V6Bakkie

As I am sure many of you know despite appearing the same there are many differences that can be very frustrating (and possibly expensive) if you are not aware of them - this is one I was not aware of.... Today I undertook to replace the propshaft centre bearing support on my 1985 Bakkie – I had previously purchased a Cortina unit which on the face of it looked the same – after splitting the shaft and replacing the complete unit (carrier/rubber/bearing) when I came to bolt it up it didn’t fit! – the Bakkie carrier mounting holes are approximately 1” wider apart than the Cortina carrier – it was overcome by transferring everything into the original Bakkie carrier. Hopefully this info may be of use to anybody undertaking a similar task and saving them doing it twice! Keep up the good work on this site - it has been invaluable to me on my return to the 1980’s :-)

Thanks - found a recovered one today :-)

Mk5 Cortina Bakkie Seat View Advert Wanted - bench seat in good condition (not needing any repairs) - grey - dark blue - black TIA Jim Advertiser V6Bakkie Date 01/07/2026 Price Category Parts Wanted  

Thanks for the quick replies Mark - you are correct it's 70mm For me it doesn't look worth persevering as the gear ratios are not correct for a V6 even after overcoming the shaft length :-( The bellhousing is an oddity - although for an Essex it is for a hydraulic clutch (side mounted flanged slave) with the pivot point on the "wrong" side and a poorly welded blanking plate to convert to early layshaft - whilst not insurmountable to overcome/change to cable - I think I am going to stick with the 4 speed - an expensive lesson learned :-(

The input shaft is also 18 teeth and first gear 29 teeth

I have an early type 9 gearbox with V6 Essex bellhousing which is supposed to have come out of an SA Bakkie to convert my current 4 speed to 5 speed – however I have my doubts - The initial make or break issue for me is the relative height of the input shaft to the bellhousing/engine mounting flange – on my 4 speed it protrudes about 3mm - on the 5 speed it is about 10mm low. So my initial question is – will the shaft have enough (if any) purchase into the crank spigot bearing?

Hi - I have a 1985 V6 Bakkie with a 4 speed Type 5 box - I need a clutch cover rubber boot but they do not seem to be readily available - has anyone come across a source or can another type be adapted? Thanks

Thanks very much for the replies - I'll get an OHC one ordered Thanks again Jim

Hi Newbie here - I have a Mk5 3.0 Bakkie 4 speed - I am going to remove the automatic clutch adjuster and change to manual. I have a Mk3 pedal to fit but which clutch cable do I order as there seem to be at least 3 available?