushings in the housing. I've done it, in fact I built eight of them over the years. The machine work cost more than the rack parts (in bulk, I had them all done at once), but that was about 12-15 years ago when Quaife parts were cheaper and the exchange rate was more in our favor. HTH, Bob |
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#3 (permalink) |
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former opel racer
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I don't entirely understand what I'm seeing there. By "dog engagement", does that mean there are no synchro rings? What is a "steel baulk ring"?
I'll be plugging in those second and third ratios and see how that compares to everything else on my chart. |
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No Opels were harmed in the filming of this movie. However two Mustangs, a Pinto, and a Capri were hospitalized. One Mustang was euthanized the next morning. |
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#4 (permalink) | ||
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Project 1450 supporter...
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#5 (permalink) | |
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Oldpiler
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There are quick rack kits made for the A chassis cars by other manufacturers. At least there were 20 years ago because I got one for my Manta rally car. Direct replacement guts, very easy to do. gave about 2.25 turns lock to lock, IIRC. I believe it came from Sweden. I could talk to my guy and see if they are still available if anyone was interested. |
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Be warned, it makes a mess and a lot of smoke so have plenty of ventilation. Trust me, it works. I used to restore old British cars.
- Dave Clark current Opel stable: 1980 Ascona B rally car 2 1974 Manta parts cars free to a good home |
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#7 (permalink) | |
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Project 1450 supporter...
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I think there's a company in Finland making them too as a direct fit, not sure about the ratio however. Bob |
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My Flickr photos.
Jan. 3, 1984 - Jan. 3, 2009, that's 25 years of this damn Opelitis! C.R.L. 9/22/69 - 12/8/99 J.M.L. 3/3/43 - 6/15/04 |
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#8 (permalink) | |
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Oldpiler
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I've been pondering the flywheel but I already have a lightened flywheel (though not as light as the aluminum) and I wouldn't want it for the S10 clutch fitment. Mostly I don't really have the extra dough right now and I'd rather set that money aside for the planned XE 16 valve motor. I'm not sure I can justify spending $400 on a flywheel for an engine that will only temporarily be in the car. However, it will probably take longer to get the XE project going than I'd like so who knows. |
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Be warned, it makes a mess and a lot of smoke so have plenty of ventilation. Trust me, it works. I used to restore old British cars.
- Dave Clark current Opel stable: 1980 Ascona B rally car 2 1974 Manta parts cars free to a good home |
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#9 (permalink) | |
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Oldpiler
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Be warned, it makes a mess and a lot of smoke so have plenty of ventilation. Trust me, it works. I used to restore old British cars.
- Dave Clark current Opel stable: 1980 Ascona B rally car 2 1974 Manta parts cars free to a good home |
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#11 (permalink) | |
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Opeler
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(The original ZF 75% is allways behave better exept at WET asphalt) |
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#13 (permalink) |
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Opeler
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You can still get a short steering to a Manta/Ascona A
from Sweden here STIG Kristiansson Bil AB You have to choose "styrning" and "styrväxel" "kort styrväxel" (no picture) costs 1850 sek (about $ 258) /Staffan |
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#15 (permalink) |
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Project 1450 supporter...
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Direct fit. All bearings fit too. Only difference is the axle housing (wider) and of course the axles themselves are longer.
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My Flickr photos.
Jan. 3, 1984 - Jan. 3, 2009, that's 25 years of this damn Opelitis! C.R.L. 9/22/69 - 12/8/99 J.M.L. 3/3/43 - 6/15/04 |
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