Every race car I have ever driven had/has a Hewland Transaxle. How did this
company get started? What was Mike's background? What were the company's strengths and what were its weaknesses?
Who was Mike Hewland?
Started by
David M. Kane
, Oct 31 2002 00:37
15 replies to this topic
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#2
Ray Bell
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Posted 31 October 2002 - 01:16
Early Formula Fords (Lotus 18 particularly) used a Renault transaxle...
I think if you start from that basis, you'll understand how badly needed a conversion of the VW 'barrel box' with an extra ratio really was.
Mike Hewland, though I don't know anything about his previous history, was probably the right man at the right place at the right time...
Some of his gearbox designations (FT, LG etc) reflect a sense of humour too...
I think if you start from that basis, you'll understand how badly needed a conversion of the VW 'barrel box' with an extra ratio really was.
Mike Hewland, though I don't know anything about his previous history, was probably the right man at the right place at the right time...
Some of his gearbox designations (FT, LG etc) reflect a sense of humour too...
#3
Gary C
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Posted 31 October 2002 - 01:33
shouldn't that read 'who IS Mike Hewland'??? I thought he was still around. I know the company certainly are, do a google search on them and they'll come up. In fact, when I first acquired my Formula Ford Nike, I contacted Hewlands & they informed me that my gearbox was new in 1971!! They have records going back even further!
#4
David M. Kane
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Posted 31 October 2002 - 01:38
I'm sorry, I thought Mike had died and the company was now run by a son. I apologize!
So it basically it grew out of Formula Junior, continued into Formula Ford
and expanded from there? Sorry to be so dense about this topic. I will check out the site. Are there any good books out there on the subject?
In America they were controlled by Carl Haas who had complete control of all spares, etc., Carl was NOT loved by us lowly FF racers as he pretty much rape us all price-wise.
So it basically it grew out of Formula Junior, continued into Formula Ford
and expanded from there? Sorry to be so dense about this topic. I will check out the site. Are there any good books out there on the subject?
In America they were controlled by Carl Haas who had complete control of all spares, etc., Carl was NOT loved by us lowly FF racers as he pretty much rape us all price-wise.
#5
Rainer Nyberg
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Posted 31 October 2002 - 03:54
From www.hewland.com
"Welcome to the web site of Hewland Engineering Limited. Founded by my father Mike Hewland, in 1957, it is the company that invented the bespoke racing car gearbox and it has supplied the worlds racing car constructors ever since.
Hewland is a brand name that means many different things to different people, whether it be memories of the sixties and seventies era of racing, or current knowledge of today's wider range of our exciting latest products. Hewland Engineering is the only company in the world that supplies racing gearboxes to virtually all levels of the sport. "
Mike Hewland
Type Year Remarks
Mk1 1960 Slight modification of standard VW gearbox. 12 made for Lola only.
Mk2 1961 Used by Elva, with more modifications.
Mk3 1962 Now with Hewland five speed loose gear cluster. More widely available.
Mk4 1963 Ford free diff fitted in Hewland sideplates 4 speed using Mk8 gears. The gearbox that really launched Hewland Engineering.
H.D.4 1963 to
1965 The first Hewland designed unit! Cam and pawl L.S.D. First used on Brabhams with 2.7 litre Climaxes, 4 speed.
H.D.5 1963 to
1965 As H.D.4 but 5 speed.
Mk5 1963 5 speed, used as an early F3 gearbox with heavy duty gears. Utilised modified VW crownwheel and pinion and Ford Cortina differential.
Mk6 1963 4 speed version of Mk4 gearbox.
L.G. 500 1966 The biggest ever Hewland box; for Can-Am and large sports cars. Four or five speed. 2 speed version (LG2) produced for Lola; Indianapolis 500.
LG 600 1966 6 speed version of th L.G. 500
Mk7 1968/9 Six speed version for 1000cc F2.
FT 200 1966 Evergreen five speed unit for F2.
DG 300 1966 Evergreen five speed for F1/ Sports cars
Mk8 1968 Only the VW maincasing used. All other parts by Hewland. LSD option.
FG 400 1968 Five speed prompted by DFV F1 era.
