For what its worth, I have had some experience with Albins.
About 3 years ago, I sent my G50 down to Albins for a new higher ratio 5th gear set to be fitted. Whilst they had the box apart, they were to check everything & replace the synchros.
I got the box back about 3 weeks later, installed it the car, & discovered 3 things :
- could not select 2nd gear at all
- the new 5th gear set had a whine that could be heard miles away
- more "clunking" (lash) that I had remembered (in 5th)
After some discussions on the phone, I removed the box & sent it back to Albins (transport at their expense). Once they pulled it apart, I got an apologetic call - "someone" had fitted the 2nd gear synchro ring incorrectly (an easy fix), but, they didn't have any other 5th gear sets in stock (& were not going to have any for some months).
So, I got the box back & re-installed it. 2nd gear now worked, but I had to live with the horrible 5th gear whine, & the clunking was unchanged. After a couple of months & a few phone calls, they shipped me a new 5th gear set - all I had to do was find someone knowledgeable to install it (no way was it going back to them).
After lots of searching, I found Autohaus Hamilton (Porsche experts) in Brookvale, Sydney. By this time, I was also suffering from an increasing amount of lash in the whole transmission system (48mm of movement at the tyre with the opposite tyre locked & the box in 5th !!).
So out came the box AGAIN, & off it went to Autohaus Hamilton, along with the replacement 5th gear set. A couple of days later, they have it all apart & I get a phone call :
- the alignment of the pinion vs the crown wheel was all wrong - this contributed to about half the lash problem. Thanks Albins.
- the new replacement 5th gear set was a factory Porsche option product & had almost twice as many teeth as the original Albins set. The Albins set must have been made for racing with 800hp where you can't hear the whine ! Nice of them to tell me !
So after proper reconstruction, the box goes back into the car - transformed !! Nice & quiet in 5th, & heaps less lash.
BUT - within weeks, the lash got worse. Having now got totally over the R&R of gearboxes, the whole car went back to Autohaus Hamilton. The following day, I get the phone call - come on down & see what we have found. They guys had done a series of tests, locking the trans at various point to find the lash problem.
The major one was the female splines in the clutch plate - horrible ! This was one of the original plates with a rubber cone rather than springs, & was replaced with a new spring-based plate.
The second issue was the drive-shafts / uni's. I have the older DRB setup with uni's & sliding splines - the lash in these was measuredat 5 & 6mm at the tyres. New spindles have been acquired (thanks Dimi) & new Commodore CV half shafts will be going in soon.
Sorry for the drift there, but it all just seemed to pour out !!
Back to the subject - I would be a little (lot) sceptical about Albins after my experience with them.
(And some of my local GT40 friends wonder why I have been reluctant to venture beyond my "affordable towing distance") !!
Kind Regards,
Peter D.