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MG MGA - 1600 in a 1500. Is it a bolt in?

What does this swap take?
BruceP

Hi Bruce. The 1600 engine and transmission will bolt directly into the MGA 1500 engine bay with no problem. Engine and transmission mounts are identical. Most if not all 1600 transmissions use a different drive shaft than the 1500's do. The 1600 tranny has a rear "bolt on" flange. The 1500 tranny has no flange. The front of the driveshft is cylindrical, and slides into a matching recess in the rear of the tranny. So if you have a 1600 tranny, you will need a 1600 driveshaft also. The MGA 1500 ignition coil was mounted on the generator. The 1600 coil is mounted on a steel bracket that bolts onto the engine mount. I believe these are the only points you really need to be aware of, except perhaps that MGA 1500 and 1600 clutch discs use different splines. So if you bolt a 1600 engine and tranny into your 1500 car, you will require a 1600 clutch disc when it is time to do a clutch job. The 1500 and 1600 pressure plates, and release bearings interchange. You might find that the 1600 engine/tranny combo causes a bit of a clearance problem when installing into the car. It is sometimes necessary to remove the front crank puley and/or timing cover to obtain the necessary clearance between the engine, and the hood opening. Once the engine and tranny are in, everything else should be a bolt up operation except as listed above. Hope this helps. Glenn
Glenn

Thanks Glenn,

What if I want to put a 1600 into my 1500 and reuse the 1500 Transmission? Are they compatable?
BruceP

Hi Bruce. You can use the 1600 engine and 1500 tranny. But I think you will need to use your 1500 engine backplate on the 1600 motor. This is because the 1600 backplate has the starter motor in a slightly elevated position. The MGA 1500 tranny has 10 splines, so you will need to use the 1500 10 spline clutch disk to fit the 1500 transmission. Cheers! Glenn. Oh Bruce, I almost forgot. There is a small difference between 1500 and 1600 transmission tunnels, due to the different starter positions. If you put a 1600 engine and tranny into a 1500 car, you would likely have to also modify the front of the 1500 tranny tunnel a bit, to accommodate the different starter location, however, this modification is relatively simple. It involves adding a small sheet "bulge" on the tranny tunnel where the starter motor is located. If you use the 1600 engine, 1500 engine backplate, and 1500 transmission, you will not have to modify the transmission tunnel. GH
Glenn

It is not the 1500 and 1600 clutch friction disks that are different.
The 1500, 1600 MKI, and early 1600 MKII have the same 10 spline friction disks.
The later 1600 MKII from engine number 3929, and the MGB, have the 23 spline friction disks.
However, after 50 years and many previous owners, the only time that you really know how many splines your friction disk and gearbox input shaft have is when you count them.

Mick
Mick Anderson

Glenn has identified much of the changes between the two. You won't have top make the coil location change. You can keep it in the 1500 location if desired. Most issues will work themselves out when finalizing the installation. Mechanically, fitting a 1600 into the latest 1500's fit fine. If you are putting a 1600 into an earlier 1500 you may have to work out the starter position (i.e. right hand toe board. If you have the earlier 1500 trans and want to install a 1600 engine, then that will require swapping the rear engine plate to the newer engine too.

Chuck
Chuck Schaefer

I don't want to make this more complicated than necessary, but......
The high starter position was introduced during the 1500 production.
This change was with the introduction of engine type 15GD (engine number 15GD101 or chassis number 61504).
If your 1500 engine is the later type the 1600 gearbox and starter position will match.
With all these old cars it is best to have a look. Check the gearbox type that you have. I have a photo of the different types at:

http://www.angelfire.com/amiga/mga/index.html

Mick
Mick Anderson

Hi Mick. I remember changing the clutch (years ago)on an "MGA 1600", and distinctly remember that it required a 23 spline clutch disc, but as you stated, many owners interchange components from all MGA variants. In hindsight, I believe that you are indeed correct about the 23 spline clutch disc being fitted (originally) only to later 1600 mk 2 cars. So to try and clarify the situation for Bruce, you can use a 1600 engine, 1500 engine backing plate and a 1500 non flange transmission. With this combination of components you simply need to use a clutch disc with the correct number of splines to match those of the tranny's input shaft. Using this combination of parts, you will not have to modify the transmission tunnel. This would even take into account a DPO that put late 1600 mk 2 input shaft into an earlier transmission. This should all now be as clear as mud! lol. Cheers! Glenn
Glenn

This thread was discussed on 04/12/2004

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