what box to use?

[jjbjoinery]

hi, new to retrorides!! ive got a 1986 lada niva and am after putting a 1.7td isuzu lump (as used in mk3 astras) in, but don't know what gearbox id need! so what rear wheel drive only gearboxes are a direct fit to the isuzu block? it has to be a rwd only box as the power goes through the transfer box before being split to the front and rear

[andyborris]

I'd look at Isuzu truck boxes or a late GM, who own Isuzu? Possibly a Getrag box?

[murran]

what gearbox is in it now? id look into what engines you can bolt to that first.

if its a rwd box your after you need to find out the full range of what cars these engines were put in. also is it possible to fit a transfer box to it.

failing that it might be a better idea to make up a conversion plate.
draw it up and take it to an engineering company find out a price, post it up on a lada niva forum about making 10 or 20 of them, see if anyones interested.

infact I'm sure youd have better info actually finding a lada nive forum to ask in, or researching what engines people have previously installed....... and doing a well known conversion.

[`state]

Vauxhall omega/carlton boxes fit straight up.Opel manta fit straight up and is abit smaller than the omega box. Type 9 ford box if used with the xe conversion bellhousing.
If you need a isuzu engine drop me a pm ive got one for sale.

[bortaf]

Carlton or manta box?
brava pick up box? they use that engine and come in 4X4
retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=techni&action=print&thread=114674

[tonka12]

i put a 17 td in a suzuki sj a long time ago and used a carlton gearbox and the sj transfer box . omega boxes don't have a spedo cable provision

[jjbjoinery]

hi, I'm already on a lada forum, and had a granada box suggested as there a direct bolt on apparently, can anyone confirm that and which granada box to use?
the common engine swaps are either fiat twin cam which is a bolt on job or pug hdi lump as lada currently use the lumps themselves, but I'm not a fan of peugeot and don't want a petrol!
there would be literally no interest whatsoever in a conversion plate as theres only a handfull of nivas left!
tonka12- how did the isuzu lump perform in the sj? and what carlton box did you use? or is there only the 1 box used in carltons?

[stealthstylz]

I've got a Vauxhall R25/R28 gearbox for sale if you need one, will bolt straight on.

Matt

[jjbjoinery]

what result would i get if i used a petrol box on a diesel engine? my mate used a diesel box on his redtop and made the gears last ages, getting about 70mph in 2nd! I'm not bothered about top end speed at all as offroading is all about low down grunt!

[RobinJI]

Using a petrol box on a diesel will give you quite low gearing, which is probably not a bad thing for off-roading.

[tonka12]

it was a 2ltr carlton box and it was very good pulled well good on fuel and mases of tourqe.it was well suited to the sj.

[bortaf]

Jan 14, 2012 2:09:38 GMT jjbjoinery said:

what result would I get if I used a petrol box on a diesel engine? my mate used a diesel box on his redtop and made the gears last ages, getting about 70mph in 2nd! I'm not bothered about top end speed at all as offroading is all about low down grunt!

I cant say without seeing the ratios? the ratio spread depends on a few things, a lot of manufacturers just change the diff ratio to a higher one on diesels (cos they rev lower than a petrols), some have a lower first and 2nd on diesel boxes (more torque for pulling away with heavy loads on commercial applications) but on the whole 4th is ni on allways 1 to1.
did you buy my niva axle last week ??

[jjbjoinery]

axle, dizzy and dipstick! even helped remove it!

[bortaf]

Jan 15, 2012 22:27:34 GMT jjbjoinery said:

axle, dizzy and dipstick! even helped remove it!

Lol glad you made it here ;D

[jjbjoinery]

yep, thanks the pointer! getting close to sourcing an engine now!!!!!!!!

[tontoe]

If you are planning on keeping your niva 4x4 use the Vauxhall frontera box !!!!!!!!!!!!! the diesel uses the same engine sorted!!!!

[jjbjoinery]

not that clued up on fronteras, i no there independant front suspension but thats it really. do they use the isuzu engine as well? also do they have transfer boxes? don't want the the front hubs to come directly out of the gearbox as I'm wanting to convert it to running live discovery axles so the power would still need to go thru my ladas transfer box

[jjbjoinery]

thinking bout it, the transfer box is connected to the gearbox isnt it? which also puts the props to the drivers side??? if so that could work nicely! leaves me with a worthless rockcrawler transfer box tho

[tontoe]

Not 100% sure but i think they do the transfer box thing cant see that it would be much off the lada idea my old man had a new niva in the eightys feel really embarrased now as i have worked as a mechanic all my life but I'm f""ked if i can remember exactly what they look like underneath

[jjbjoinery]

do they have mechanical centre difflock and hi/lo range? think theres only 1 lever aside from the gear lever obviously. if thats right then id rather put the power thru my transfer box so its properly mechanical and got centre difflock and can use my modified transfer box to have hi range as standard and low range less than half the standard ratio making it unstoppable!