11 replies to this topic

[lynleigh]

Hi all, do any of the later minis have a 5th gear? Im looking at putting a 5 speed box in my mini and just wondered if you can get 1 and if so is it an easy job?
thanks

[connor_cooper]

Hi all, do any of the later minis have a 5th gear? Im looking at putting a 5 speed box in my mini and just wondered if you can get 1 and if so is it an easy job?
thanks

There were very few late mpis made with 5 speed boxes, i've seen these for sale on pistonheads for £15k +, to my understanding 5 speed boxes are costly to buy as a replacement for the standard 4 speed.

[xBR4DLEY]

You can buy a 5 speed box, around £2k though. They are pretty much the same as the 4 speed regarding ratios etc because I think the 5th gear is overdrive.

[AndyMiniMad.]

I thought the fifth gear was 1:1 and the other gear were closer ratio. I might be wrong though.

[xBR4DLEY]

http://www.minispare...=...6967&title=

Description

You'll get the best of both worlds - acceleration and easy cruising - with this Mini Spares Evolution five speed. The Final drive ratio ratio is 3.44, so you'll have the acceleration as before through fourth gear. But with the overdrive fifth gear the effective final drive is now 3.037, great for highway cruising.

[Dan]

There were very few late mpis made with 5 speed boxes

Another common myth. No mini ever left the factory with a 5 speed box. The closest to a genuine 5 speed Mini was the John Cooper Garages Cooper Sport 5 conversion, which was an aftermarket conversion that offered a full Rover backed warranty on everything except the Jack Knight 5 speed gearbox that was fitted. A few other dealers across the country also offered 5 speed boxes, at the time there were 4 or 5 differnet makes available at varying costs including a kit version offered by Mini Spares, so dealers had a lot to choose from. Rover never backed any of them though, even the ERA turbo was originally supposed to use the Jack Knight box but Rover insisted it was deleted from the spec before they would back the product. Now there are only 2 makes of road spec, synchromesh 5 speed box. The Jack Knight one and the Mini Spares one. Both are very expensive (Mini Spares' is around £2000.00, Jack Knight's is more, they also do a 6 if you have silly money to spend). No harder to fit than any other gearbox though. As said above the 5th speed (or the 5th and 6th) is an overdrive gear.

[AVV IT]

The mini is supposed to only have four gears it's part of it's charm. Plus the fact that on a mini there really are far better things to spend £2k on!!

[Dan]

If you want a 5 speed with direct top, KAD do one but only as a straight cut crash box. It's a kit you build into your own casing, and costs about the same again!

[mini 4o]

Hi
Jack knight Five speed where offered by john cooper, and fitted into the sports 5

I have a JKD overdrive in my 4o with a 3.44 cross pin diff, so best of both worlds pull off in first without slipping the clutch
And cruise at 3500 in the old days with all the other traffic on the motorway, (no such thing on Corfu)
no idea of the speed as the Speedo ratio is all wrong.

I have also used this box on a 998 but no grunt on the hills when cruising so forever dropping into 4th.

Mini sport up north, made a few back in the 80s but suffered with the main shaft braking.,

John

Edited by mini 4o, 25 April 2011 - 04:29 PM.

[Dan]

You shouldn't be pulling uphill on overdrive anyway!

[MRA]

Why not I do .... with both of my stupidly expensive over drive gears

[lynleigh]

OUCH! at 2k i think il leave it lol. thanks for the info tho