The 'E' Type Forum

I am looking for any recommended overhaulers of 4 speed gearbox (S1 1966)
No known faults but I want a general overhaul (new seals/layshaft etc)
Any recommendations in the Cambridgeshire area please?

Hi
I took my moss box to All Gears in Worksop who did a good job in a general overhaul - bearings/seals etc.
You could try The Splined Hub in Oundle who are nearer to Cambridgeshire.

Hi,
https://www.mossjaguar.com/index.html
Angus Moss ( Forum : 1954Etype ) really good work and good guy.
He first rebuilt my 4.2L gear and now my other whole car.
Mich

If you want i can send details of the company that build boxes for Jaguar Landrover classics, Woodham Mortimer and others....they build std and race boxes to what ever spec you want....they are based in Welwyn Garden City so not far from you....

second vote for Ian at all gears worksop

cactusman wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 05, 2020 5:29 pm

If you want i can send details of the company that build boxes for Jaguar Landrover classics, Woodham Mortimer and others....they build std and race boxes to what ever spec you want....they are based in Welwyn Garden City so not far from you....

yes please

rswaffie wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 05, 2020 8:57 am

Hi
I took my moss box to All Gears in Worksop who did a good job in a general overhaul - bearings/seals etc.
You could try The Splined Hub in Oundle who are nearer to Cambridgeshire.

was it a fair price?

Was it a good job would be a better question.

“ I took my moss box to All Gears in Worksop who did a good job in a general overhaul - bearings/seals etc.”

“ was it a fair price?”

“ Was it a good job would be a better question. ”

?

I can’t remember the exact price (c £300) but it is operating fine. They had worked on a moss box from my Healey 3000 a few years before I got the E and did a good job so I went back to them to check over the E’s box as part of my restoration.

The last one I did was about a year ago, John Everard in Boston did it.

Water had got in, it needed seals, bearings and a synchro.

I bought the bits, john charged me £300.

chrisfell wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 06, 2020 7:47 am

“ Was it a good job would be a better question. ”

While this is probably a good question, the problem with the answer is that most of us couldn't tell one way or the other.

There's another thread running at the moment where the suggestion is that the OP has been "guided" into a perhaps unnecessary gearbox rebuild in the process of trying to fix seemingly unrelated problems after an engine overhaul.

The problem with E type box over hauls, whether they be Moss or all synchro, is that none of the major gear components can be replaced, limiting a "rebuild" to replacing some bearings, seals and the odd layshaft.

So if your gearbox sounds like a cement mixer, don't expect it to change after a rebuild.

Even then, the quality of basic components like front and rear bearings and synchro rings have been brought into question. Your slightly worn 60 year old ones might actually be better than the shitty knockoffs you can buy today.

Needle roller bearings, previously available in 3 different diameters to allow the discerning re builder to compensate for wear on the inner surfaces of the (un-replacable) coggy bits, now only come in in one size.

Unless your box jumps out of every gear, or simply won't change from one gear to the other, you're as in the dark as the rest of us.

Andrew Wrote:

The problem with E type box over hauls, whether they be Moss or all synchro, is that none of the major gear components can be replaced, limiting a "rebuild" to replacing some bearings, seals and the odd layshaft.

Hello Andrew,
The limiting factor with regards to replacing the major components, is availability, but without a doubt, they can be replaced. I'm in the rather fortunate position of being able to manufacture any component of the Gearbox and routinely manufacture new gears.

Regards,

Bill

Its all true, however, if a gearbox part was totally ********, John would ask me to find him a replacement before reassembly.

People with proper engineering skills are fast disappearing and John is now getting on for 70 .

He has has 40 years in the field repairing drainage and agricultural equipment for very demanding clients and very nasty bosses. The engines in these machines and far more expensive/complicated than any car I have ever owned. For John car engines are relatively simple.

E type gearboxes and engines are a doddle for him. His lathe has a 6 ft bed and I get the impression he has completed loads of successful rebuilds. Well, more than that, he has completed loads of successful rebuilds.

The last lime I was in his workshop, he had 3 rebuilt Austin Healey engines, and Aston martin DB5 engine, a Jenson Interceptor V8, a 1905 American Tractor Engine, a number of motorbike engines of Loads of racing Riley stuff.

When I questioned him on who the customers were, to be fair he wouldn't tell me at first. But when I found out, lets just say they are all well known restoration workshops from the Home counties, the West County and Cheshire.

His work is top class.

On the thorny subject of cost, I recently restored a Series 1 Landrover from 1954.

The cost of the engine parts alone was £10,000- just for a 2l spreadbore engine! Nothing I could do about it.

The cost of the parts for an average XK rebuild including pistons, bearings, guides, chains seals etc has never exceeded £2k in my experience, with another £2-3k of machining and labor on top.

So we should count ourselves lucky. Ferrari and Lamborghini engines are far far worse cost wise.

John will take on new customers if I introduce them and I am happy to do that for forum members. You need to supply the parts and pay his bill, thats about it. PM me if you want a chat, nothing in it for me.

rswaffie wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 06, 2020 8:39 am

I can’t remember the exact price (c £300) but it is operating fine. They had worked on a moss box from my Healey 3000 a few years before I got the E and did a good job so I went back to them to check over the E’s box as part of my restoration.

gone up a bit since then. Quoted £750plus vat for overhaul, but sounds like he knows what he's talking about