What gearbox? LT77 or R380?

Hi,

I'm in the process of doing a 1966 109 built on a Defender 110 frame. I'm wondering what's the best transmission to use for this project. The engine will be a 3.5 V8; I have no plans for serious, heavy-duty off-roading.

I've done some surfing on the Internet and find lots of confusing information as it seems the LT77 was made in a few different varieties, some not suited at all for 4wd vehicles. I also gather that the R380 is an evolved LT77. But all this is rather vague.

Does anyone have a pointer to a good resource that compares these two (or possibly other) gearboxes? Any recommendations or opinions in one direction or the other?

Thanks for any information!

-Chris Estes-

Reply to
Chris Estes
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is pretty good, but wont tell you how they compare. I dont think such a resource really exists. At least we looked high and low for info when we went down this road about4 years ago.

IME if you can find an R380/LT230 for a good price then grab it. Otherwise there are quite a few LT77/LT230's out there. The LT77S will bolt straight to a v8, as thats what it came from. The vast majority will have come from

4 cyl models. You will need to get either a conversion plate which might be better if you are using an SD1. If its a P6 or Rangey engine then you will be better getting a v8 bellhousing from ashcroft's. Next thing to look at is the transfer ratio. You probably want a 1.22:1 rather than 1.667 which will be end up very undergeared (as we found).

HTH Beth

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Reply to
Beth Clarke

The LT95 4 speed box is probably the strongest (though some autos may be stronger?). The LT85 as fitted to V8 110s is reckoned to be better than the LT77 but it is noisier and more expensive to repair.

AJH

Reply to
sylva

On or around 6 May 2004 21:17:18 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com (Chris Estes) enlightened us thusly:

The R380 is superior in some ways. Synchro on reverse, for example :-)

but mainly, it's newer.

Mind, I'd hunt a ZF 4-speed auto from a rangie to put in it...

Reply to
Austin Shackles

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