John Bracher Posted April 30, 2017 Report Share Posted April 30, 2017 Gents, thinking the old cardboard gearbox cover may have to go!! Bloomin' BL rubbish, only lasted 43 years .....! I am thinking either a 'plastic' or 'fibreglass' one from one of the usual suppliers, which I will insulate before fixing. There does, however, seem to be some (considerable %) price differences though between the suppliers, for all the covers and fitting kits/seals?? The Racestorations one looks nice, but for more than double the price of the other offerings, I can emulate the 'split' and 'extra access covers' with a jigsaw and some Aluminium/stainless sheet metals and rivnuts/dzeus fasteners in about 1/2 an hour! Notwithstanding that, are any of them good/bad/best avoided?? Fit and quality are, I feel the most pertinent purchase levers. Your experience, good and bad, would be appreciated. Thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
peejay4A Posted April 30, 2017 Report Share Posted April 30, 2017 Racetorations for fit and quality. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted April 30, 2017 Report Share Posted April 30, 2017 Racetorations, fit and forget. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ianc Posted April 30, 2017 Report Share Posted April 30, 2017 I fitted a split cover from Racetorations in 2004. I was working single-handed, so, to ensure the best possible fit, I spent considerable time clamping the cover in position with strategically-placed wooden wedges. With the cover positioned, I drilled pilot holes from beneath the car, then enlarged them carefully so that the screws were a tight fir. This was an iterative process, but I was pleased with the result of my efforts. I added cut-outs for the gearbox filler (large circular hole on the left side - same diameter as the hole in the top of the prop shaft tunnel) and for the overdrive solenoid (so that I can remove & replace the solenoid without the need to remove the gearbox cover). I considered it a worthwhile upgrade at the time - and still do. I see from the website that the current version has gained a number of useful improvements, so that the gearbox filler hole is pre-drilled and there's an inspection cover over the overdrive isolator switches. Ian Conish Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Bracher Posted May 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2017 Hmm.... Stuart, I will (ultimately) probably bow to your superior experience and unquestionably sound advice. Q. Does it now come with all the fitting holes pre-drilled too?? Slightly bothered that Ian had to do such things just to get the 'basic' fitting task completed! However, I will still question whether it can really be worth over twice the cost of the 'plastic' (I presume ABS/similar) offerings from the other suppliers?? Are they that bad?? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted May 1, 2017 Report Share Posted May 1, 2017 Hmm.... Stuart, I will (ultimately) probably bow to your superior experience and unquestionably sound advice. Q. Does it now come with all the fitting holes pre-drilled too?? Slightly bothered that Ian had to do such things just to get the 'basic' fitting task completed! However, I will still question whether it can really be worth over twice the cost of the 'plastic' (I presume ABS/similar) offerings from the other suppliers?? Are they that bad?? Yes the plastic and fibreglass ones are that bad, the plastic ones need a lot of persuading with a hot air gun and have no cutouts other than the gear lever hole, the fibreglass ones dont have the give of the plastic ones so just fit where they fit. (The number of ones I have seen lashed down with just a few screws and some Gaffa tape is unbelievable!) You do have to drill the holes still for the mounting bolts in the Racetorations one but the reason for that is sensible as lots of floors have been replaced over they years and often badly so the holes often dont line up. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Bracher Posted May 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2017 Sounds like a plan......! Thanks Stuart et Al. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kevo_6 Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 Hi John, +1 for the racetorations cover. Great fit and as you know my gearbox has been out quite a few times, when I had the ordinary fiberglass one it was an absolute pain in the bum to refit and since the racetorations one it's so much easier. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trevor Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 + 1 for Racetorations, glad to hear they have fixed extra access points. I lined mine with heat shield mat before fitting. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Bracher Posted May 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 Sounds like I'll be asking Mum for some extra pocket money next week!