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MG MGB Technical - RB axle on CB car?

Quick one if I may: are there any issues in fitting a '75 axle, which is compelete with hubs and brake lines, straight onto a chrome bumper '74 car?
Thanks!
SteveP

I don't think. As far as I know they are identical.
Mike Howlett

Check how the hand brake cable hooks up. There is a difference between the later cars to the earlier cars as to how and where it attaches to the rear axle but I am not sure when the change was made.

Simon
Simon Jansen

Should interchange, the only problem would be transfering a rostyle wheel axle into a wire wheel car and than mounting the wires' hubs.

warmly,
dave
Dave Braun

SteveP. I installed the rear axle from a 1980 roadster into my 68 GT when doing the conversion to disc wheels. In point of fact, both the rear axle and the front hubs from the donor car were used with no problems noted. Simon may be perfectly correct that there was some form of difference in the hand brake attachment. But, I do not remember any problems with bolting the 68 hand brake mechanism up to the 80 rear axle.

Les
Les Bengtson

There is definitely a difference in how the compensator mounts. I was thinking about it later though and it might be a difference between the wire and bolt on axles?

Mine used the little rectangular compensator and there is a little tab welded to the axle near the exhaust that this bolts to via a little flexible rubber piece. The earlier style handbrake cable with the oval compensator won't fit this axle at all.

Perhaps wire and bolt on axles are different in this respect?
Simon Jansen

SteveP: The backplates are different between the roadster and the GT, in order to make you use the correct brake cylinders. I assume both cars are the same body type?

Les, did you use the 1980 handbrake?
Mike Standring

I have a rubber bumper rear axle on my 72 roadster and as far as I can remember there was no difficulty at all in fitting it. The only difference is that the rubber bumper axle has mountings for a rear anti roll bar which of course are not used. Other than that it was straight forward.
Iain MacKintosh

Not a 75 to earlier, the handbrake cable compensation arrangement probably changed in late 76 for 77 model cars. Even then you can fit the earlier cable to the later axle as the compensation lever simpy attaches using the diff cover bolts, and either leave the bracket near the left-hand wheel or cut it off. You'd have more of a problem if putting an earlier axle on a later car unless you changed the cable at the same time, as well as with the ARB as Iain mentions.

Handbrake cable length differs between wire wheel and stud wheel axles as the axles are different lengths. The axles themselves are interchangeable if you want to change the wheel type, with the correct cable of course.
P Hunt

Later cars don't have a compensator, the function is built into the late cable, which is suspended by a rubber strap from the axle. I believe this cable can be fitted to the earlier cars, bypassing the compensator entirely. Still different cables for WW or discs.

FRM
FR Millmore

I put an early tube axle on my 78 GT when I switched to wire wheels.

Since it is lowered it doesn't need the ARB mounts, and I got the bracket that the hand brake cable rubber flap bolts to welded in the right place. You also need to sort out the brake line, since the two way union isn't in the same place so there's nothing to bolt it to.
D Balkwill

Many thanks everyone. I've bought the axle but I never thought to check regarding the body type/wheel cylinders. I will ask, and will have to do some measuring on the brake union too. Hopefully it will be simple when I'm standing in front of it.
SteveP

The 'compensator' on the 77 and later cars is still there, but is nothing more than a rectangle of rubber sheet which allows the end of the cable outer to move from side to side, just like the compensation lever onthe diff casing did. This rubber is attached to a bracket welded to the axle casing. The fitting on the end of the cable outer is correspondingly different, and the flexible cable from the end of the outer to the right-hand drum is now a stiff rod. Image attached. The axle bracket or something like it would be needed to prevent the handbrake cable hanging down and getting caught if pairing a late cable with an earlier axle.


P Hunt

This thread was discussed between 29/11/2009 and 01/12/2009

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