FGA 1972 Development of FG. Six speed version also.
Mk9 1973 Lobro type output joints. Slide on first gear.
FGB 1978 New maincase to take larger Crown wheel and pinion. (Lower ratio for higher revving engines).
DGB 1981 Sportscar endurance. Full oil system, strong case.
VG 1981 As DGB concept but bigger.
VGC 1986 Uprated version of the VG.
LD 200 1988 A totally new unit, designed to replace Mk9 with a neat modern solution. Four or five speed versions.
"Welcome to the web site of Hewland Engineering Limited. Founded by my father Mike Hewland, in 1957, it is the company that invented the bespoke racing car gearbox and it has supplied the worlds racing car constructors ever since.
Hewland is a brand name that means many different things to different people, whether it be memories of the sixties and seventies era of racing, or current knowledge of today's wider range of our exciting latest products. Hewland Engineering is the only company in the world that supplies racing gearboxes to virtually all levels of the sport. "
Mike Hewland
Type Year Remarks
Mk1 1960 Slight modification of standard VW gearbox. 12 made for Lola only.
Mk2 1961 Used by Elva, with more modifications.
Mk3 1962 Now with Hewland five speed loose gear cluster. More widely available.
Mk4 1963 Ford free diff fitted in Hewland sideplates 4 speed using Mk8 gears. The gearbox that really launched Hewland Engineering.
H.D.4 1963 to
1965 The first Hewland designed unit! Cam and pawl L.S.D. First used on Brabhams with 2.7 litre Climaxes, 4 speed.
H.D.5 1963 to
1965 As H.D.4 but 5 speed.
Mk5 1963 5 speed, used as an early F3 gearbox with heavy duty gears. Utilised modified VW crownwheel and pinion and Ford Cortina differential.
Mk6 1963 4 speed version of Mk4 gearbox.
L.G. 500 1966 The biggest ever Hewland box; for Can-Am and large sports cars. Four or five speed. 2 speed version (LG2) produced for Lola; Indianapolis 500.
LG 600 1966 6 speed version of th L.G. 500
Mk7 1968/9 Six speed version for 1000cc F2.
FT 200 1966 Evergreen five speed unit for F2.
DG 300 1966 Evergreen five speed for F1/ Sports cars
Mk8 1968 Only the VW maincasing used. All other parts by Hewland. LSD option.
FG 400 1968 Five speed prompted by DFV F1 era.
FGA 1972 Development of FG. Six speed version also.
Mk9 1973 Lobro type output joints. Slide on first gear.
FGB 1978 New maincase to take larger Crown wheel and pinion. (Lower ratio for higher revving engines).
DGB 1981 Sportscar endurance. Full oil system, strong case.
VG 1981 As DGB concept but bigger.
VGC 1986 Uprated version of the VG.
LD 200 1988 A totally new unit, designed to replace Mk9 with a neat modern solution. Four or five speed versions.
#6
Ray Bell
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Posted 31 October 2002 - 04:27
Originally posted by David M. Kane
So it basically it grew out of Formula Junior, continued into Formula Ford
and expanded from there?
Grew out of FJr, all right... but continued to grow and expand before Formula Ford ever happened...
As you can see by Rainer's list, there were unique creations of their own, not even sharing a production housing as the FJr/F2/F3/FF lines did for so long, as far back as 1963.
It's among these that the naming humour lies...
I cannot agree with the suggestion that they invented 'bespoke gearboxes for racing cars'... Valerio Colotti might have a word or two to say about that.
But consider the situation in that era... Cooper had struggled with special housings for modified Citroen gearboxes, ZFs existed, but tended to be slow in the change because of their synchromesh, Lotus had the 'queerbox' especially made by ZF because of this need.
As I said, Mike Hewland was the right man in the right place at the right time... fitting right in with Coventry Climax, Cosworth etc.
#7
petefenelon
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Posted 31 October 2002 - 11:54
Originally posted by Ray Bell
Early Formula Fords (Lotus 18 particularly) used a Renault transaxle...
I think if you start from that basis, you'll understand how badly needed a conversion of the VW 'barrel box' with an extra ratio really was.