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ragtag Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 Or get a CTM GRP cover. Fits perfectly and they were cheaper than the plastic ones. They don't have the split though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Bracher Posted May 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 Hmm, thanks Chris, I'll have a chat to them, they are close enough, I can go and have a look. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bonrej32 Posted May 8, 2017 Report Share Posted May 8, 2017 Just like what others said, you can't go wrong with Racetorations. Have one and I have no complaints. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bill Bourne Posted May 8, 2017 Report Share Posted May 8, 2017 I hate to pour cold water on the Racetorations one, but I've bought a split tunnel version from them and although I found in comparison to 2 others that I also bought, it was the best fit, especially around the front arch. Other areas though were not so good. Namely near the n/s split - It rubs against the top of the overdrive solenoid.They put in an access hole on the rear to grease up the propshaft, which is a good idea, but I couldn't find any sort of grommet to fit and being on a curve, also made it difficult. I also didn't like the access panels, as they only supply the speedo cover one and not for the overdrive solenoid. So I was a bit dissapointed for the money and repaired the original. Which fits. Others tried - SC Parts - plastic spit type - awful. nothing lines up. Another fibre glass one - (not sure who from) - again pretty bad. To conclude the Racetorations one, is the best of the bunch, but it is well overpriced and should fit better. Best Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rcreweread Posted May 8, 2017 Report Share Posted May 8, 2017 Hi all This is an interesting debate which I have followed with interest - I have no doubt the Racestoration split cover is a good piece of kit, BUT, not everyone has oodles of cash, and when you consider the Racestoration one is up to three times more expensive than the cheapest fibreglass ones, can it really be justified? The answer is both yes and no : Yes if you don't mind spending the money, want an easy life and want to get on and fit with minimum of hassle,especially if gearbox is fitted, but you are still going to have some fiddling to do. No, if you don't mind a bit of tinkering and want to save a load of cash, so here's how I found a reasonable method which will give you a good fit and retain that fit for future removal and refitting: 1. Check overall length of tunnel by placing in situ and trim to fit, as necessary ( not difficult apart from handbrake getting in the way!) 2. The next usual problem is that the bell mouth of the tunnel is too big and doesn't match the bulkhead opening size so put the tunnel in place, press it down firmly on the floor and mark on the bulkhead where the top of the tunnel mounting bottom lip is. Then mark the centre top of the bulkhead opening and stick a piece of masking tape around the mounting lip of the bulkhead, finishing at the top centre line. You will then be able to feel the mounting holes in the bulkhead lip through the masking tape, so mark them - alternatively, if the gearbox is out, you can mark the masking tape from underneath. Carefully take off masking tape and attach to relevant side of tunnel. Repeat exercise for other side. If the tunnel opening is too big, you will be left with a gap between the two ends of the masking tape - this shows how oversized the tunnel is compared to the bulkhead opening, so make a "V" shape in the top of the tunnel between the two ends of the masking tape, extending backwards far enough that you don't have too tight a gap to close, because this is the gap you are now going to pull together, close and join - easiest way I've found is with a small alloy plate either screwed or pop riveted in place - you can then proceed to drill through masking tape/tunnel for your locating holes, and hey presto everything should line up. Probably sensible not to drill all the holes to start with, just to make sure it all lines up. 3. You can follow the same basic process at the handbrake end of the tunnel but there are no mounting holes to worry about - in my limited experience, this end isn't usually far out. 4. Next, fix the tunnel temporarily in place, go underneath car and drill pilot holes upward through the mounting holes/captive nuts in the floor plan, and this will accurately locate all your floor mountings - you may need to wedge the side of the tunnel tight against the raised bit of the floor onto which it bolts by using bits of wooden batten, cut to length, and wedged between inner sill and tunnel. 