I've been told that some '76 1600 models came with a five speed. True or False?

[kriemhild]

I've just got the bog standard Avenger with the single carb and a four speed which is REALLY starting to annoy the hell out of me. This fellow tells me that some 1600s of the 76 vintage came out with a five speed. IZ DIZ TROO? because if it is I can try and buy one 

[avenga]

Nope. None of the NZ or British Avengers ever came out with a 5 speed from the factory.

In South America VW brough the Avenger and continued selling it until the early 90's. in the late 80's it got a 5 speed gearbox.

I have a 5 speed in my '75 but it is a Ford Sierra 5 speed which we converted to run off an Avenger Auto bellhousing.

[kriemhild]

Thought so. I did hear that the way to modify them was with the automatic bellhousing and the Sierra gearbox, like you said. You probably said it lol. I'm pretty sure that I can get the Sierra bit but the auto bellhousing will take some searching. Thanks!

[avenga]

The Auto bellhousing is the hard bit to find.

Read this post here. It has heaps of photos etc of how I did my 5 speed gearbox swap http://www.avenger.co.nz/forum/index.php?topic=60.0

[oldschool]

Yeah my auto bell housing cost more than the 5 speed gearbox...lol
There's other options to improve the gearing...easiest one is to fit 13" 5J Hunter GT/Avenger Alpine wheels with 185/80 tyres, that reduces the gearing from 3.89 down to 3.7 like the later Chrysler Avenger.
Another option if you can't find Hunter GT or Avenger Alpine rims, is to fit 14" Sierra wheels on the back with 175/80 tyres to give the same 3.7 ratio...see picture below.

Then if you fit a 3.7 Chrysler Avenger diff/rear axle in your Hillman, with those wheels and tyres the gearing will be further reduced down to 3.5, similar to a modern car.

[kriemhild]

hey thanks guys! Turns out though that the reason my Avenger screams her head off at 100 km/h is because I have a weird diff on it. Would like the five speed one day but for now maybe it would be easiest to find a 3.9:1 diff... that's what my mechanic reckons Avengers generally came out with? hmm.