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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 question

It's a way off doing, but I have a type 9 which could end up in the Sprite. Is there a "how to" guide to shortening the rear extension to the gear lever is further forward? I need to ponder this for at least a yer or two!

I'm not sure if it is a 4 pot or V6 box but it was rebuilt, possibly with competition in mind, for fitting on the back of a kent engine.
Clive Berry

I didn't bother, it's only a couple of inches behind the std box, and IMO just right, if the lever is vertical.

Some of the KSeries 'housings put the lever further back... but even so, I find this OK as well.

See enclosed of my tunnel about 4 weeks ago - lever in the KSeries position; you can see the profile of the tunnel forward of this... that was the ASeries position, using FL kit.

I did the conversion in less than 2 days (10-11 July 1998), including driving to/from my friend's workshop around 115 miles away; must say, conversion was a revelation... I've enjoyed 100+ cruising (where allowed) with both the tuned-A and K engines.

Anthony


PS BBS won't allow me to upload the pic... drat! Will PM you if you like.
Anthony Cutler

Clive,
I wouldn't have the first clue how to do the work but can show you photos of how a bad 'specialist experts' work looks on the outside

I've got a shortened remote because I'm short and sit close to the steering wheel and windscreen but I've driven a mate's Spridget without the shortened remote and can't say I noticed a difference with the position

mine might not be as standard because of the poor quality of work by the l*ing b*stard 'specialist experts' doing the work on the kit and gearbox and installation but on mine the gear lever position is still just slightly rearward and to the left of centre (see photo, the arrow was to show the lever saddle, note the screw hole that needed adding for the rubber/metal gaiter fixing to be slightly moved)

I had to cut the rubber gaiter about otherwise the lever would be pulled out of gear on the over run I also tried using other gaiters but it didn't work - my mate had a similar problem with his s/h untouched box

mine is tricky to get into 5th, if you think about getting the lever into 5th it can be awkward, those that drive the car for the first time struggle and even I still do sometimes - as I said this might not be normal with the shortened remote and mine is because of going to the wrong 'experts'

if you're ever up this way (with your insurance docs) you could drive my not so good example to see what it's like

I think the longer box and shorter prop and possibly fixing bracket help to give the car a more solid and smooth feel to the ride of the car

true the standard first gear might be a bit short for some but it's useful for mountain road 'hill starts' :) and having synchro on first is very helpful around town, depending on your engine 5th gear can be used a lot but is most useful for the boring multi-carriageway roads

the Ford box isn't as nice at changes as the standard Spridget boxes

I've also got a (third) rattly quickshift lever which I wouldn't bother with again as the (cut short) Ford lever seemed fine on my mate's car


Nigel Atkins

Mine's not shortened, and it's quite comfortable. However, I do prefer the original position, so I'm thinking of doing a spare T9 box to move it forward.

Looking at Nigel's pic though puts me off a bit. If that's as far as the extension can be shortened, I can't see the point. It won't be in the original position, and I don't much fancy hacking the tunnel like that. I think I might just leave well alone now.
Lawrence Slater

I've had cars with both and I would say definitely shorten it if funds/time allow.

It's a fairly tricky job but not beyond the average home mechanic. I did mine after guidance from Guy, hopefully he will be along soon with the photos he sent me!
John Payne

Clive, send me your email and I will send you some notes on this.


Guy W

Guy has done a much much neater job than the l*ing b*stard 'specialist experts' professionals done on mine

Lawrence,
don't go on how mine is done as it could be just another example of their poor work

you can see the quality of the welding and finish in that photo and it looks a lot better there than it actually is, I've deleted the photos to reduce the number of times I can be reminded about it so can't put them up now
Nigel Atkins

Wow... that looks like alot of work for just a couple of inches, id be in favor of just cutting back the tunnel also...id think you could cut the stick down shorter and still be in the same postion as the ribby which has a long shifter stick


Prop

Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Prop were you never told, the length of the stick makes no difference
Nigel Atkins

in this case, amusingly, that's true.

It's the length of the extension that matters...


Mine's non-modified V6 box, and it's great. My seats are in a totally different place compared to standard, and the gearstick is in a good place. Original feels odd and weedy now..
Rob Armstrong

I think tall people are more comfortable, or have less of an issue with the gearstick moved back. Particularly if you have a long back, bringing your elbow higher above the tunnel. If you sit low in the car, as I do, then the lever needs to be further forward. When seated comfortably, my elbow and forearm rests on the top of a low arm rest, about 2" above the tunnel and my hand falls naturally to a shortened extension and a shortened lever.