5. Now you want to split the tunnel ( you don't have to do this but it makes sense to do so)- you decide where you want to split it, and if you don't want the hassle of removing the H frame to take out the rear part, place your cut accordingly behind it. Then fabricate some alloy sheet about 2" wide, form to match curvature of tunnel and fix in place with self tappers/pop rivets. The rear part of the cover can then be placed on top and and holes drilled right through the cover and alloy plate at the same time,and then the two parts fixed together with self tappers - however don't do this until both bits of the tunnel are fully fitted and bolted in place with the seals in place, otherwise your self tapper holes won't easily line up. 6. The rubber sealing strips are not that thick but there should be more than enough slack with this method to accommodate them, particularly if you make the holes in the tunnel say 50% bigger than the bolts you are using and use a decent washer under the head. If you have any wideish gaps anywhere which your sealing strips don't seal, or even if you haven't got sealing strips, you can use self adhesive weather strip from the likes of Screwfix/Toolstation which is cheap as chips and comes in a variety of different thicknesses and profiles. If you take a bit of time to get the first fixing right, then it makes future refitting easy - the hardest part of this is crawling around in the cockpit under the dashboard so much easier if you remove the seats. Good luck! Cheers Rich Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Bracher Posted May 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2017 Blimey! And I thought this was a simple gathering of opinions!!!! There does seem to be 2 distinct schools of thought :- 1. Pay up for a Restorations jobbie! 2. Modify/Fettle a cheaper one. Rich, thanks for taking the time to explain what you did. Bill, thanks for making me hold off a swift/easy (but perhaps not perfect) purchase.(there are bundles of other things you can throw your 'TR pocket money' at, as we all know......!) Can somebody advise what thickness the fibreglass ones are, and why the plastic ones don't fit?? I have made GRP and sheetmetal ones for Specials and kit cars over the years, and never had any issues with that method (other than backache from spending ages making them in situ, and the mess of GRP and paint!) Any reason for not making a GRP one thicker and therefore more rigid/better?? I've got a headache now........ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ed_h Posted May 9, 2017 Report Share Posted May 9, 2017 (edited) Blimey! There does seem to be 2 distinct schools of thought :- 1. Pay up for a Restorations jobbie! 2. Modify/Fettle a cheaper one. 3. Make your own. Certainly not everyone's cup of tea, and it is a little more work than Rich's method, but it's guaranteed to fit. You can even customize it. Costs less, too. http://bullfire.net/TR6/TR6-71/TR6-71.html Ed Edited May 9, 2017 by ed_h Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rcreweread Posted May 9, 2017 Report Share Posted May 9, 2017 Blimey! And I thought this was a simple gathering of opinions!!!! There does seem to be 2 distinct schools of thought :- 1. Pay up for a Restorations jobbie! 2. Modify/Fettle a cheaper one. Rich, thanks for taking the time to explain what you did. Bill, thanks for making me hold off a swift/easy (but perhaps not perfect) purchase.(there are bundles of other things you can throw your 'TR pocket money' at, as we all know......!) Can somebody advise what thickness the fibreglass ones are, and why the plastic ones don't fit?? I have made GRP and sheetmetal ones for Specials and kit cars over the years, and never had any issues with that method (other than backache from spending ages making them in situ, and the mess of GRP and paint!) Any reason for not making a GRP one thicker and therefore more rigid/better?? I've got a headache now........ John - sorry for the rather garrulous response, but I thought if someone was considering the paupers option, they might be interested to know how not difficult it is to do it, and hence my post could be their reference bible! As for thicknesses , I haven't got access to my tunnels at the moment, but I would estimate/guess the plastic ones are approx 3-4mm thick and quite dense, whereas the fibreglass ones are probably a third of that, so really quite thin - I have wondered about spraying the underside of the tunnels with Stonechip or something similar, then overpainted, to give particularly the fibreglass ones more density. I appreciate the heatshield/soundproofing pads are good but expensive. As for why they don't fit, in my experience, they are usually too large around the bulkhead opening - profile is only partially relevant because they are easily squeezed together to fit the floor - of course, as you do this, it raises their overall height. All the tunnels I've seen never have the mounting holes drilled out to start with and I think someone on here said Racestorations ones don't either, so thats not really relevant. Better stop now! Cheers Rich Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Bracher Posted May 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2017 Gents All good info!! It does seem that the Jury is still out. I need at this stage to look at some and try to pick a winner. Rich, thanks for your input again. Ed, can I have your cover? Price vs Fit vs Quality vs Value....... Why can't things be simple!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.