Megabusa restoration: Transmission tunnel

When I was fitting the near side (passenger) seat runners I noted the GRP cover over the transmission tunnel was not fitting correctly. There was some obstruction underneath near the reverse mechanism that was causing the problem. This problem is of a trivial nature but seeing the GRP cover was held on with two screws I though I would have a look at how this part of the car works. This is an early Megabusa chassis made in 2004, and I know they changed it in this area on later models so I thought it was worth a look.

The previous owner to his credit had spent a significant amount of money restoring this area and it was pleasant to reveal that he had indeed had had good value for the money spent. All the mechanicals are in perfect condition.

At least now I know what is in there and have no fears about it failing unpredictably. I think it is a good arrangement provided care is taken selecting reverse.

It is basically a motor bike starter (by the looks of it) and there is a cog on the interface with the diff flange which engages with the motor via a fabricated gear box (presumably by Westfield). I have downloaded some pictures so I can have a record of the investigation. The bad fitting of the GRP tunnel cover was due to a badly routed wire to the motor (5 minutes work). The problem with engagement is there is no synchronising mechanism. You have to develop your own strategy (mine is still to be perfected).

Plans

Although this is not a priority at this stage I am giving some thought to adding a paddle shift gear change and removing the existing linkage. The existing gear selector is an ugly feature on that car. This will require an upgrade to the tunnel housing. Also the reverse mechanism has no provision to turn on a reversing light although one is present on the car.

There is a contents page Link

The rubber boots need refreshing being badly cracked.