MM rear axle on a Minor 1000

[Fingolfin]

Hello, my friends of the MM variety! I have a '59 2-door saloon with the 948cc motor, but I've been told that I have a rear axle fitted from a sidevalve Minor, circa '52 or '53. So my questions:

• 1) Why would this have been fitted originally, and was this common? Or has it been retrofitted? If so, why?
  2) Was this a special axle for American export, since that's where I live?
  3) Are the rear axles from MMs structurally better or worse than the later ones? Am I running dangerously?
  4) Should the wheels not be interchangeable from front to back and vice-versa? They seem to be, except the rear uses bolts and the front uses nuts on studs.
  5) Is my suspension, handling, turn radius, et cetera affected by having the earlier axle, as compared to the later?

I thank you all in advance for your help!

[RobThomas]

There isn't any good reason to fit an earlier axle other than there not being a correct one available. It is an easy job to change it for the correct one with about 1 day of work. The PCD (Pitch Circle Diameter) of the early wheels is 4.5 inches, measured between the centres of the bolt/stud holes across the diagonal but the later wheels have a spacing of 4 inches. The early axle has a thick cast iron centre section with steel tubes shrunk into the sides of it whilst the later one has the casing cast in one piece. Early 4.5 inch brakes had drums with recesses cast in whilst later drums had flat faces where they meet the wheel rim and can be taken off the car without taking the hub and bearings with it. The hubcaps are different sizes on the 2 types of wheel but could be made to fit

Neither axle seems to have had a history of wearing out or breaking, so you should be OK, and it won't affect handling in any way that I can think of (at least, not enough to notice).

Rob

[mike.perry]

You will need to carry two spare wheels, 4in pcd for the front and 4.5in pcd for the back. The 948 and Series MM axles are the same ratio, 4.55:1. This should be stamped on the left axle tube,facing forward and near the diff as 9/41

[Fingolfin]

Good to know, Mike -- but for now I only have the four wheels that came with the car and no spares at all! But I'll keep that in mind for when I go looking for a spare wheel (or two).