SUPRA 5 speed Gearbox Conversion This classic article contains hints for anyone fitting up a Supra 5 speed By example this article contains VOLVO 240 / 740 / 940 fittment information © by Anthony Hyde, AUSTRALIA First published August 1999 - Lastest update March 2017

Click to enlarge Pics AH

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A gearbox conversion company in Sydney, Australia - 'Dellow Automotive' (with over 35 years experience) manufactures a range of gearbox conversion kits based mainly around the Toyota Supra 5 speed alloy cased gearbox. Kits give converters a flying head start with the No.1 requirement a bellhousing, and includes other items such as a speedo cable, supra splined clutch disc & related parts. Note this kit does not include items like a modified crossmember, g/box to trans mount, or modified tailshaft, these are up to you. In the Volvo scene, Supra kits suit all tilted red engines B21/B23/B230 turbo or non-turbo. Beware of a China copy of Toyota Supra W58 gearbox itself - see gear ratio chart further down page.

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SHIFTER POSITION HOMEWORK - Internal link is available in 4 positions A-18" B-19" C-20.1/2" D-21" Volvo 240 - The 'Dellow' kit -"Volvo 4 cylinder to Supra, tilted engine", specify shifter in the 20 1/2" position Volvo 740/940 models - For 740/940 they use the same bellhousing as a 240, but there is a shifter length problem and a solution. Problem: Compared to a 240, the 740/940 gear lever (and driver's seat) position is located an additional 4" (101mm) further rearward relative to the engine/gearbox. The Supra gearbox has an internal gearshift linkup with a choice of gearshift positions but doesn't extend far enough back as required. The longest Supra shifter option is 21", so for a 740/940 even if you select 21" your still 3 1/2" short of the original chassis hole. Measurements are from start of gearbox (not bellhousing) to centre line of shifter. Solution:- Hal Glenn from the USA overcame the fittment issue by extending the Supra internal linkage and alloy shifter box. UPDATE 2007 - Dellow have limited stock of a 'Long stick Supra version' that would fit a 740.

Extended alloy shifter housing

Extended internal linkage

940T with Supra

Link: Fitup Supra 740 conversion by Angus Campbell-Wright in Australia

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Rear: Volvo 240 - M46 with Laycock 'J' Overdrive G'box+OD=5speed. Gearbox case is cast iron, painted red. Overdrive is alloy with speedo cable output. Gear shift is external. Front: Toyota Supra W55 alloy cased 5 speed with Dellow bellhousing. Gear shift mechanism is internal. Speedo cable output.

LEFT picture: As the pic shows, the manual Supra W55 box is of very neat design, and by comparison it makes the Volvo M46 seem pretty industrial. The camera lens has distorted the length comparison. Overall gearbox lengths are within 10 mm. Shifter position is within 5 mm using the 20 1/2" position. Dellow bellhousing (Volvo version) is 6" long, being exactly the same as Volvo 240. Add another 20 1/2" (515 mm) from start of gearbox to centre of shifter. ABOVE: Volvo 740 M46 'D' with Laycock 'P' Overdrive. Both gearbox & OD are Al. Alloy. 740 shift position is 4" (101mm) further rearwood than 240. (Pic - therefore 740 long black support frame & shifter rod linkage is longer than a 240 version). The alloy 740 version can be retrofitted into a 240 with a change in rear output shaft flange, and by swapping in the shorter 240 gear shift extension frame. P' Overdrive has NO speedo cable output, replaced by an electronic sensor in differential. Info Link 1) Overdrive Parts Diagram for P Type, J has different numbering, info Link 2) Overdrive & M46 Operation

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SUPRA :
Pros - Supra W series gearboxes are of strong design, precise in operation, and different models (when available) give a choice in gear ratios, hopefully a near perfect gear stick position with a shorter throw length, lighter in weight & bit easier to fit. Supra Gearstick shift mechanism is more advanced than most, uses 4 bolts at the top and is fully sealed against grit, (hence beats the Volvo stick that is secured at the top only by a single circlip and not as well sealed against grit). Toyota boxes are made by industry partner, Aisin Al.
Cons - Lot of effort to modify the crossmember that supports g/box and transmission mount. Volvo two-piece tailshaft can require front shaft section to be modified (full details below).
ROAD TEST
W55-58 Supra shift quality is good and direct, but not as smooth thru the gate as a good Volvo M46. Gear ratio spread is very progressive through the range, better than a M46, with less time taken for third gear to rev out ! Shifter throw is 5 mm less at either end of a 1^st to 2^nd change, so in total 10 mm less gearshift travel, a welcome benefit. As expected, a few 5th gear resonances compared to the Volvo's isolated 5th gear Laycock overdrive system. The Supra W55's 5th gear reduction is 0.85:1 so not as low as the Volvo overdrive's 0.79. I have found the Supra 0.85:1 reduction an advantage in flowing traffic as compared to the Volvo OD, as your not continually catching up with the car in front, plus you have improved 5th gear acceleration and hill climbing ability.

