Was at cars and coffee in San Clemente today and had a conversation with E type owner.
According to him, the JT5 is back into production?
Glenn
Would be nice; I could do with another one.
I’ll email him.
I spoke to Paul this morning. He says that he is still waiting on parts to be manufactured which is what he said to me about 12 months ago.
He said both that suppliers had gone out of business and also that there needs to be a substantial investment on his part to get the pieces made. He was adamant that the JT5 will be available again at some time in the future, but couldn’t provide a lead time.
I guess the guy I spoke to had it all wrong about the JT5 being back in production.
Thank for setting it straight.
Glenn
Would a group buy help him make the decision to push forward? I think there are quite a few of us that would jump on the bandwagon.
Give him a call at Medatronics. He always answers the phone when I call.
I wish it was true because I have been waiting a long time for Paul to start building 5 spds for E-types again.
I suspect the more of us contact him the keener he’d get.
For those of you who may not be totally up to speed on what a JT5 is, here’s a short bio:
The JT5 is a custom application that installs a modern Tremec 5-speed transmission into an Etype Series 1. No modification of the tunnel sheet metal is required. The shifter comes out in exactly the stock position and has a very stock appearance. Unless, of course, you choose to use the black “Eightball” shift knob that is supplied with the kit! The JT5 concept was design by Paul Cangialosi. His firm is know as Medatronics, which comes from earlier involvement with medical devices. His website is 5speeds.com.
The transmission is a standard new Tremec box. Paul fabricates a custom bellhousing. The clutch plate is a known aftermarket brand (I forget the brand) and works with the stock flywheel. He uses a custom “slip fit” output flange which mates to a bespoke driveshaft, which he supplies. He also supplies a bespoke mounting plate that fits the standard nut plates on the bottom of the tunnel. The speedometer drive mates to the stock speedometer cable. There is a reverse light switch that attaches to the stock wiring. I can’t remember anything special about the clutch slave cylinder, although I may recall that he provides one that is custom.
I bought mine over a decade ago. Here is a picture of the parts and pieces when I received them. I don’t remember any drama during installation.
The transmission is very nice on the road and shifts smooth as butter. I’ve been more than happy with mine.
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I think it’s worth noting that the transmission is NOT a standard Tremec. The entire (aluminum) tailshaft/shifter housing was custom made to fit into the confines of the Jag tunnel. Along with that, the internals therefore had to be made custom, as there was never an OEM application for the ubiquitous T5 that was as short as the JT5.
I contacted Paul about 10 years ago, and inquired whether there were any custom internal parts that could be difficult to get if the trans required a rebuild 10-20 years down the road. His response was something along the lines of “Yes, there are, but that’s not gonna happen”, and yet, here we are…
Don’t get me wrong, I think the JT5 was well engineered, and an admirable product to have brought to market, but to some extent, you’re making a deal with the Devil when you start getting into things like custom, aftermarket shafts/gears/bearings/etc.
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Andrew, on your third photo, you show where the slip joint on the drive shaft will not slide into the back of the transmission without removing the IRS. Would it not have worked to unbolt the slip joint from the driveshaft, insert the slip joint into the back of the transmission, and then rebolt the slip joint flange back onto the driveshaft? Or am I missing everything that is going on here?
Tom
For some reason Paul said not to do that. I think he was concerned about damage to the internal seal.