If Arie were to post a similar photo you would see that his armrest is much higher so he is probably comfortable with a longer lever, further back.

The length of the lever does make a difference. The very short lever I have has a similarly short "throw". Movement from neutral into any gear is around an 1" and it has more of the feeling of a switch than a lever. I also lightened the spring pressure to give it the right amount of "feel" for the reduced leverage.


Guy W

Nigel, as badly as you say yours was done, was that as far as the extension could be shortened?

Guy, does your lever emerge in the same position as when using the original box? I assume you did your own, I'd be very interested in your notes too. Or if you feel like sharing to all and sundry, you could start a "T9 extension reduction" thread?

Re the comments about the length of the extension. How does the length of the extension affect the gear change, other than to move the position of the lever? Surely it doesn't does it?
Lawrence Slater

Thank you all. very interesting. Guy, if you could send info it would be appreciated. c dot berry@fsmail dot net

I really like the A series box but it does stick in first from time to time and motorways are a bit of a pain.
Clive Berry

I seem to remember the maximum you can shorten it is about 2 3/4 inches. That is due to the bush for the shaft being about 3 inches forward of the lever position. This puts the lever about 2 or 3 inches further back than standard.

I hated the gear change on the car we had without the shortened extension. I sit with the seat all the way back but for my wife who had it forward a bit it was very awkward. The act of changing gear is pulling and pushing mostly so imagine doing that with your hand near to your hip when sitting as opposed to halfway towards your knee.

I wouldn't worry too much about the look of the welding if you have it done. Mine looks pretty bad but its not fallen off yet - that's the important bit! BGH gear tech thought it was pretty well done. I think they might do a exchange service for shortening them now - worth giving them a call.
John Payne

My gearbox isnt shortend but goes a bit more to the back.
Frontline bended the gearstick on my request and now the gearknob is in a great position, not to far or to close between the steeringwheel(see photo).



Guy, your gearknob(as there is no stick) always makes me laugh a bit as it looks like one of these cusions you had on school at the sex*al-education program that showed the lady's fun-button. LOL!!!


Arie de Best

Arie, sex education was obviously a bit different in Holland than in 1980's Lancashire!

John Payne

A point to remember when getting the extension housing welded is that it is easy to melt the bush in the end of the housing so it needs to be kept cool or replaced if damaged.
David Billington

Yes, the new bushes are available from burton power. Mine melted!
John Payne

apparently girls in Holland are a bit different too....
Rob Armstrong

In 1976, a couple I met, who were known as Pixie and Dixie, because I couldn't pronounce their dutch names, had quite hairy legs. It seems quite a few of them weren't that into shaving. Not that it spoiled the performance as I recall it. lol
Lawrence Slater

Lawrence,
the l*ing b*stards 'specialist experts' price list/brochure/catalogue given to me at the time of purchase has very clearly printed - '(LB) offers a modified reconditioned box with a shortened remote which brings the gear lever back to its original position'

on my purchase and installation by them at least this was not so the gear lever was back from original position (and to the left)

it was also what I was verbally lead to believe before I discovered you could tell when they were lying because their lips were moving

the neatness of the weld I'd expect from 'the specialist expert' of this conversion but it wouldn't worry me if I hadn't have seen it and had troubles with the box (still) leaking, the clutch mechanism falling apart, problems with shifting to 5th (still), other stuff, and the general poor standard of installation work

the standard of the weld you see in that photo is the best of welds

I even doubt if the box was reconditioned

my conversion seems to be made up of bits and pieces from earlier and current specifications (or bits and pieces they had left) - or was a development hybrid because mine did not match the specification/installation sheet found in the box of their conversion kit they supply to a very major MG parts retailer

the kits for the MGA and MGB are made by a good reputable company but there's not enough Spridget sales for that company to sell against an already fully established well marketed and PR'd that probably holds supply contracts with the major retailers

if you buy any of their kit then make sure it's from one of these major retailers for the warranty and to receive as describe what you pay a lot of money for
Nigel Atkins

a mate shorten the quickshift lever (and it's replacement, I had three in all I think) as they're for Escorts where you sit higher

in the photo I had this shortened about 1.5" too much for my eventual liking

they use the cheap quickshift levers that are about half the price from other suppliers


Nigel Atkins

Looking again at your pic Nigel, even if you discount the bad job they did for you, it looks as if the gear lever would end up left of central anyway.

