@EthanMenace has spent the past week sorting out the gearbox. After looking at the internal damage inside the gearbox we decided to replace both the 3rd/4th gear hub and synchros and the 5th/6th gear hub and synchros as well as some other minor parts in the box. So not the usual gearbox synchro gearbox refurb but replacing some of the big moving parts that engage the gears as well as doing the synchros. We probably spent just under £500 on gearbox parts and could have picked up a secondhand gearbox for that money, or got the box refurbished. I am hoping that our investment in the box will keep it going for a few years.
The gearbox is back in the car and after a quick drive tonight it seems to be working very nicely. There is no longer a "delay" in changing down gears at higher revs. Only hard driving will prove whether the work on the gearbox has worked. If it explodes then we will put it down to experience and do it again. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results - but in this case the experience is invaluable for when we inevitably have to do more work with the gearbox in the future. Alex at AW Motorworks and
@RSRowe were both really helpful by looking at photos and videos to give advice on what to do and how to do it.
We still have a 197 gearbox sat in the shed. I am fairly sure that this box will also get refurbished at some point when Ethan is bored. We just need to find a cheap Gripper to drop in to it so that we have an emergency box to swap in when we next destroy the existing gearbox.
Our next track day is at the Nurburgring so the car has been getting some TLC to try to make sure it is in the best condition possible before the trip.
Over the past few weeks we have ordered new fluids. Ethan spent all day working on the car today. After refitting the gearbox he then did the fluids. The car has had its oil changed and a new oil filter. We have put some Fuchs Titan Race Pro S oil back in to the car with a genuine oil filter.
The brakes have had a bleed with some new Motul RBF660 fluid going in to the reservoir. The gearbox has been filled with some Redline gearbox oil.
The brakes have been checked and there is still lots of pad material left on both the front and the rear pads.
We have replaced the Odyssey PC680 battery with a brand new one. Over the past few months there have been times when the car has cranked over very slowly and I was just worried that the battery may be about the die. We have fitted an isolator switch on the battery so that when it is parked up for a few weeks and is not driven the battery is not draining.