MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Type 9 Gearbox Bellhousing

When fitted to the A series, does anyone know the depth - i.e. the measurement between the gearbox and engine plate mounting faces?
Cheers
Derek Stewart

Why do you need this measurement?
Daniel Thirteen-Twelve

Normally this can tell you depth of shaft into crank spirit hole. A
Anthony Cutler

Somewhere I have that written down from when I was doing the calculations for installing my clutch concentric slave (which is another reason for needing it) It is written down in my car jobs diary, only I cannot find it at the moment. It will turn up eventually! I think it is around 220mm but that is no good to you if you are wanting an accurate figure.

Someone must have a bellhousing not currently installed!

Guy
Guy Oneandahalf Sprites

Do you just need the bellhousing of the Type 9 - or specificically with the engine backplate for the 1275?

I can help if it's the former ....
rachmacb

That's a good point Derek

Do you need the distance from the inside of the bell housing or the front of the gear box which has the bell housing removed?

I suspect it would be possible to have a new engine backplate made so the Ford bell housing could be induced to fit inside the tunnel and save a few bob

I had a new shaped backplate plasma cut for my BMW Getrag box experiment by a local chap who made it to my drawings for £25 and supplied the necessary steel stock to use
Bill 1

Bill,

Having fitted a Ford 4 speed to an A series years ago I know that the standard Ford starter motor position fouls the chassis rail, I think the type 9 starter is in basically the same position. The new backplate route is doable but I had to notch the chassis rail and modify the sump to clear the starter, also a couple of the fasteners for the top of the bellhousing had to be welded into the plate and a small bit of filing to the block to allow an allen key to undo another bolt. It was certainly worth it to get the Ford box in place though.
David Billington

I would think the best alternative to a cast alloy bellhousing would be to have a new backplate with the starter in the BMC location but drilled to take the Ford bolt pattern

But what ever route someone takes I feel the improvement is a big one

I would probably cut away a section of the Ford bellhousing to clear the starter bendix position, I did that on my Getrag box just enough to clear the starter gear end

The bellhousing doesn't seem to need a huge amount of rigidity for an A series as it really is mostly used to fix the location of the input shaft after all

I had even thought of making a skeletal set of distance pieces to fix the position and then weld or rivet dust and dirt covers around it to keep the crud out of the clutch

I had hours of fun playing around that flight of fancy, I still think it would have worked

maybe another day with another five or six speeder
Bill 1

The Ford bellhousing is very heavy. I know the alloy ones are expensive but l think they are worth it.
Guy Oneandahalf Sprites

The Ford bellhousing is very heavy because it's cast iron, except for the one from the RS2000 because it's aluminium alloy.

Derek, you've not replied to my original question and everyone is assuming you're planning on a DIY fabrication, is this the case?
Daniel Thirteen-Twelve

I made my own bellhousing from a smoothcase gearbox bellhousing when fitting a type 9 to a 948 frogeye. I cut the bellhousing from the smoothcase and had it turned to retain the 'rear wall' but just cleaning it up on what would have been the inside of the gearbox proper. Then a 3/8in alloy plate was tig welded onto it before machining. I retained the original clutch yoke swivel plate.
The same method could be applied to a 1275 ribcase.
I went this route so as to be able to use a standard 9 spring clutch and have everything within the bellhousing original 948 sprite except for the clutch plate which uses the 'hybrid' for the conversion as supplied by Morris Minor Centre (Birmingham) Ltd.
A Anstead

The route Alan describes is actually the way MMC did the conversion themselves in the early days cutting the gearboxes open to save the front part to use as an adapter

They had the alloy bellhousings made when it became obvious that they were destroying a diminishing resource by wrecking these boxes

If your box is badly damaged/useless it might be a reasonable option as Alan found
Bill 1

Thanks for your response everyone, perhaps a slight deviation crept in along the way.
I currently have a Toyota T50 box fitted but if termination arrives and bearing in mind the lack of parts, the only practical alternative is the Ford T9. Since I have no wish to alter the already modified transmission tunnel, I would modify the T9 remote so the gear lever position matched the T50 installion. Hence the initial question. The gearbox mounting position between the boxes is only a few cms and the existing body mods are compatible for the T9.
Apparently the answer, I've since found out, is 180mm.
Derek Stewart

Do take care when modifying the remote as it is easy to fry the rear bearing and an internal oil seal on the selector rod.
A Anstead

i am in the process of collecting parts to convert my mg midget 1500 to a type 9 ford 5 speed gear box . i have read the web page ( mg midget 1500 5 speed conversion ) im trying to find the adapter plate . they are for sale from frontline spridget for £229.76 + vat which is way out of my budget ! . can anybody help me locate this adapter ?? it would be much appreciated .

many thanks

tony
T BARNES

www.the-wizardsden.com/
I used one of James Mathers (web address above)spacers on the conversion I carried out. He no longer supplies them but does supply the drawings if you can get machining done otherwise you might want to ask some Triumph people.
A Anstead

Adapter plate is £74.95 inc VAT at Canley Classics.
l snowdon

Derek
I believe that all of the bearings and gaskets, syncro rings etc are available to rebuild the T50, its just that you might need to buy them from the US or New Zealand, not that difficult these days with internet and the www. If gears or shafts need replacing then it might not be viable.
Maybe our colonial cousins can enlighten us on spares availablity for the T50, there is plenty about rebuilding them on some Toyota forums, if you trawl tinternet.
Ian
Ian Webb '73 GAN5

Ian,
My T50 was rebuilt a couple of years ago using some parts I aquired from a Morris Minor specialist that was revamping his stock to accommodate the T9! I don't envisage any problems with my box and I was purely thinking at a tangent as regards the T9.
The page I found several months ago, www.toyotapartszone.com gives a general idea of availability. Not all gaskets are available, as I found out when sorting my box.
As interest, the T50 box was also popular as a mod in the MGB etc but scarcity has meant lots of T9 kits from Hi Gear Engineering in Derby ending up in the colonies. My Brother, who lives in Oz, has got one on order and its cheaper than the local Jap alterative! Guess what I'm doing next month!
Derek
Derek Stewart

This thread was discussed between 30/11/2010 and 04/12/2010

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG Midget and Sprite Technical BBS is active now.