It didn't occur to me at the time I installed mine, but it's obvious now. The g/box tunnel bulges to the right at the front -- to accomodate the original g/box ---, and then tapers off to the centre as you follow it back. Hence with my T9 lever (unshortened extention), the lever has to sit centrally in the tunnel. But if you shorten the extension, unless you shift the g/box to the right -- by forcing the rear of the engine over, or rotating it clockwise -- the lever will naturally sit to the left of the opening. I suppose a cranked lever could be used to move the knob centrally, but it would still mean that the end of the extension, and hence the lever would emerge to the left.

However, looking at Guy's picture, it looks like it DOES sit centrally, in the original position.

It's years since I converted my Sprite, and looked at the original g/box extension position. Maybe it sat to the left of the original opening anyway. I'll pull the shroud off the unconverted midget later and have a look.
Lawrence Slater

even if I discount their poor work their written and verbal advertising was 'back to its original position' - not slightly left and slightly back, this also means the transmission carpet doesn't quite sit correctly

you may also see that the left rear screw for the lever grommet/gaiter just catches the edge of the cut out, it hardly suggests, as I was told by them, "our boys are specialists at this installation" does it
Nigel Atkins

When I shortened mine, it removed 72 mm of the extension. That is as much as one can manage by this modification. So the Type 9 stick was moved 72mm forward of the unaltered T9 version. This is still further back than on the original ribcase as this photo shows. It was taken as close to in line with the two gearsticks to minimise parallax effects so what you see in the photo is a pretty accurate comparison.






Guy W

When installed in the car the top of the turret just fitted within the original gearlever opening in the tunnel. But only just - it was right at the rearmost limit and rattled in contact with the edge of the opening. I drilled out some spot welds, removed the edge reinforcing ring, and moved it back to give some better clearance. I then welded it back on, retaining the reinforcing effect that is lost if you just hack through it as in Nigel's photo.


Guy W

Guy,
the standard of your work is nowhere the same as the Spridget 'specialist experts'

and I bet you didn't leave the brake pipe unclipped in the transmission tunnel to later rattle off the prop UJ

due to other details it's my personal belief that Ed and possibly Tim bodged my installation himself/themselves and there were no other installation "team" at that time
Nigel Atkins

That's a very cool solution Guy. All I did was make a plate up and screw it over the original opening, so I could do the same.

So just under 3 inches back towards the original position. I think I'll knock up a bit of metal to fix to my lever, that moves the knob forward by that amount, and see if I like it enough to have a go at shortening the extension.
Lawrence Slater

I found a great link showing exactly how to shorten the extension of a T9 box.

http://www.scimitarweb.co.uk/sgwrs/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=11843

Now I need to find the easiest method to weld ally. This looks like it might do the job, if not using a MIG.

http://www.techno-weld.co.uk/product.html
Lawrence Slater

Yes, good photos and text.
In my view he misses out emphasising a couple of important points, but maybe it is obvious.

In case it isn't:
The 5mm hole drilled in the selector shaft must be on the same diagonal as the original. He says about measuring up for repositioning it further forward, but if the angle drilled through the round rod is even a few degrees off then the roll pin won't go in and the gear lever foot will be at the wrong angle compared to the turret and it won't go cleanly into gear.

For much the same reason, the amputated turret piece needs to be welded back on again at the exact same angle and alignment. The way to do this is to reassemble the gearbox extension piece and use the selector rod as a guide pin to align the turret. Then either weld it whist it is assembled thus, or as I did, glue it with blobs of araldite and then remove again for welding.

Oh, and I see he says to select neutral when reassembling the extension onto the box. This is wrong, you have to select 4th otherwise the guide pin doesn't locate as it should. All feels well, until the box is back in the car when you find that some gears don't select and you have to remove the gearbox again to correct it. I know this first hand from someone not a million miles from where I am at the moment!
Guy W

Ta for the clarification Guy.

How did you weld the ally on the extension? How did you ensure oil tightness? In the Scimitar text he describes using metal filler to make up small gaps. Is that what you did too?

Looking at the cost of a roll of MIG ally wire, possibility a new liner just for ally -- I've read that plastic is better --, and enough pure Argon gas (2 60ltr hobby bottles? ), I'm wondering if I could do all the prep and shortening, and then get it pro welded for a similar cost or even perhaps less cost. I'm guessing that being a "small" job it wouldn't take a pro long. Maybe a 50 quid weld?

