Ode to the Aussie 4 Speed

[mauser]

I blew mine just driving home from work in an SLR5000... I took of normally from the lights and there was an almighty bang... then nothing. lol

Mauser

[agr071]

I blew mine up travelling to work one morning in my HG 308 ute.
Shifted down from 4th to 3rd doing 30mph, BANG went the box and locked the rear wheels.
Got rid of it and put in a Turbo 700.

[HZSandman]

have a supra box and it still proves hard to get into 2nd when cold. I just go from 1st to 3rd until it warms up a bit.

I love the little nuances of old cars.

[Vombil]

have a supra box and it still proves hard to get into 2nd when cold. I just go from 1st to 3rd until it warms up a bit.

I love the little nuances of old cars.

I have supra box too. Much better than an All "jam up" Aussie. Shame about the last owner who ignored the leaking rear seal which resulted in noisy bearings

[playwme]

I never really had any shifting problems with mine. It was starting to sound a bit noisy so we pulled it out and took it into the local mechanic. He replaced the cluster gears and some bearings, took it home and put it back in. Drove it into town and noticed an oil puddle under the flywheel cover. Ripped off the cover and discovered that of the 4 bolts holding on the front bearing retainer, 2 were sitting in the flywheel cover and 2 were fingertight. Tightened them up , refilled with oil and went on my way.
6 months later I've just shifted into 3rd and everything locks up sending me into a skid. I quickly discover that any gear but 1st causes the gearbox to be completely locked. Upon disassembly it's discovered that 1st gear is fused to the main shaft. Whether it was to do with the earlier oil loss or not I'm not sure. I had a burnt van with a single rail/9 inch conversion so rather than spending more money I just swapped over the bits I already had. The M21 is still in pieces in a plastic tub at the farm. I got another main shaft for $10 when picking up some Ebay Statesman doors so one day I'll put it all back together.

[Absinth]

Funny..... back in the 80's when all I would own was a four speed I never once had problems with the M20/M21 sticking or problems changing gears. Sure I blew the odd one up along with the odd diff but that was mostly due to my agressive teenage/early 20's driving style...:knockout:

I think you pussies are just too used to late model smooth shifting boxes

[rallyvan]

I've broken the silly plasticy shift links on 3rd-4th one evening when coming back from running in an engine over Bell's Line of Road. Went for the big down shift to third and punched the ash tray in my 308 VB Commodore. Was only 5 km from home so hoped under the car with shifter and disengaged 3rd and drove the remaining distance home in 2nd. The poor car had been coping a pounding all night so I was lucky it broke so close to home. Next week me mate machined up some solid steel blocks to replace the plastic items problem solved!

Anthony

[wbute]

Funny..... back in the 80's when all I would own was a four speed I never once had problems with the M20/M21 sticking or problems changing gears. Sure I blew the odd one up along with the odd diff but that was mostly due to my agressive teenage/early 20's driving style...:knockout:

I think you pussies are just too used to late model smooth shifting boxes

Yeah, maybe a pussy, but have had plenty of time on true crash boxs to appreciate a nice shifting synchro one! Without a doubt the most amazing gearboxs are motorbike dog boxs that shift under full power up and down without the clutch and never break.

I love the Aussie 4 speed and dont reckon you have lived unless you have been bailed up by one Even brand new rebuilt Sandman vans are suffering from the great ballsups of the Aussie 4 Speed Demons in 2011!

I have considered the 5 speed celica/supra conversion or even a tremec but in the end its not meant to be there so when the M20 gives up the ghost I might give an M21 a go to see how much different the ratios make it to drive.

[SandmanMuscle]

I don't know if this counts but, who would want to miss the moment when your clutch fork cracks leaving you stuck in reverse whilst you where trying to back into your driveway. Being stuck half on the road and half in your driveway.

And its Campbelltown not Cambletown.

[wbute]

Sorry about the spelling, never was any good at that. Not much good at maths either. I can trip over better than any one walking up the street though.