Mike Hewland, though I don't know anything about his previous history, was probably the right man at the right place at the right time...
Some of his gearbox designations (FT, LG etc) reflect a sense of humour too...
Thinking of some of the names here:
FT - "Formula Two"
DG - "Different Gearbox"
HD - "Heavy Duty"
FG - apparently a cross between an FT and a DG, but allegedly "F**king Gearbox"
I don't know what the TL stands for - wasn't that mainly a sports car
box?
pete
#8
Roger Clark
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Posted 31 October 2002 - 12:44
Mk7 1968/9 Six speed version for 1000cc F2.
Why were they building a gearbox for 1000cc F2 in 1968?
#9
Pete Stowe
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Posted 31 October 2002 - 20:01
A feature on Hewland by Doug Nye (who else 
) appeared in a 1968 Autosport.
"Mike Hewlands engineering career began shortly before the last war when he left school at the age of 14 ‘because I was hungry.’ He went straight onto the workshop floor as an apprentice engineer, and spent the war years on the mobile labour force doing anything to aid the war effort which might come along. In the post-war years he worked at EMI and Sperry’s, both on the floor and in their drawing offices, and gained a firm foundation of practical engineering experience.
Early contact with gears and gear-cutting machinery sowed a seed of deep interest in the subject, but when he decided to go into business on his own, in 1957, he put his capital into plating. This quickly developed into metal spraying, reconstituting such components as worn crankshafts, starting with a staff of one in small premises at King Street, Maidenhead. But metal spraying in practice wasn’t as profitable as it had appeared in theory, and the firm soon concentrated on general engineering work.
And then, some time in 1958, Bob Gibson-Jarvie of United Dominions Trust contacted him through a mutual friend. UDT were sponsoring a team of F2 Coopers at the time and had suffered a season of continual gearbox problems. Hearing of Hewland’s experience with transmission gears, Gibson-Jarvie commissioned the firm to build a small batch of special gearboxes for the team. This design, the first-ever Hewland gearbox, was built completely from scratch, six being produced by Hewland and his small staff (which had now grown to five). The transmission was tolerably successful, and its use in 1959 prompted Eric Broadley of Lola Cars to get in touch with Hewland to suggest he build a special transmission for the forthcoming rear-engined Formula Junior Lola. This was to be the first true Hewland production transmission, and 12 were made."
So that’s the beginnings of Hewland Engineering. As Ray says, the right man in the right place at the right time.
) appeared in a 1968 Autosport."Mike Hewlands engineering career began shortly before the last war when he left school at the age of 14 ‘because I was hungry.’ He went straight onto the workshop floor as an apprentice engineer, and spent the war years on the mobile labour force doing anything to aid the war effort which might come along. In the post-war years he worked at EMI and Sperry’s, both on the floor and in their drawing offices, and gained a firm foundation of practical engineering experience.
Early contact with gears and gear-cutting machinery sowed a seed of deep interest in the subject, but when he decided to go into business on his own, in 1957, he put his capital into plating. This quickly developed into metal spraying, reconstituting such components as worn crankshafts, starting with a staff of one in small premises at King Street, Maidenhead. But metal spraying in practice wasn’t as profitable as it had appeared in theory, and the firm soon concentrated on general engineering work.
And then, some time in 1958, Bob Gibson-Jarvie of United Dominions Trust contacted him through a mutual friend. UDT were sponsoring a team of F2 Coopers at the time and had suffered a season of continual gearbox problems. Hearing of Hewland’s experience with transmission gears, Gibson-Jarvie commissioned the firm to build a small batch of special gearboxes for the team. This design, the first-ever Hewland gearbox, was built completely from scratch, six being produced by Hewland and his small staff (which had now grown to five). The transmission was tolerably successful, and its use in 1959 prompted Eric Broadley of Lola Cars to get in touch with Hewland to suggest he build a special transmission for the forthcoming rear-engined Formula Junior Lola. This was to be the first true Hewland production transmission, and 12 were made."
So that’s the beginnings of Hewland Engineering. As Ray says, the right man in the right place at the right time.
