Thread: RR Borg Warner 3 speed auto conversion

These were often done in Sydney by a bloke i know Mike Norman who had a company off road automatics. His 77 2 door featured a type 35 but difflocks front and rear and his Dad's design ( norman superchargers) vane type supercharger with twin 45DCOE Webers. Interesting car. Anyway to fit type 35 they used to machine off the gearbox part of LT95 they had bellhousings made to adapt type 35 to rover V8. So if you car is one of those and certainly the position of shifter suggests it is- you cant rebuild the transfer case back to original. An LT95 is a one piece unit bellhousing gearbox and transfer case in one. A big heavy unit at that. If you really want to do it find another LT95 they are in some deefers as well

I remember Mal Storey saying he did them and I got the impression he used the LT95 housing. He was saying he had LT95 gearbox internals laying around for years, as these boxes were strong and demand was low until the ADF bought the Perenties.

Originally Posted by Meccles

These were often done in Sydney by a bloke i know Mike Norman who had a company off road automatics. His 77 2 door featured a type 35 but difflocks front and rear and his Dad's design ( norman superchargers) vane type supercharger with twin 45DCOE Webers. Interesting car. Anyway to fit type 35 they used to machine off the gearbox part of LT95 they had bellhousings made to adapt type 35 to rover V8. So if you car is one of those and certainly the position of shifter suggests it is- you cant rebuild the transfer case back to original. An LT95 is a one piece unit bellhousing gearbox and transfer case in one. A big heavy unit at that. If you really want to do it find another LT95 they are in some deefers as well

Thanks Meccles. Bellhousings are a seperate casting that is bolted to the lt95 isn’t it? I assumed I could source a bellhousing and bolt it back on. Is this not the case? From what I can see under the vehicle there is no bell housing between the bw35 and the lt95.

What exactly is modified that can’t be reversed?

Like this one?
s-l500.jpg

Russ, Let me offer you a little bit of 'assurance'.

If you want to 'restore' your suffix A, then I am afraid unless everythign is matching numbers, you are wasting your sweet time thinking it may have some intrinsic value, simply because it's a suffix A.

In fact, the period-correct modification is likely worth more than attempting to return the vehicle to a 4 speed manual LT95 unit.

Either way, it is a cost which is not going to be recouped, should you be inclined to sell at a 'restored' price figure.

The automatic is better offroad, and kinder to the drivetrain, despite it only being 3 speeds.
a better manual box setup would be a late R380/LT230CDL variant from a d2, but we all have our own idiosyncrasies.

If you are wanting to return the vehicle to it's original drivetrain configuration, a complete unit rebuilt LT95 would be the obvious choice. Sell off the BW conversion to someone else who wants an auto 2 door.

Don't forget you're going to need slave cyl and clutch pedal for the pedal box etc.

Just some thoughts. take it or leave it as you see fit.

cheers

Thanks mercguy, I appreciate your thoughts.

I guess the main reason for my post is to try and determine if it is viable to keep the original lt95 or not.

The vehicle is 1971 with all matching numbers (axles, engine and gearbox). The only downside (for originality) is that it has the bw35 auto bolted to the front of the lt95. So it would nice to be retain the gearbox if it was possible and convert it back to original. I agree it would be easier to just source another lt95, but getting a period correct gearbox will be near impossible!

Does any one know if there are any workshops still around that might know what mods were done for this conversion?

Have you got any more pics of the underside? particularly where the transfer case rear mount etc.
It's possible that the propshafts are different lengths, hence asking about the mount location.

If you can determine that the mounts are in their original location then you have a good chance of getting it back to 'normality'.

Second thing to determine is whether or not the front section of the LT95 box is machined or just redrilled for mounting holes.

Overall length measurements compared to other LT95's will likely help you determine what the state of your transfer case section is, but I would err on the side of caution and assume nothing is going to be able to be returned to original - that way anything that turns out positive is a big windfall, since you already have the expectation that nothing will be salvageable.

Lots of crawling underneath, lots of measurements in your notebook and lots of pictures from many angles to help build a picture to compare to other standard suffix A's - and that will probably be time consuming, but it's really the only accurate way forward.

If that case isn't salvageable, then things won't look perfect from a matching numbers perspective, but if the originality is compromised, your option to stick with period correct auto or try substituting a factory transmission from a later model or a disco is perfectly viable and 'acceptable' in the eyes of the 'resto police' ... at least that way you have factory parts and servicing is not going to be problematic.

Best just to be pragmatic about it and see any little progress towards your preferred outcome as a little win each time you verify components and measurements to be 'correct'.

Let us know how it looks, and if you can grab some more pics of the rear mounts, measure up the propshafts etc so you can get a clear picture of what is different and what is unchanged.

Also note that if the vehicle is a 1971 there is a chance its transfer case did not have a CDL but a limited slip diff.

Garry

I had one of those as part of a 'deal' done about 20 years ago. Never used it.

Yes the BW 35 is stuffed (literally) into the front of a gutted LT95 that has been moved aft (about 9") for the 'privilege'.

That's why the Propshafts are thus non stock. Might have them still.

The 'adapter' onto the 95 TC input shaft is something to truly behold.

Think wedges, coathanger bits, etc. Wish I'd taken pics.

I have an early complete LT 95 kicking around that really could look good with new numbers stamped on it.

David L.