I love this thread - it's providing me with inspiration to get on with my own conversion. I'm travelling to Florida from the UK today - where various parts of my self made up kit are waiting for me. I just wish I could buy the TKO600 whilst I was there & bring it back on the same flight but the TKO weighs 45kg dry & the airline says maximum item weight is 32kg & independent shipping costs a fortune, so it looks like I'll be buying my TKO from Roadcraft I the UK when I get back.

A.

 

And we are in!
I ran into another bunch of surprises, but she is nearly done and I am hoping for the best. See red arrow on one of the pics, this is one of two alignment bolts I threaded and placed, to make sure bell is seated within the spec.
Long story short, this is by no meant complete kit, or bolt on solution. What I got is a set of major parts, needed to convert my car to manual gearbox.
If I did not have lift, welder, extensive power tooling, bunch of loose bits and pieces, I would not be able to get it done. BTW, see my self made throw out bearing retainer
I am happy that most difficult part is over and box is in. Today I had no time to finish, so I still need to hook up electric switches, modify stop light switch mount (not mentioned anywhere), bleed clutch cylinders to test her moving.
Cruise control is no more, it seems that kit cancels it out.
I was able to start my car on the lift and see wheels turn in first gear!

 

Looks a really good installation, congratulations.

Beats me why suppliers, who have a basically good product, spoil the whole experience for want of a minute amount of extra cost and very little extra effort.

Am i right in thinking that the two alignment bolts go into holes you marked (after extact alignment) and then threaded, in the back of the engine block, thereby ensuring exact alignment while you finally tightened the bellhousing main bolts?

Greg

 

Greg, on both topics - precisely.
By making my won holes, with very threading all the way in, I avoided extra mess with buying eccentric alignment pins and wasting even more time. I simply wrapped large drill bid with 80 grid sandpaper and slightly bored out alignment wholes in the bell, to allow for .3mm extra play, then moved it till it aligned within .03-.05mm.

 

after you aligned it to spec. did you redrill to a larger dowel?

if there is a possibilty of some movement,like on a hard launch or full throttle power shift?
i have seen some probs with just tightening the fasteners after alignment.

 

Very interesting thread. Though not in the market (yet!) I'd love to do a 5 speed conversion, but this looks like a whole lot more work that I thought it would be.

Why does the alignment have to be adjusted? Is it because of different assemblies Jaguar used throughout production?

 

No, I did not touch original dowel pins, but I did leave my new alignment bolts in, to secure the position (on top of all the bell and starter bolts bolts).
If she shifts, then my motor is one hell of a beast.

 

This is because of the aftermarket bellhousing. No matter how hard they try, it is still a hair off, so we have to make sure it us sitting perfectly to provide a dead center for the input shaft.

 

Do pardon my emotions, but she is one hell of a beast

 

Mish, Don't apologize.-You have every right to be estatic with the result of the conversion. Once she's cleaned up and finished off, you will have the 'Pride of the Fleet', one sweet toy.
Yah, I have a slight green tint of envy.

 

if we were closer, we could have a race!

that would be fun, gotta use the cars.

 

I am having trouble keeping that rear end on the road...

 

Talking to myself again here...

First 5-speed steps:

 

I am back, hope you can hear what the voices in my head are saying.

 

Here is the latest update on conversion.
Car runs and drives, however ever since the first try it has clutch chatter, right at the take off point. It is 100% identical to my lemon Mitsubishi Eclipse, back in 2000, when it had warp flywheel.
Owner of the DrivenMan swears that their flywheel is best in the Solar System and that it has to be something else, perhaps disk contamination.
Today I checked inside bell housing and found some black dust, which is seemingly normal for new clutch break in and such.
When clutch starts to engage, I hear (through the hole in the floor) how disk rattles as pressure plate is being released.

No conclusion on the source of this vibration, but I suppose it is another "obstacle" on my ways by way of pulling gearbox...

 

Could it be that your bellhousing moved?

 

No way, I drilled and tapped two pilot bolts through bell and block, to make sure it cannot move. Warp something, while it seems to get a little better, the more I use it.

 

Chatter isn't uncommon with brand new flywheels. Give it a bit of driving before getting too worried, let some friction material transfer to the flywheel and help it smooth out.

 

My experience is showing that if it is warp, it is not going to work itself flat.
I will give it few more miles, but after that will have to pull the trans and micro measure the surface. G-d help these *******s if I find that their "best in the world" flywheel is warp, there will be chargebacks on my card! I simply cannot deal with absolutely every part of this kit being so troublesome.

 

I'm starting to seriously re-think my plans to convert mine to a 5 speed. Sadly, what should have (or COULD) have been an ideal set up from a vendor has turned into a nightmare.
I will never, ever purchase anything from them, and will advise my fellow Jaguar friends to avoid them as well.