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chrisl Member 
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At the risk of being branded a heretic, has anyone converted a J-H or a GT to automatic? I think the GT in particular would lend itself to it, simply because I think it's more of a cruiser than a speedster. |
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Brett Gibson JH5 20497 Member
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I did see a GT at the Atlanta show put on by Frank Schwartz in 2004 that was a auto, but it also had a nissan engine as well, haven't seen a Lotus one though. |
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Esprit2 Member
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I've never seen a JH converted to automatic, but Lotus did offer a 907/ Borg-Warner 3-spd auto combination in the Series 1 Elite & Eclat. Salvaging parts from one of those might be the easy way to go. Not many were built, but try contacting Lotusbits in the UK... it's worth a shot. However, the low-torque 907 and the automatic were not a match made in heaven, and the result was a performance-slug. A better choice would be the 160 Hp 912LC & automatic used in the S2.2 Elite-Eclat. Better yet would be the 180 Hp 912HC/ auto used in the 1986-onward Excel SA ('A' for automatic). Or just follow the Atlanta car's lead, and swap in an engine/automatic lump from some other brand... like the Nissan. Originality is out the window anyway, so why worry about forcing the stock, low compression JH 907 into duty it's ill-prepared to perform. Regards, Tim Engel Last edited on 12-03-2017 06:51 pm by Esprit2 |
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chrisl Member
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The thought I had was that the GT is more of a cruiser than out and out speedster. Mine has Dellorto carbs on it but I'm thinking about converting back to Strombergs for the smoother progression. The 5 speed gearbox I have is fine. It leaks a small amount of oil but not many 40 y.o cars don't. I prefer the 4 speed on my J-H for out and out fast driving. The J-H and the GT shared some subframe components with the Vauxhall Viva etc (= General Motors = Holden down here) and which was sold locally as the HB Torana. It's not hard to get an HB Torana engine and auto gearbox, the fun part is fitting it and all the other modifications required... Which makes me think if I do anything, I may as well go the whole hog and fit (eg) a Rover V8 and its auto. |
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roverman Member
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RV8 and it's auto, Now Ur Talkin ! Why stop there, I'm machining custom bell housings for RV8 to AW4,(Jeep/etc./etc). Should fit nicely, no computer required and about 30% OD. roverman. |
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