LEAKING FRONT or REAR OIL SEALS: This can be an frustrating issue even after replacement seals are fitted, and I believe this is due to a slight internal pressure buildup. Toyota boxes don't have a dedicated breather, so hopefully the solutions below solve your problem, they did for me.

Considered breather position - I chose high up far away from the oil. After these two mods were applied the gearbox is finally free of any small oil seal leaks. 4 years later still perfect.

Extra safe - A groove is added to the front oil seal flange so a half ring of sealant is formed when Silicon Blue is applied to the surface. Groove was carefuly made with a Dremel tool. Before this, the plate sealing surface was sanded flat using emery paper on a sheet of glass.

The two-section transmission is fine until the 'complicated' Overdrive section causes trouble, being very expensive to replace, recondition, or repair perfectly. Owners face high cost again when it's time to replace or re-condition the 4 speed main gearbox and this is where I drew the line. The gasket sets alone were sending me broke in the quest to eliminate fine oil leaks from the thin ATF fluid.
I wished for 5 real gears based on a strong design at a reasonable price.

Volvo manufactured a 5 speed M47 (versions I & II ) only fitted to NON turbo models (except 940SE low pressure turbo), and hence for performance driving with a turbo engine, the M47 is just not strong enough, one problem area being the breaking of low friction synchros. The internet has lots of M47 information.

Additional Information: (Links to my technical topics pages)
Gearbox ratios compared - more ratio information for Volvo M 46, M47, M90 + Getrag + Supra
Getrag M 51 - good pictures and information

Supra snippets: Apparently the early model Supra boxes used gaskets in-between the gearbox sections, and later model boxes nil. The late W58 boxes (USA/Can) have a revised input shaft and bearing -> the diameters increased. V70R740T writes: A mod recommended by lots of W58 users out there was to change out the input bearing for a "maxi" bearing. Basically a HD bearing that uses twice the number of ball bearings as the standard W58 bearing which more evenly distributes side loads.
Nikolai says : W58 in the USA is pretty common and came in a lot of the early to mid 80's Celicas with 4 cylinder (rear wheel drive) and all the 6 cylinder Supra's except the turbos. On a few rare occurances, it also came in the '84 through '87 Cressida's. From 1985.5 through 93 (?) Supra, the W58 came in the N/A car.
Note: In Australia an estimated 95% of claimed W58 boxes are not, there more likely W55s.

The big Supra R154 5 speed came in the Toyota Supra turbo (7M GTE), has high torque handling capability, uses a different bellhousing bolt pattern to the W55-58 series, lower ratios, short throw, and beefier. A few comments to Frank comparing measurements between the common Supra 5 speed (W55-W58) to the larger R154 Supra 5 speed. - From what I have seen the R154 could also be fitted to the Volvo 240/740/940 as the dimensions are very close. (Given you mentioned some tunnel mods you require to fit the Toyota 1JZ-GTE, the Volvo crank height might sit lower than your Toyota twin turbo).
The longer input shaft of the R154 (19mm more) might not be a problem, in fact it could well be better than the W55-58. The input shaft splines (for clutch disc) look the same, width being 1" wider should still fit OK into a 240. The gearbox lengths are the same, but I wonder if you can specify different shifter positions as W55-58 has 4 choices with the 20 1/2" being ideal.
On the downside, to fit a Volvo 4 cyl, a custom bellhousing would need to be cast for the R154. Weight without bellhousing - big difference W55-58 @ 33kg, R154 @ 46.5kg.

Kris Weldy writes: The R154 is a bit larger in diameter right before the shifter (the big Supra R154 has ). Both trannies have hydraulic clutches but both setups are different, it appears that the W58 pushes from the front and the R154 pushes from the back-both having different slave cylinders. The R154 has a cylinder type slave (two bolts) cylinder and the W58 has a four bolt slave cylinder .

