Transmission size

[claf]

When I bought my Tiger project it came with two transmissions. The one in the car is top loader with a Hurst shifter and the "spare" is a top loader with an original shifter on it. My question is : what should be the overall length of a correct transmission. Either tip to tip or front mounting flange to the end of the output spline. This car is so not original I need to know if either transmission is the right one. Thanks, Bob

[Roger Nyberg]

Go David McKee toploader website he has the dimensions. I would check whether you have a HEH or HEB toploaders. The Tiger II came with a HEB wide ratio gears. The wide ratio trans gears eliminate the 1st gear "TIGER Stumble" of the close ratio transmision with the cruiser 2.88 rear gear.

[claf]

Hi, just came back from the McKee site and have confirmed the spare transmission is a correct one. It is a HEH-E and the correct length of 25 1/2 long. Tomorrow, if I can get my head up next to the tranny I’ll check that metal tag on that one. In the spring I’ll have Dave Reed evaluate them and rebuild the better of the two. If it needs enough repair maybe he can convert it to "wide ratio" while he’s in there. (This is all predicated on the one in the car being another HEH-E.)

[anonymous]

If they are both Tiger sized transmissions, don’t discard whichever one you don’t use. The cases are worth big bucks so long as they can be rebuilt.

Fred Baum

[claf]

Funny you should mention that. The tranny in the car is a "RUG" series ! This brings up a whole boatload of possible problems. It appears that there is the correct rear transmission mount. Does this mean that the motor is 2" inches too far forward ? The car has fabricated motor mounts leading me to believe the stock mounts wouldn’t work The engine is a ’67 289" and I suspect the transmission came from the same car. id plate is too hard to read everything without more light and better eyes When (if) it ever goes back together I have a pair of original mounts which should get the engine back where it belongs. Adding to the confusion I think the exhaust manifolds are stock Mustang manifolds cobbed to work, fortunately I also have a pair of correct manifolds. Seems every time I turn over a rock there is another nasty surprise lurking underneath. Bob

[mikephillips]

Could be. What side does the speedo cable enter the RUG box?? Most, but not all, other toploader applications seem to enter the passenger (R/H) side while only a handful seem to use the drivers. Big difference as I understand for the Tiger version is a shorter mainshaft and tailhousing, with the shifter moved forward a bit as well.

[claf]

I guess I have a regular RUG transmission as the speedo cable exits from the pass side. When someone put the hurst shifter in there was a LOT of cutting. Even hacked up the steel "hump" just in front of and between the seats. Figured I’d have to buy a welder for this project except once there is a welder , next comes a shear and then a break and then —-. Don’t want to go down that road. POP rivets anyone ? Bob

[tigernewbie]

Just to be precise and to correct the record in the hope of mitigating the negative effects of bad information being passed around the Internet, the wide ratio transmission used in MK II Tigers was the HEH-CF, not HEH-B as is commonly thought and published in some places. This is easily verifiable by consulting reliable sources, such as TIROST and/or The Book of Norman for MK II transmission numbers. Corroborating, proof in the pudding information can be had by crawling under MK II Tigers to look at their transmission tags.

To be clear, the HEH-B transmission had the same gear ratio as the Sunbeam Tiger MK II, but was not used on the Sunbeam Tiger MkII from the factory. In fact, the HEH-B transmission was used on the 1964 Meteor and the Fairlane 289-2V. It did have a wide 28-spline shaft, which made it easy to use on the Tiger, and I think it may have also had the correct-length tailshaft housing, making its transfer to the Tiger even easier.

Still, the only correct transmission for the MK II Tiger is the HEH-CF, according to factory records and experts. The only other car I know of that the HEH-CF transmission was ever originally used on was the TVR Griffith, which make this transmission truly as rare as hens’ teeth. Cheers.

[John Manly Jr.]

I have swapped my car from HEH-E (close ratio) to HEH-B (wide ratio). Both used the correct-length tailhousing (same casting). As stated by others, the speedo gear opening is on the LH side. Dunno where the HEH-CF comes from, as my factory service manual says otherwise. One other tidbit; the correct mechanical speedo gear is green. I’ve seen the yellow one substituted on an already-rebuilt unit, undoubtedly because it costs half as much (much more common).

[Author]

Posts