But on the other hand, I'd like to have a go myself and have the materials for any future jobs.
Lawrence Slater

There is no requirement for oil tight welding Lawrence because there is no oil in the extension other than the lower part. The top bit you cut off and weld just houses the selector shaft which has an oil seal further forward.

Accuracy is the key as Guy points out, the orientation of the roll pin hole being crucial.

I just did all the cutting, filing, drilling and setting up at home. Then clamped it all up with about 6 clamps, took it to my local fabricators and said weld that up please. I think he charged me £20.
John Payne

Thanks John.

Well that's pretty decisive then. If I can get welded for as little as 20 quid, I wouldn't bother getting geared up to diy it, -- and make a poorer job than a pro would.
Lawrence Slater

Set mine up with blobs of araldite and took it to a welder. He quoted £15, but then did it as a demonstration as he was presenting for a local classic m/cycle club so did it for free.
Guy W

Clive,

I also got notes from Guy, they were really helpfull.

I didn't want to disarrange anything inside the box so I was really careful when separating the box as it splits on two sides of a kind of plate and i didn't want to remove the selector shaft to drill a new hole for the saddle to the gearlever so i left it in place and did a guide casing to fit the shaft and drilled from there.

I uploaded some photos to flickr afterwards hope they might help

http://www.flickr.com/photos/57414880@N04/sets/72157625708821170/

Alexander Sorby Wigstrom

Oh just saw the link in one if Lawrences post, very similar to mine :-)
Alexander Sorby Wigstrom

The tunnel surgery required to install my Frontline-supplied T9 kit with shortened remote (for 1500) looks suspiciously similar to Nigel's work. Shifting is rather stiff, but having never driven a T9 in a factory installed Ford product (almost no examples here in NA) I wouldn't know for sure to attribute that to the box design in general or the " l*ing b*stard " that altered mine. Other than the stiff shifting I do not have the many issues Nigel mentions. Perhaps for once I did not get the worst unit off the shelf as seems to be my usual parts karma.

IF the shortening of the remote brings with it the possibility of mis-alignment and therefore stiffer shifting and an elusive fifth (or other) gear then perhaps the better option is the curved shifter that Arie posted a pic of. I myself have not driven a Midget 5-speed without the shortened remote, but when I sit in the car and imagine the shifter position significantly further back than it is I get a funny (bad) feeling in my shoulder( I'm 5'11").

In the pic posted below you can see how far back in the boot the shifter lies (with the as-supplied Frontline stick). Like Nigel's it should have been shortened another 2-3 inches to mimic the original position.

Nigel said "I even doubt if the box was reconditioned". Thanks for that Nigel, now I'm even more paranoid than before if that's even possible.

Richard


Richard Reeves

Thanks Alexander, it all helps.

Richard, I think the Mercur XR4Ti had the T9 box.
Clive Berry

Richard, from reading the comments below, the extension can't be shortened beyond a certain point, -- due to an oil seal -- and hence the original lever opening has to be modified.

I think I've read somewhere, that BGH now do a "new" extension, rather than shorten them, that get's around this problem, but no doubt at a cost.
Lawrence Slater

Richard and Nigel you're both complaining about stiff shifting and Nigel mentioned trouble getting in to fifth.

If i remember correctly when i assembled my box the gears were stiff and didn't align properly both reverse and fifth. This was due to the Interlock plate on the right hand side of the tail housing, i forgot to check more accurately how it was fitted before removing, but when the box was assembled again I loosened it and move it a few millimeters until i was satisfied, this cured my problem.

Not sure if it is the same on yours though.

I've also heard that a worn saddle can cause all sorts of problems, not to mention wrong or old gearbox oil.
Alexander Sorby Wigstrom

And i also had to hack my tunnel and once again just as Guy i moved the opening like in the picture


Alexander Sorby Wigstrom

and another


Alexander Sorby Wigstrom

Richard,
don't worry too much about whether the g/box was reconditioned by them or not as the boxes were in heavier and more powerful cars that Spridgets so the Spridgets will be easy work for them and AFAIK are the boxes are quite sturdy and long lasting, many others just install a s/h box without doing any work on it - plus judging by the quality of 'LB's work the less they done the better

back in the day I drove (the donor) cars with the Type-9
and in the last couple of years a Spridget with a s/h box fitted and the changes are easy but not as nice as an original Spridget box

as Alexander has put replacing a worn saddle bush can help a bit but I found swapping from the recommended Comma semi-synthetic 75w/90 gear oil to Castrol Syntrans Multivehicle 75W-90 Fully Synthetic MTF helped the changing the most (didn't cure 5th of course)

