S14 gearbox from breakers yard - questions ??

[Jason McIvor]

Folks

I speculatively contacted a couple of breakers yards for a S14 5 speed gearbox and for an immediate response for £375ish (which didn't seem too bad to me)

But
What follow up questions should I be asking to validate that it will be appropriate for installing in my '78 auto 280z ?
Any questions other than age, condition, photos, last time it ran, etc ?

Please let me know as I've not done this before

 

[Rob Gaskin]

Make sure you get a gear lever included.

What model car is it out of?

If you ask about mileage they will probably say 42k.

What guarantee do they give. The problem is that you will invalidate any claim because you will need to dismantle it to fit to a Datsun bellhousing.

 

[SeanDezart]

Folks

I speculatively contacted a couple of breakers yards for a S14 5 speed gearbox and for an immediate response for £375ish (which didn't seem too bad to me)

Bargain !

 

[Jason McIvor]

Make sure you get a gear lever included.

What model car is it out of?

If you ask about mileage they will probably say 42k.

What guarantee do they give. The problem is that you will invalidate any claim because you will need to dismantle it to fit to a Datsun bellhousing.

All I've got at the minute is
1996 Nissan Silvia
3mth warranty

I'll call them tomorrow and get some more info

 

[jonbills]

Really you'd want to see it and confirm it selects all gears and turns smoothly.

 

[atomman]

Maybe get a photo of the 'actual' box they are sending you and double check the code to ?

You have to take most of it apart to change the bellhousing , So I would go through it then check the gears for wear and change the bearings anyways before I used it , its a pretty old gearbox by now , or get a gearbox specialist to do it .

here's some photo's of when I did mine ,

 

[Jason McIvor]

Maybe get a photo of the 'actual' box they are sending you and double check the code to ?

You have to take most of it apart to change the bellhousing , So I would go through it then check the gears for wear and change the bearings anyways before I used it , its a pretty old gearbox by now , or get a gearbox specialist to do it .

here's some photo's of when I did mine ,

Great info
Thanks so much - I will get what info I can from them
They are based in Huddersfield and I am in Bristol so physically being there isn't going to happen but I will see what I can get from them

 

[Farmer42]

Perhaps a nice friendly club member around that area would go and check it out for you?

 

[yellowz]

There's a gearbox up on Ebay?

Datsun 240/260/280Z 5 Speed Gearbox | eBay

I have used this gearbox in my 260z a couple of years ago whilst my gearbox was being overhauled. Excellent condition everything works perfectly.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Jason McIvor]

There's a gearbox up on Ebay?

Datsun 240/260/280Z 5 Speed Gearbox | eBay

I have used this gearbox in my 260z a couple of years ago whilst my gearbox was being overhauled. Excellent condition everything works perfectly.

www.ebay.co.uk

Thanks a million
Will have a look - Bedale couldn't be further away

 

[jonbills]

That's a 71b box I think.

 

[Robotsan]

Out of curiosity, what are the benefits of the S13/S14 gearboxes over one like this, which I assume was a native S30 box?

Is it just how it feels when changing gear? If this one was reconditioned, and all the linkages were new etc, would it feel as nice / precise as one of the newer boxes?

 

[richiep]

Out of curiosity, what are the benefits of the S13/S14 gearboxes over one like this, which I assume was a native S30 box?

Is it just how it feels when changing gear? If this one was reconditioned, and all the linkages were new etc, would it feel as nice / precise as one of the newer boxes?

90s-00s box versus 70s; essentially a next generation version of the 71-series box with design refinements implied by that. Stronger, etc. More easily available spares and upgrade kits if you feel inclined to get spendy. More modern shift feel and plentifully available, cheap, short shifter kits that help further transform the driving experience in a Z. Seriously. Plenty of people will tell you that switching to an S13/S14/S14A box is one of the best mods you can do. I'd concur with that based on my experience. The S14A box in my Fairlady Z has a 20 quid short shifter (Chinese copy of the £££ B&M shifter) on it and it is light years ahead of the old 71B 5-speed it replaced. It has the nicest shift of any car I own/have owned.

The main downside now is the availability - too many years of the 71Cs being used by drifters and tuners as consumables/disposables, so prices have gone up, and some coming to market can be abused. They are also not that new anymore. Also, not all machine shops necessarily have tooling on the shelf that will allow for the required alterations to the bellhousing.

 

[IbanezDan51]

Thanks a million
Will have a look - Bedale couldn't be further away

I have a friend working in Bedale this week and I’m visiting him this weekend. If you need it collecting let me know, though it seems expensive for a 5 speed at least it’s a direct fit.

 

[Robotsan]

90s-00s box versus 70s; essentially a next generation version of the 71-series box with design refinements implied by that. Stronger, etc. More easily available spares and upgrade kits if you feel inclined to get spendy. More modern shift feel and plentifully available, cheap, short shifter kits that help further transform the driving experience in a Z. Seriously. Plenty of people will tell you that switching to an S13/S14/S14A box is one of the best mods you can do. I'd concur with that based on my experience. The S14A box in my Fairlady Z has a 20 quid short shifter (Chinese copy of the £££ B&M shifter) on it and it is light years ahead of the old 71B 5-speed it replaced. It has the nicest shift of any car I own/have owned.

The main downside now is the availability - too many years of the 71Cs being used by drifters and tuners as consumables/disposables, so prices have gone up, and some coming to market can be abused. They are also not that new anymore. Also, not all machine shops necessarily have tooling on the shelf that will allow for the required alterations to the bellhousing.

Right, gotcha, pretty much what I was expecting to hear! I'm looking forward to seeing how bad the 70k mile (or possibly 170k!) gearbox feels in my 280...

 

[Jason McIvor]

I have a friend working in Bedale this week and I’m visiting him this weekend. If you need it collecting let me know, though it seems expensive for a 5 speed at least it’s a direct fit.

Thanks so much for the offer

I think I'll wait tbh
See if I can get something more modern as Richie listed I to the car

 

[AD240Z]

Thanks a million
Will have a look - Bedale couldn't be further away

I live a couple of miles from Bedale - been waiting for a 5 speed box for ages.

Happily I’ve just bought an s14 box from a club member - will be collecting shortly.

 

[240L31]

The S14A box in my Fairlady Z has a 20 quid short shifter (Chinese copy of the £££ B&M shifter) on it and it is light years ahead of the old 71B 5-speed it replaced. It has the nicest shift of any car I own/have owned.

I couldn't agree more. With a cheap short shifter kit + Redline oil (huge improvement) it is the best shifting gearbox I've ever driven (except a manual Cayman GT4)

 

[Rob Gaskin]

I've had a few S14 gearboxes and as has been said they are a very decent upgrade. However if that ebay box is indeed EXCELLENT then it's worth considering. The problem is how do you quantify excellent.

 

[IbanezDan51]

I've had a few S14 gearboxes and as has been said they are a very decent upgrade. However if that ebay box is indeed EXCELLENT then it's worth considering. The problem is how do you quantify excellent.

Not sure why they’d go to the hassle of having an excellent box replaced with a rebuilt one in the first place?