Vauxhall M32 or F28 6 Speed Box

[AJSGSE1990]

Long shot but does anyone know if the gearbox fits, looks like it is the same one or very similar at least.

Thanks,

Andrew.

[dapinky]

Andrew,

I looked at this very question about 15 years ago, and made some 'interesting' discoveries.....

..... the main one being that every GM car of the era had the exact same bolt pattern between the engine face and bellhousing/gearbox - so ANY gearbox from the stable will (should?) physically bolt up to the Elan engine..... I was looking at the F28 at that time as the M32 was less available

I was trying to work out the best way of getting a 6-speed 'box in the Elan - the 2WD/4WD side of it didn't worry me, although it would be something for another day. I couldn't find a suitable set of gear ratios that would give me what I was after, and decided that the work involved wasn't worth the effort for me at that time.

What I did establish is that the box will bolt to the engine, and fit in the space available. The output shaft(s) would be in the right sort of location, and the driveshafts would need to be adapted with a different inner joint/section.

I never got round to thinking about the clutch and it's operation, or the gear selection system.

When i scrapped my Vectra, I had a temporary play around with the F25 box and my spare Elan engine, which is where I got my measurements and alignment thoughts from, although I never actually tried to fit one into the elan engine bay.

Obviously, the F28 will take less torque than the M32 (the clue is in the name!) - but with a 2WD (or even a 4WD) system, in a light car, it shouldn't be any sort of problem.

M32 is probably a better bet these days, as I would expect most F28's to be a little bit 'tired',

[AJSGSE1990]

M32 is probably a better bet these days, as I would expect most F28's to be a little bit 'tired',

There seems to be quite an active user base in various racing classes so it was mostly about finding a box which fits and would firstly take a bit more torque, but also a source of gears/syncro rings in case things go wrong.

I've seen on eBay F28s with what looks like cable operation brackets. They are only a few hundred so might be worth a play. Cheers.