I don't know if swapping to a non-quickshift lever would help with the change to 5th - neither this or the saddle bush or oil swap will cure but all individually or combined might help

Alex,
thanks for your comments, as the engine and box have been out twice after 'LB's installation they ain't coming out again I can live with 5th

as above I've tried new saddle bushes and know all about the oil having ballsed up once by reading an out-of-date manufacturer's tech sheet - as above for my recommended oil
Nigel Atkins

Nigel,
I always assumed you were being perhaps a little, how dare I say it, "precious" about your friends the "LBs"!

Having read this thread and seen your photo, I can understand your feelings and I would certainly think twice abut using their services. I have however also seen some very impressive work from their premises. Come what may they're not cheap, and unless I ever find a set on ebay I don't think I'm going to be stumping up for the front telescopic conversion and if I was doing gearbox or a K conversion I'd be tempted down the DIY route.
Matt1275Bucks

Matt,
if only it was just the quality of their work or lies on the g/box installation, there was a lot more to it, I'm not an unreasonable customer, quite the reverse

there was also something 'odd' about not being able to collect the car because Tim told me the rear springs they fitted sat the car too high (I never saw this as I cancelled my collection for that day)

and the fact I was told by Ed that the front lower springs would "only lower the front by half an inch" because of my clearly expressed concerned about lowering the car and then when I saw it at collection and asked why it was clearly lower I had the lie that I was told "half to three quarters of an inch", I wasn't I was told half inch and it was at least an inch lower, you may remember my posts about the car bottoming out

I gave them plenty of chances, I'm too trusting and easy going with these things but the accumulation of Ed's bodged repairs and lies got too much

amoung other things he tried to blame the clutch problems on firstly the master cylinder so I had it and the slave replaced but the mg specialist I used didn't think this would solve the clutch problem but as I didn't want the engine coming out again so soon so I told them to give it a try, they were right

when I rang Ed back to say I still had a clutch problem he started to question the quality of the work I just had done - that was enough for me, as the clutch got worse I paid for someone else to do the work rather than have another bodge and risk other bodges on taking the engine and g/box out

I know I was lied to by a con-artist(s) not just people lying to cover mistakes and the quality of the work was poor

I had them supply and fit a full front suspension conversion with uprated springs and ARB, rear damper conversion and standard rear spring, all new bushes, the g/box conversion and extras

I could still show you elements of their poor work (you're only one county away)

perhaps I got them at the wrong time but they're also a wrong company and wrong people
Nigel Atkins

Clive:

Yes, the Merkur XR4TI. They are rare as hen's teeth over here although you can find one occasionally if you keep your eyes peeled, mostly hard-driven high-mileage affairs these days. AFAIK it was the only vehicle to recieve the T-9 standard in NA.

Alexander:

Thanks for the idea of fiddling with the interlock plate. Probably beyond my pay grade but worth a look at.

Nigel:

The saddle bush I have is the plastic one supplied new in the kit, so only 8,000 miles or so on it. I should backtrack and describe my shifting as "relatively" stiff, much more so than the original box, but certainly not sufficiently so to swap out the very expensive semi-synthetic 75W-90 that's in it for another gear oil. I suppose I am comparing the Midget's shifting to my daily driver, a 1982 Toyota Corolla Wagon with the T-50 5-speed gearbox which is smooth as silk, almost shifts itself, even after 223,000 miles.

Richard

Richard Reeves

Hi Richard

if the saddle bush was new 8k-miles ago it should be ok then

the Comma 75w/90 semi-synthetic gear oil over here isn’t expensive but I know you chaps over there have a completely different idea of oil costs (well at the pump and retailer anyway), the Castrol isn’t expensive either plus if you consider the mileage and time it’ll be in the box the cost is negligible

I changed from the semi-synthetic Comma 75w/90 oil that was in the box when I got it 2 years before to the Castrol oil in the Spring expecting the gear changes to be improved for Winter but I noticed an instant improvement on all the gear changes

I also use a Castrol 75w/90 fully synthetic diff oil and these showed less power loss to the rear wheels on the rolling road, so I could get some of my costs back in more mpg

it's was and remains only my change to 5th that is awkward (or very awkward)
Nigel Atkins

Ouch Nigel that must have been pricey! I can understand your bitterness. I was pretty shocked to see the state of your tunnel. I could have done it that badly myself.
Matt1275Bucks

Shortening the extension by the cut and shut method will NOT move the gearstick back to the same position as the original ribcase. The maximum shortening that can be achieved is about 72mm. You would need to shorten by maybe 90 - 95mm to get the gearstick itself back to near original position. But it WILL move it far enough that it comes up through the original cut out in the transmission tunnel top. So if the suppliers blurb says the modification retains the original gearstick position it is at best loose or careless use of language. If it says the gearstick remains in the original tunnel opening, then that is accurate, but may mislead if you don't read or interpret the words correctly.

