S30 Works gearboxes: we weren't really sure what to expect as far as condition and composition of this particular box, given that the car was non-op when it was acquired, and the box had been used in competition 50 years ago, followed by several years of street use. Indeed- prior to cracking it open, we weren't even really sure what we'd find inside: a stock box with standard ratios, a hybrid solution, or perhaps something totally custom.
Upon opening the box, it appeared to be something I'd label as an "iterative" upgrade from stock- the primary components were stock A-Box 5-speed, with a few internals that were modified from stock, and an "Option 1 Middle Close" gearset. Thankfully none of the unique pieces were damaged, but there were a few chipped teeth on the main shaft, likely due to several hard shifts. Although these chipped teeth may not have been noticed during regular driving, we elected to replace the main shaft with an identical spare from another A-box 5-speed anyways, as a precaution.
What we learned about the composition of the box itself is probably not applicable to any other S30 Works gearbox, given that this example is probably one of the earliest surviving iterations built for the 240Z Works cars, and was likely followed by a series of improvements used in the later 240Z's as the technology developed. Included in the unique pieces we found were shift forks made using a different casting (picture 1), and shift rails with additional grooves cut into them to provide some feedback while shifting (picture 2). Also, as previously mentioned, the stick mount is different from stock (picture 3 & 4).
So it appears that for this 1970 Works A-box iteration, the Works team made several modifications to improve reliability and gearbox feel, and utilized an available competition gearset, but otherwise kept things the same (apart from a few other small details which I won't dive into). When examined on a timeline, this makes some sense to me, as this car would have been assembled roughly in late summer of 1970, building on knowledge primarily obtained from the 1968 Monte Carlo, and the successful 1969-70 rallying season with the 1600SSS. During this era, I personally don't know of any earlier Works models (SRL311 or 1600SSS) that suffered gearbox failures- anyone know more details?
After vapor honing the case, we've got it all back together, and ready for installation (picture 5). I'm definitely looking forward to trying it out, to see if I can feel the difference!