The Ford "Type 9" 5-speed gearbox conversion kit is manufactured by Hi Gear Engineering in England. Their website is: www.hi-gearengineering.co.uk.

The gearbox is from Ford Sierra (Mercury Merkur XR4Ti in the USA), 1.6L & 1.8L: 1982-91, & 2.0L: 1982-87. The gearbox is not included in the kit, but may be procured locally or through the kit supplier. Various alternative gear ratios can be provided including a close ratio gearbox and a standard ratio gearbox with a higher first gear ratio of 2.98:1. The vehicle speedometer will need calibrating. Several companies are able to do this.

Gear Ratios	First	Second	Third	Fourth	O/D Fifth
MGA Standard (all)	3.65	2.214	1.374	1.0	-
MGA Close Ratio	2.445	1.62	1.267	1.0	-
Standard Ford	3.65	1.97	1.37	1.0	0.82
Standard Sierra	2.98	1.97	1.37	1.0	0.82
Closer Ratio	3.36	1.81	1.26	1.0	0.825
Standard Granada	2.83	1.81	1.26	1.0	0.83
Special order example	2.75	1.75	1.22	1.0	0.82

Sierra is the most common set of ratios used in the MGA 5 speed.
Granada is more difficult to obtain.
In the USA the Ford Merkur box is the same as the Type 9.
Many gear ratios are available on special order.

2.445 c/r 1st gear in a Twin Cam can be a pig on hill starts.
3.640 std. barely gets across a stop road junction without changing (with std. diff.)
2.930/2.830 1st in the Sierra/Granada is a nice compromise.

This kit is advertised by several US suppliers.

Pierce Manifolds (Weber carb and aluminum cylinder head folks) in California
www.piercemanifolds.com (gearboxes on same page)
Per note from Pierce Manifolds on January 18, 2005:
"The MGA 5 speed conversion is $2500.00 with the gear box. $1667.00 without the gear box. All price quotes are US dollars and good for 24 hours."

Butch White of MG 5-Speed Co. in South Carolina. Update Feb 8, 05. Apparently Butch White has passed away, so this is no longer a viable source.

Jim Hall - (having taken over inventory and business of Butch White)
Five Speed Co.
389 Arthur Moore Dr.
Green Cove Springs, Fl 32043
904-282-1658 or 904-613-9591 (Cell)
mgfivespeed.com

Quantum Mechanics, Monroe, CT.
Phone: 203-459-9612 (evenings and Saturday)
Fax: 203-261-8497

See also off site web page Ford Sierra 5-speed Conversion for the MGA

Addendum 4/24/2007:
There is a quick shifter option available for this gearbox.
Jeff Becker in California wrote:
"One of the key differences is on the quick shift, you mount it on the trans and it works just like the original trans with a short throw and you DO NOT have to cut the top of the tunnel where the shifter comes thru. This area of the tunnel has to be ground wider to allow the shifter to go into each gear which you don't have to to with the quick shift."

See following pages for photos and notes on installation of the Ford Sierra 5-speed in the MGA.

Addendum 10/6/2021:
Sixteen years on, and many hundreds (if not thousands) of installations done, we have been seeing lots of user feedback comments. While many users have been praising it all with no problems, about 50% of the users seem to be noting some significant stiffness and difficulty shifting in or out of First and Second gears.

Also note that the Ford Type-9 gearboxes are by now definitely "vintage" parts with the kits made up with refurbished used gearboxes By now the world at large is running out of supply of used gearboxes, and the prices seem to be going up along with the difficulty of sourcing the parts. Several articles farther on you can find another series of articles for installing a "Vitesse" supplied kit using a Mazda MX5 based gearbox with a special cast housing. While this is reported to be "magic" in performance, it still to date has a number of significant (not trivial) teething problems yet to be resolved.