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Gearbox mechanics


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#1 mariner

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Posted 20 December 2014 - 19:36

When I read the lives on the mechanics of the 1950's it strikes me how they had to know how to " spanner" the whole car. Pete Byant tells in his book  about being able to strip and maintain the Climax four cylinder engines for example.

 

All that engine work stopped when the Climax V 8 's then the Cosworth engines arrived and the builders took over all engine maintainance, done back at the factory.

 

But one peice of precision engineering stil got maintained trackside and remained a team rebuild responsibiilty - the gearbox. I have seen many pictures over the years showing a mechanic toiling away at the back of the car , trying to keep everything clean amidst the general paddock mess of yore.

 

I have the impression that each team had one trasmission expert who worked alongside the normal car assigned mechanics like Alec Stokes of BRM. How many other teams had a gearbox specialist?



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#2 Ray Bell

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Posted 20 December 2014 - 21:13

Normally the only gearbox work done at the circuit would be ratio changes...

Especially with the coming of the Hewland, these became relatively simple (if intricate) operations and most mechanics would have tackled them through the sixties and seventies. This would be something you'd see all around the paddock area.

When it came to repairing the gearbox, replacing damaged bearings, setting up the final drive etc, I wouldn't think there'd be anyone who would tackle this at the circuit. Most likely a replacement would be slotted into the car.

#3 alansart

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Posted 20 December 2014 - 21:35

When it came to repairing the gearbox, replacing damaged bearings, setting up the final drive etc, I wouldn't think there'd be anyone who would tackle this at the circuit. Most likely a replacement would be slotted into the car.

 

In my time racing 80's Formula Ford in the UK there was a guy called Tony Wilson who was a Hewland expert. He turned up in an old caravan and frequently spent the day (and night) rebuilding gearboxes. He knew them inside out and kept a lot of us racers going. We could do the ratios and the odd bearing but needed his experience for alinement etc. A brilliant service and I believe he is still doing it :)



#4 merlyn

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Posted 22 December 2014 - 17:35

BRM had one gearbox mechanic per car. My dad Dennis Perkins (known as Sheriff) was gearbox mechanic on one car as well as driving the transporter and doing the the lap timing. How differernt times are now. H Although he passed away several years ago we still have a little blak book full of gera ratios for all the races he did (100 i think) in the 60s



#5 TIPO61

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Posted 22 December 2014 - 23:49

Gearbox you say? I would nominate a gentleman by the name of Frank Lance who handled the gearbox work for Jim Hall and his Chaparral. Not to mention Hall's Maserati 570 and a Formula 1 Lotus 18 (with a queerbox) among other F - 1 Loti.


Edited by TIPO61, 22 December 2014 - 23:51.


#6 Ray Bell

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Posted 23 December 2014 - 00:30

The queerbox was demanding...

Some spacers between the gears could get out of order and there'd be no gears left, you needed a sectioned housing for setting up to get it right again.

Information gleaned from Grant Gibson, former Williams (etc) mechanic and owner of a queerbox-equipped Lotus 15 which had a spacer inserted wrongly many years ago.

It also used a Vauxhall crownwheel that was lapped in on a lathe overnight.