The V8 Owners Forum -

Right then, I am trying to get my head around the differences between LT77/R380 bellhousing and gearbox because I am going to need one very soon.

Please could people who know about these and have dealt with before correct me if I am wrong.

I am building a seven type kit car and I have a Rover V8. I need a gearbox and Bellhousing.

As far as I am aware this is the correct bellhousing for my car



and this



also this



finally this



All these I suspect come from rear wheel drive vehicles such as the SD1 et al.


It seems to me that all the 2 wheel drive short bellhousings come paired with the earlier Lt77 gearboxes. Do more modern LT77's fit onto the bell housings with no compatibility issues? I have heard that sometimes some of the shafts can be differing lengths? Which vehicles would it be best for me to try and source a gearbox/bell housing combo from?

Can some of you V8 boffins give me some sage like V8 Gearbox advice please?

This I suspect is the wrong bell housing for me.




It would make my gear lever to far back. Is this correct?

As I understand it, there are two bellhousings:
2WD - the short one
4WD - the long one

The input shaft clearly has to match the bellhousing!

The R380 will accept the LT77 bellhousings.

I don't know if the input shafts are interchangeable.

There are lots of different gearchange mechanisms, Sherpa, SD1, Jag, Land Rover, and they're all different.

There are also stronger versions of the LT77 (for the V8), and a myriad of different gear ratios. Remember it was used on 2 litre up to 3.5 litre engines, and petrol and diesel. May have been used on 1700's too!

Chris.