Link 1 Supra W58 vs R154 dimensions and pics

Supra 6 speed V160 - People ask if the 6 speed manual gearbox found in 1993-97 Supra twin turbo (2JZ GTE) would fit the same Dellow belhousing as the 5-speed unit ? Unfortunately NO. I have found out that this gearbox is actually a German Getrag 6 speed, that uses a completely different attachment pattern compared to the 5-speed Supra box. The next development was the V161 1997-2002.

The Supra W55 and later a W58 was my choice for fitment into a sporty 240 with a B230FT turbo engine, replacing a M46+OD gearbox. For Australian buyers, Dellow can supply both a basic kit and if req'd a 2nd hand Supra box as well, that they purchase them in container loads from Japan.

240 FITMENT 240 fittment - Plenty of room in chassis tunnel. Note the bracket under the front tailshaft (a safety item for motorsport events)

Dimensions for the Supra are very similar to the M46+OD with overall length being only 10 mm (approx 3/8") shorter. The Supra box fits inside the 240 chassis tunnel with ease, and the shifter position in the tunnel hole is near perfect, (much joy). Specify the 20 1/2" shifter position when ordering. The crossmember attaches to the 240 chassis-rail using the rear-most threaded holes. WEIGHTS - The alloy cased Supra weighs 33 kg + 5 kg for the bellhousing = ~38 kg. A Borg Warner T5 gearbox weighs ~32kg add a alloy adaptor plate to suit a Volvo bellhousing weighs ~42+k, more if a steel adaptor. The Supra box is lighter than an equivalent cast-iron cased Volvo M46+OD by 7 kg (15.4 lb), representing a weight saving of 18.5%. This difference is far less if your replacing the 1983/85-on aluminium alloy cased M46 which is reportably 6 kg lighter than the cast iron version. There are no markings on the Supra gearbox so it's difficult for the untrained eye to establish what ratio model you have other than referring to the details on the receipt. If your lucky enough to locate a car intact, then the long chassis plate number on the Overall the Dellow kit is a reasonably well made, industrially strong, not state of the art though. The bellhousing casting is good and thick. From a precision perspective, the important 'locating dowel fits' were spot-on for the bellhousing to engine mount face. Bellhousing to gearbox dowels were good also. Motronic/LH 2.2/2.4 flywheel position sensor : UPDATE May 2006: Following requests, Dellow now has prepared a jig to machine out the slot in the bellhousing for the Motronic/LH 2.2/2.4 flywheel position sensor. It pays to trial fit every mating component you can in advance, so allow time for this. Check also the fit of the rubber shift-fork-boot and also the hydraulic clutch slave cylinder. The Volvo yellow foam sound insulator saddle can still be used with the Supra and fits neatly around the g/box & tunnel. For markets that use a clutch cable, the setup can be adapted. A custom 9" clutch plate is part of the kit, is of good quality and made in Australian by PBR. If you run more than approx 12 psi boost I would recommend an upgraded aftermarket clutch/pressure plate combination. Note: 84-on turbo B23/230ET/FT models use a 9" clutch with a stepped flywheel. (Earlier turbo B21ET/FT and normally aspirated models use a smaller 8.5" clutch with a flat flywheel). For further flywheel information visit my fly /clutch page.

Original loop design

Clutch Release Fork - Right Hand Drive use a hydraulic master & slave cylinder to activate, Left Hand drive use a simple cable. The Dellow supplied cast iron fork is fine, pretty industrial looking, heavy and strong. As a personal preference I chose to use a genuine Volvo clutch shift-fork as this required only hand filing 0.75 mm off each leg to neatly fit in the groove of the supplied Dellow carrier (carrier holds release bearing & this slides on a tube outside the gearbox input shaft). As I used the Volvo fork, the Dellow supplied ball pivot was reduced in ball diameter in the lathe to suit the Volvo fork. * This style enclosed fork has been superced to the open fork design shown below. Click pic of Volvo shift-fork to see ball spring fitted. (spring taken from the Dellow fork)

New Volvo open design

Click pics to enlarge - Newer style Clutch Release Fork VO-1220763 you will also need the fork 'Lock Spring' VO-1377132

