S3 gearbox swap

[Fspp369]

Hi all,
I'm thinking of swapping my 3sp g/b with O/D for an auto box for ease of driving !.My wife has left knee problems and I have fused and arthritic left ankle problems.
Various suggestions have been made amongst them using a 4HP 24 with 22 guts?!
Would anyone like to chip in .?...please

[Bob.]

Whitehouse Autos offer these conversions. Might be worth talking to them. http://gwautos.com/
Bob

[Fspp369]

Thanks Bob I had thought of them.
The difficult bit I understand is the bell housing as the front of a 4hp24 is not instantly compatible with the back of a v12.
Someone somewhere will have done i, I had hoped to do the majority of work " in house", that was the plan....you know what happens to plans!!!!

[mgcjag]

Hi..Whats your name....not really sure on the S3 but you might have to alter the tunnel area as well.....in the S2 the tunnel was wider on the auto box models.....Steve

[Fspp369]

Sorry
Pete . The bodywork I'm told is a maybe?!

[Bob.]

Hi Pete,
Autos were much more popular in the US. Have you tried searching/posting on jag-lovers? In addition to the etype forum they have a V12 engine specific forum here https://forums.jag-lovers.com/c/v12-engine.
Good luck,
Bob

[Fspp369]

Thanks Bob

[Fspp369]

Well,.....
That's the end of that then....my other half..maybe3/4 has pronounced that the gearbox can stay as a manual !!!!!!!!@@@&&£££???!?
So, I'll be staying with the manual OTS in blue, but apparently with a hard top on ASAP for bad weather.!
I did have a thought about the H/T though, everyone talks of the marks that can be caused around the back of the seat when fitting...
Has anyone made a rail/strip/thingy to let the H/T sit on, rather than tha actual painted surface of the body?

[angelw]

Pete Wrote:

I did have a thought about the H/T though, everyone talks of the marks that can be caused around the back of the seat when fitting...
Has anyone made a rail/strip/thingy to let the H/T sit on, rather than tha actual painted surface of the body?

Hello Pete,
I use the clear wrap material that's used to protect the leading area paint of vehicles, typically race cars.

Regards,

Bill

[Fspp369]

bill
Cracking idea
how wide did you make it to survive?

[Fspp369]

Thanks to everyone that replied but …..
SHE {my nearest and dearest} has now declared that she can manage the manual box with the aid of a booster cushion !!!!!
so all is now past history on the auto box swap… thats a few more hours i have to spare…suggestions please

[Bob.]

Hi Pete,
Sorry can't help with the sore head, but have you thought of adding a servo to reduce effort on the clutch pedal. A friend of mine added one to his TR4 to make it easier for his daughter to drive. I can ask him which unit he used if you are interested. This one https://www.carbuildersolutions.com/uk/ ... r-assister for instance is less than 6" diameter, gives a 2:1 boost and would probably fit behind/below the battery where the charcoal canister was located on early North American Market S3s.

[Fspp369]

Bob, that's an idea but I'm not sure if I've got anywhere to put it in the s3 .
I tried to get some info from coachbuilder solutions but they are not in stock!
I'll ask the driver
I've just replaced the antirolbar bushes with "polybushes" made a bit of difference when dry -- fewer "squeaks "
Next bit to do is replace the seats with retrimmed XJS type ...but they're a bui wider and they need to have a bit " sculpted out of the back/side edge to cope with hood metalwork...watch this space...anybody den this?..
Pete.

[Series1 Stu]

MX5 seats are a favourite on this forum. There's a lot of information here about the conversion and there are lots of people re-covering them to match whatever you want.

Regards