My gearbox is not stiff in 5th, as some others claim. It may be due to the positioning of the interlock plate that Alexander mentions. As I recall Haynes doesn't clarify how to adjust the plate and inspecting inside it isn't at all obvious what mechanical function it has. But it does alter the feel of the shift. I just slacken the two retaining bolts rattle the gearshift through all of the gear selections to align things and then tighten it up again. Seems to work! One can reach the two bolts either through the top of the tunnel or from underneath (depending on the form of your gearbox mount/chassis stiffener).

Gears themselves shouldn't be effected by shortening the extension unless the hole for the saddle dowel is inaccurately drilled, or the "turret" piece is welded back on inaccurately. Once the turret is removed it is an odd shape and there are no obvious surfaces to aid realignment. And yet there is a machined surface that the saddle piece needs to moves against to guide the selector shaft and this needs to be accurately positioned or it will effect the change. There is a method of achieving this - it just needs a little care when doing the work. If giving the welding to someone else to do then they need to understand to get this right, or you need a method to set and retain the positioning whilst it is welded. If this is done carelessly, there wouldn't be an easy fix!

With any T9 installation the gearstick length,and therefore the leverage on the selector shafts is reduced. In my case with an ultra-short gearstick, even more so! The selector shaft locks into position when in gear by a spring mounted detent plunger. so with the reduced leverage this may increase the resistance to movement of the shaft, making gear selection feel notchy. Its easy enough to shorten the detent spring to give a lighter shift, though I guess if you over did this it might be prone to jumping out of gear. But mine doesn't. This could also be done with an installed gearbox as the socket headed grub screw is easy enough to get at when its in the car.
Guy W

Guy,
the printed brochure has the wording I put before (except of course they use their trade name instead of my more accurate description)
>>'(LB) offers a modified reconditioned box with a shortened remote which brings the gear lever back to its original position'<<

I never complained to them about the exact lever position and have never been that bothered as there were much more pressing problems, I mentioned it here for the benefit of others – I did complain about the gear lever dropping out of gear on the overrun

I understand that some believe the company can't be as bad as painted and that it’s possibly me not being reasonable but my problem was being too reasonable for too long - the quality of the work was poor, the kit cobbled together, time has given me an explanation for their lapses but it does not excuse the lies and botches at installation and subsequently

if you note in the photo bottom right is a second hole for the rubber gaiter cover, they put those three (fourth is lost in the cut out) extra holes in to fit the existing rubber gaiter cover and the rubber gaiter cover gear lever aperture was crudely expanded, does that suggest the lever is in the original postilion

I tried modifying a metal gaiter cover a mate gave me with different inset rubber grommet gaiters which meant cutting the hole in the metal gaiter cover rearwards quite a bit to allow for the gear lever to successfully stay in 2nd and 4th gears, the finish looked untidy so I went back to the mutilated rubber gaiter with the vinyl gaiter over the top hiding the field surgery
Nigel Atkins

Nigel,
I hadn't seen their wording so wasn't sure how they described their modification but assumed they might have used something along the lines of the two alternatives I wrote. Hence the use of the word "if" in my texts. And why I gave those details and dimensions on what can and cannot be achieved by this shortening method.

I do agree that the wording you quote from them is definitely misleading. I wasn't defending them. I have good reasons not to!

The other information was on suggestions that any T9 owner experiencing stiff gear selection might find useful if they were inclined to experiment a bit.
Guy W

Guy,
I was hurt and upset that you missed the quote text in my previous post, I thought you hung on my every written word

yeap I realised the other information was for any T9 and is very useful to all and in different circumstances I'd be taking advantage of it too

for some reason I'm sure you'll believe me when I put I haven't the nous to photoshop below (although I'm hurt too that you do believe that)


Nigel Atkins

This thread was discussed between 12/09/2013 and 18/09/2013

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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