X1/9 gearbox upgrades

[rust4life]

Hi all,
Just joined the forum after losing most of yesterday browsing through it, very informative and in depth.
Anyway, first of what I'm sure will be many posts - this is re. my 1500 X1/9 which I am gradually building up into a fast road/track day car. It has always seemed to me that the Exxy gearbox is a weak link - I've owned 2 X1/9s and my present one is on its third (second-hand) box. And anyone who has changed a clutch/gearbox on the X1/9 will know what a job that is! So I bought a Strada Abarth 130TC box off an internet auction site as it looked similar (it was only ‚£20 so I thought I might aswell) thinking that I might be able to swap the bellhousing over from the exxy box and bolt it up assuming that the abarth 130TC box is stronger - I've heard it has closer ratios too. Problem is the input shaft is longer and thicker than the exxy one so wont go through bellhousing or mate up and I can't swap the shafts between boxes because the gear sets are different (although the layout of the box is the same). Does anyone think it would be possible/practical to get the 130TC shaft turned down and re-splined to suit, is the box worth it etc...any thought would be appreciated!

[Guy Croft]

Ben, hi

whether it can be made to fit or not (and I don't know...) it is not worth the effort.

The 130TC gearbox (in my exp) is pretty weak in some regard, I have known many of them to fail. Sorry, no specifics, just pretty good hearsay. Someone who has had one 'pack up' might be able to ID the problem they suffered from.

There is only one gearset to use in my book - Colotti.

GC

[sumplug]

Try Jupiter racing. They do race gearboxes/gear sets and i know Chris Unoracer has dealt with them.
http://jupiterfiatpower.tripod.com/

Hope this helps.

Andy.

[Acki]

For the 128 style gearbox jupiter has a lot of nice things :)

[Julian]

I'm with Guy on this one - Colotti is the place to go. They may even still have one on the shelf ready to go (they did last time I checked but that was a couple of years ago). It isn't cheap but the quality is excellent.

[rust4life]

Hi all,
Thanks for the feedback, just had a look at Jupiter's website -
seem to do a good range for the SOHC Fiat engines.
Does anyone know of a supplier of Colotti products in the U.K., or do I have to go straight to source? - had a look at the Colotti website but they didn't give any prices or suppliers.

[Acki]

Write Colotti an email.
But also I'm in contact with Quaife, I think they can help you.

[unoracer]

Hi Ben,
Again, this is hearsay, but I have read on a couple of occasions that some people have rebuilt a stronger x1/9 box by using the internals from the bottom change 'strada' design mk1 uno turbo box. It may be worth investigating as a potetial compromise if you can't stretch to the ideal choice being Colotti. Chris

[rust4life]

Hi Chris,
I have also been told that the Mk1 Uno Turbo 'box is a stronger alternative and can be rebuilt into an X1/9 case, but they are getting quite rare now and no-one seems to know how much stronger they are..

- I think I'll just put with the standard box for now (we'll see how long that lasts after I've got my ported, gas-flowed cylinder head installed, along with a 'fast road' cam and twin 40DCNFs...) and save up the pennies for some nice Colotti cogs
;)

[unoracer]

I am currently waiting to hear from a guy that may have some mk1 turbo boxes, and will let you know if he has one extra! Chris