Transmission for a GEN II is actually 1992-1996 Ford Escort 5-Speed, any model except GT. I've got used newer ratio 5th gearsets (.77 : 1) that I have been throwing away. If you want them for the cost of shipping, they're yours.

Thanks Dave! I was off by one year on either end and forgot the GT part. Devol was off by a decade

When they were looking for cores a few years ago, I thought they said to get them from an Escort LX wagon.
Steve's Toyota had the diagonal cut out over the transmission and used the trans to replace it. He also had different uprights, but I don't remember if they were custom made or not...

I've poured over the Sports Racer pics of Steve's amazing effort. He did some nice engineering there and it is a shame he didn't get t continue developing it.

A local friend/chump series racer, said he had had a heap of problems when he was running with the ZZ Toyota engines. Seem like they love to come apart when loaded up in a long turn. Even an AccuSump he said, only "mildly helped" in a turn.

I'm puzzling over what replacement/upgrade engines make most sense. The Honda engines are very enticing, and I'd probably opt for Carbs, but the whole ECU-thing is alien to me. I would hate to spend a whole lot of time/$$/effort on what could be another paperweight!

So, that has me tearing into the Renault next week to see what gives. Maybe there is some joy internally and I can grow some HP in a rebuild. [Always the optimist.]

Cheers - Jim

markfick wrote:Tranny is out of Ford Escort '93-95. Make sure it's a 1.9 engine version. Have fun!

Dang -- that's what I meant to post...the decade later dates. Ugh. Sorry.

Rex ran a 2.0 Ford for years in track day events, for awhile it even had a turbo but that was more trouble then it was worth. He said it was a easy conversion. There is a lot of 2.0 Ford trick stuff out there from the round-D-round racing world

phantomjock wrote:A local friend/chump series racer, said he had had a heap of problems when he was running with the ZZ Toyota engines. Seem like they love to come apart when loaded up in a long turn. Even an AccuSump he said, only "mildly helped" in a turn.

I crewed for Steve in 2 Thunderhill 25 hour races. That was a big problem the first year, with both cars. The next year, we only ran 1 car and I don't remember having any problems.

The upside is you (or at least Will Marotta) could swap one in about the same time it takes to remove a Ford engine.

IIRC, the Toyota engines were pretty darn expensive, Steve was taking advantage of the availability of used ones...

You can also use the tranny out of a mid-90s Mazda Protege. They are exactly the same except for two items.

The clutch throwout fork is towards the bottom.

THe tranny comes with the "newer" more usable 5th gear ratio.

Rod S

Steve would get used Toyota engines from cars with automatic transmissions. He said that the chances of engine being overreved was a lot less. When I did the 25 hour race with him we lost an engine in practice (down on power) and one during the race because we lost all of the coolant after doing a radiator and nose pan repair. The package was a blast to drive with plenty of power.

Rod wrote:You can also use the tranny out of a mid-90s Mazda Protege. They are exactly the same except for two items.

The clutch throwout fork is towards the bottom.

THe tranny comes with the "newer" more usable 5th gear ratio.

Rod S

ROD S. - Thanks for that tip! I'll keep my eyes peeled.

Meanwhile as an update:
From Inspection: Valve guides in Intake #1 and 3 had slipped down about 1/4-3/8 inch. Number 4 was nearly out of its seat!

Head is off will refresh and "flatten", do some port and polish work, valve job, and try and squeeze some ponys out of the Renault. Considering some Carb mod ideas as well as a clutch refresh.

For the near term - looks like my "Outlaw" may be constrained to being a bit of a a modified Renault. I'll try and squeeze all the HP I can out of it. Say, anybody got a good condition Formula 2000 Renault lying around in the basement?

Thanks for help and support -
Cheers - Jim