The Dellow supplied carrier & clutch release bearing are of heavy-duty design and are long lasting compared to the less durable Volvo metal / plastic combo release bearing.
The crankshaft mounted pilot bush locates the gearbox input shaft. The kit supplies an oil impregnated sintered-bronze bush pressed into a steel shell of 35 mm outside diameter (O.D.) and 12 mm I.D. This is specially made and supplied to suit the conversion, ensure the one you receive is 19mm long (shorter ones are useless for the Volvo Dr Dellow, and in 2006 the short ones continue to be supplied !). The bush replaces a bearing.
Alternative: 1) If you desire a centre bearing rather than a bush, an option is a SKF special long bearing 35 OD, 15 ID, 20 thick # SKF BA2B 44014AE that nearly suits (expensive, so presume needle roller design). With the SKF bearing you will need to fit a starter motor bush (sintered-bronze) to reduce the ID from 15 mm to the Supra shaft's 12 mm. To hold the long bearing in place, use loctite. If you desire a support ring, this can be machined so the outer ring diameter has the same O.D. as the flywheel, with the ring being held in place by a tab off the flywheel bolts.
The speedo cable is well made but way too long for a 240. (I figure 1,510 mm would be correct). Not an issue if you have a later model diff based electronic sensor / vane wheel. Modern alternatives such as a tooth wheel pickup are better than a speedo cable.

Click any Picture for enlargement

Crossmember Mount: The transmission crossmember bolts up using the existing chassis holes (the end 2 sets), being one notch further back from where an autotrans would bolt up (bonus - better rearward weight distribution of heavy crossmember). The most challenging task was determining the shape of a gearbox mount to be fabricated and welded into the Volvo crossmember. There are tight space limitations because the end of the g/box is near the crossmember. To keep you thinking, every piece requiring fabrication had an angle on it. Feedback from others: The V6 auto crossmember gives the biggest headstart. Other notes: The existing chassis holes are spaced 68.0 c/c. M10. On occassion the crossmember holes need some reslotting so the member fits up easy without damaging your screws. It should be noted the Volvo engine & gearbox sits within three rubber mounts 'inclined' to one other. The rear transmission mount is inclined close to 32 deg from the vertical. By comparison, the standard Supra mount is a straight up and down affair which in my opinion does not ideally suit the inclined Volvo setup. This is the reason for the extra work. Others have found making angled brackets too much work and have gone the straight up and down route with the supplied Supra mount.

Gearbox Mount: As usual, half the battle is working out what you want before starting fabrication. I used thin alloy sheet mock-ups to get sizes and angles right. First step was to build a steel angled bracket to attach the g/box to the topside of a Volvo transmission mount (IPD heavy duty rubber mount is from a 164 B30). Think the original 164 Volvo # was 120 6612. Next the crossmember is modified ready to fit a box section. The box section connects the bottom face of the rubber transmission mount to the crossmember. Once both sections are in place, final marking can be made and the box section welded to/into the crossmember. Suitable fillets/webs should be added.

GEARBOX TO TAILSHAFT CONVERSION INFORMATION
Note: the Supra output shaft uses a sliding spline / slip yoke affair. This is different to Volvo as they use two bolt-up flanges at either end of a 2 piece tailshaft with a slip yoke positioned between the 2 pieces. The beauty of the flange system is you don't have to drain the oil if repairing the tailshaft. The ' yoke' information below details selection of matching components used to adapt the gearbox to the tailshaft: Hardy Spicer components Mechanics Type 'R' in Size 17R is the example size detailed. See Information Update 2010 for another option.

A) GEARBOX OUTPUT SHAFT SLIP YOKE: Supra out shaft is '21 INV spline' slip yoke (can be sourced from Dellow) or Hardy Spicer Part #17-R-3-1478 [Driveline products -> Mechanics type R -> 17R]. Toyota 5 speed family. This has a Ø25.4 mm (1") universal (uni) joint sizing. (This size is in-between Volvo uni sizes: Ø23.8 mm (15/16") or 27 mm (1.1/16")).