#10
Ray Bell
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Posted 31 October 2002 - 21:31
Originally posted by petefenelon
FT - "Formula Two"
DG - "Different Gearbox"
HD - "Heavy Duty"
FG - apparently a cross between an FT and a DG, but allegedly "F**king Gearbox"
I don't know what the TL stands for - wasn't that mainly a sports car
box?
DG - 'Different gearbox' and LG - ' Large Gearbox' gives a clue...
FT, as I understand it, was a box they didn't want to get too serious about, thus it had another name. And yes, the FT gears with the DG final drive made up the FG, and this name you mention harks back to what they called the FT.
Of course, this is all what I've been told...
#11
David Beard
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Posted 31 October 2002 - 21:47
What about the Hewland engine with the unique (for it's category) final drive? 
#12
petefenelon
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Posted 31 October 2002 - 22:48
Originally posted by David Beard
What about the Hewland engine with the unique (for it's category) final drive?
I've heard something (probably from you
) about a Hewland engine- wasn't it a small flat-four? Not sure if it was intended for cars or
some other form of vehicle...?
pete
#13
BRG
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Posted 01 November 2002 - 14:07
Didn't Hewland build a very small, lightweight, three(?) cylinder engine for Richard Noble's light aircraft project of 8-9 years ago?
I seem to remember wondering why he would ask a gearbox specialist to build an engine... and IIRC it turned out to be the aircraft's weak spot?
I seem to remember wondering why he would ask a gearbox specialist to build an engine... and IIRC it turned out to be the aircraft's weak spot?
#14
Graham2
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Posted 01 November 2002 - 17:05
They did produce a single cylinder two stroke 100cc engine for Kart Racing called the Hewland Arrow and the special 'D' port option.
What a superb engine that was. A special feature was the larger drive sprocket which until then had been 9 tooth.
About 1979/80 if my memory serves me right (which will be a first
)
What a superb engine that was. A special feature was the larger drive sprocket which until then had been 9 tooth.
About 1979/80 if my memory serves me right (which will be a first
)
#15
David Beard
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Posted 01 November 2002 - 17:07
Originally posted by petefenelon
I've heard something (probably from you
- wasn't it a small flat-four? Not sure if it was intended for cars or
some other form of vehicle...?
pete
I was thinking of the 100c Hewland kart motor from around the late 70s/ early 80s. Although it was single cylinder disc valve 2 stroke like all the others. Hewland had obviously been appalled by the standard kart drive system of a chain with 7(?) tooth drive sprocket (it had to be that small to miss the inlet manifold) and a humungous driven sprocket on the axle, braking all the rules of power transmission. The Hewland version had a gear on the end of the crank engaging with the internal teeth of a larger gear, in a small casing attached to the crank case. Because of the reduction from the gearbox, the final chain drive had more sensibly sized sprockets.
Kart racers are a conservative lot and it never took off, despite the obvious logic. I seem to remember this all started because a young Hewland was having a go in karts, but I'm not sure.
#16
WGD706
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Posted 01 November 2002 - 17:18
David
William Hewland, now M.D. of Hewland Engineering since 1992, raced karts:
1978 TO 1981: Karting with works Hewland team.
Many wins at club level.
In 1979 he finished third in the R.A.C Junior Britain Championship and third in the season long `Road And Racing` sponsored series. These championships were the highest level possible.
1984 to 1989: Karting with works Hewland team.
Returned to Karting in senior category and had about 10 wins at club level. Twice finished second in 100 National season championship at Blackbush circuit.
(he was elected president of Camberley Kart Club in 1997)
http://www.hewland.com/svga/Willcv.htm
William Hewland, now M.D. of Hewland Engineering since 1992, raced karts:
1978 TO 1981: Karting with works Hewland team.
Many wins at club level.
In 1979 he finished third in the R.A.C Junior Britain Championship and third in the season long `Road And Racing` sponsored series. These championships were the highest level possible.
1984 to 1989: Karting with works Hewland team.
Returned to Karting in senior category and had about 10 wins at club level. Twice finished second in 100 National season championship at Blackbush circuit.
(he was elected president of Camberley Kart Club in 1997)
http://www.hewland.com/svga/Willcv.htm