A.1) OUTPUT SHAFT OIL SEAL - A quality seal is NOK brand # AH 2240H or Toyota OEM # 90311-38032. Nominal sizes in mm: ID to seal Ø38, OD Ø58, T 11mm

B) TAILSHAFT WELD YOKE: Matching weld-yoke is Hardy Spicer #17R-26-330 [uses a 1" uni, suits a 2" tailshaft tube, butt weld]

C) UNIVERSAL JOINT: Matching universal joint assembly is Hardy Spicer #RUJ-1786R (premium thrust washer type, internal clips)

D) TAILSHAFT or Propellor shaft: The front section of the Volvo two-piece shaft requires adapting, and its worth noting the following: - Volvo 240 tailshafts come in two diameters 1.3/4" (44.45 mm) and most common in 2" (51 mm) being the one to use. Depending upon model they have different front shaft lengths. For example, the original manual M46 / Overdrive front tailshaft is too short in length so I selected the longer and larger diameter 51mm (2") shaft from an auto 240 series. All 2" shafts are termed 1310 series being the Dana system.
Front tailshaft length - From metal disc (the round thin metal disc cover at rear of front shaft, in front of tailshaft centre bearing) to centre of the new weld-yoke uni, I chose a length of 420-430mm. (Ensure there is freedom for yoke spline to move as you don't want it impacting the end of the gearbox output shaft). Adapting tailshafts has its problems even with perfect phasing. Old shafts can give mixed results for various reasons, so find the newest you can. A one-piece shaft is an alternative but the diff angle could require modification upwards (via adjustable torque rods) plus some additional floorpan panelbeating.

Information Update 2010 - OPTION - (Volvo related) - For 1 year only a 1984 240 with AW71 auto trans features a front tailshaft being the right length, so no shaft modifications are required. 430mm from metal disc to uni cup centre. To identify, the outside yoke width is a big 89 mm. Shaft is std 51mm (2"), Uni-joint CUP size is std 27mm.. The tailshaft family is termed 1310 series. You need to select a 21 SPLINE TOYOTA slip yoke and cross-over uni-joint. See Hardy Spicer cat, or contact me.

E) BALANCING the driveshaft by a specialist is mandatory after modification. Before balancing install new universal joints. Pay attention to the correct phasing of the two-piece shafts. The cast uni yokes fitted each end of the shaft tubes are rather big lumps of metal, and as they rotate further out from the shaft axis, they are likely to be more out of balance than a good shaft tube. Link to details on TRANSMISSION MOUNT & CENTRE BEARING UPGRADE for 240 Turbo

WRAP UP:
After a few months of testing I'm happy with the result of the Supra conversion. The fitment has taken a lot of effort in many areas and much free hobby time, and when it works properly the pain is quickly forgotten. With conversions there is usually something to sort out at the end, in this case it was the tailshaft and the appropriate tailshft angles. The gearstick position makes shifting into all 5 gears a pleasure.
Update: One year on, everything is operating perfectly. Two years on still fine, five years the same but gearbox needed new input and output shaft oil seals. After 9 years I updated to a W58 Supra box which features a long first gear and close together ratios between 2nd-3rd.

Anthony Hyde

This detailed web article is completly original, and so is subject to copyright ©.

, other than being a customer. The following is provided to assist you and is not official.
For conversion information please contact Dellow Automotive:

Unofficial 2006 price - Australia - Bellhousing: AU $495, 9" clutch disc: AU $95, Fork: AU $95, Release bearing: AU $95, Spigot bush: AU $25

Fax +61+2+9774 4783 (24 hour)
Phone +61+2+9774 4419 or +61+2+9774 3873 Time-zones- to ring them? Approximately 7pm-3am in NYC, 5pm-1am in Denver, and 4pm-midnight in LA.
Physical address: 37 Daisy St, Revesby, Sydney, Australia. 2212
Email sales@dellowauto.com.au

- Supra internal shifter positions are available in : A -18", B -19", C -20 1/2", D -21" - For a 240 choose 20 1/2, for 740 21" then add a section.

Volvo P1800 / 140 series information : 'Dellow' kit "Volvo 4 cylinder upright engine to steel case Celica 5 speed" - The conversion uses a Toyota Celica 5 speed W50, a steel cased gearbox of good reputation: The Celica box suits the upright B18/B20 E/F engine. good torque handling, weight 45 kg, length 22", front shaft 21 splines x 29 mm (OD?), tailshaft splines = 21, oil capacity 2.6 litres, Stick positions: A -18", B -19", C -20 1/2", D -21"
It appears that in North America the Volvo M40/41 conversions are going largely to Ford T5 or the T9 (for the smaller tunnel cars eg 120), or the GM Muncie which is a side controlled unit but has absolutely ideal gears in it.

Link: Supra 740 conversion by Angus Campbell-Wright in Australia

Link: Volvo 9 1/2" CLUTCH & FLYWHEEL Upgrade - by Anthony Hyde

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