Escort axles

[rayofleamington]

you're unlikely to find any useful ford axles in the scrappy - most of those round here are full of 10 year old FWD cars, not 70's RWD

Mk1 Capri axles can change hands cheaply (I sold one last year for ~£25) but the original diff is not ideal - and buying a new diff seriousy adds come cost to the conversion!

[GeorgeHurst]

Yeah I think it might be a bit of a needle in a haystack Ray
Do you know the ratio of the MK1 Capri diff?

[rayofleamington]

Do you know the ratio of the MK1 Capri diff?

not without spending 10 minutes on google
From memory it was in the region of 3.4:1 (however please DONT quote me on that as it could be way off)

[GeorgeHurst]

Cheers Ray, I'll have a google if I end up with one of them - basically going to look for whatever I can get at the moment!

[bmcecosse]

The Minor hubs won't be suitable for 're-drilling' - you will need to somehow plug up the old holes first - and then drill new. There is no real strength in the hub except where the holes are right now........ Personally - I don't fancy it at all! If you do manage holes - they should really be broached with the spline shape to match the studs.

[GeorgeHurst]

Hi Roy, the hubs I am looking to get redrilled are the JLH disc brake hubs - so they are quite thick, and a complete disc, so I hope by offsetting the stud pattern by 90 degrees it won't cause a problem. Also waiting for a price from Jonathon for just some new Ford PCD hubs as that might be easier / safer

[charlie_morris_minor]

i think your last statement is the best idea.. i.e. get some new ones from JHL, he might even be able to sell your old ones to someone else..

[bmcecosse]

Ahh right! That should be ok then - thought it was Minor hubs.......... Can't approve of the disc brakes though........Very much against the grain!

[GeorgeHurst]

haha

[bmcecosse]

Triumph Dolomite axles are cheap and plentiful - as are Marina axles. Both with the advantage of 3.75" PCD hubs - so the excellent (and usually cheap) MGF wheels can bolt straight on. And - if you use Marina front hubs and disc ( ) brakes - 3.75 PCD again........ A much easier and less expensive solution than the Ford axle.

[GeorgeHurst]

Yeah I had thought about Marina - didn't know Dolomite would be ok too.
Do these axles pick up the same mounting points or do new ones need welding on, and does the propshaft marry up with the new axle?
Do they both offer an upgrade in half shaft strength? I'm guessing as the Marina was 1275 they diff is 3.9 like the Midget?

Not so keen on the MGF alloys but I'm thinking I could use the steel spare wheels (trying to find out width) so that I can put on the chrome trims I want and then, hopefully, use the Weller steel wheels on the front - as I have a Ford based disc kit with Minor PCD already.

[bmcecosse]

I really don't know George - not my area of expertise. But I'm sure some one will be along shortly! The MGF alloys are often sold at bargain prices - they don't really fit anything much else (only Dolly/Marina/Herald/Spitfire/TR7 etc) so the demand is low. They are nice wheels - and the 15" size fills the arches nicely.

[GeorgeHurst]

Yeah I had a massive ebay search session last night looking for all the different cars that use the 3.75" PCD, seem to spend alot of time doing that at the moment Most seem to be 13" which is a bit of a pain, but I'm hoping that the MGF steel spare wheels will be of a suitably large width and a possible option.

Anyone out there know about the mounting points and prop issues with the Marina / Dolly axle?

[charlie_morris_minor]

the marina / ital / dolly axle will need new mountings.. do not do what the last person to fit my marina axle did which was to cut slots in the axle mounts to allow the u bolts to slip on.

the marina / ital dif drive flange is different to the minor so you will need to change the drive flange on your prop shaft

the MGF space saver wheels are 14 inch and fit inside the body work, the standard tyres are 175 / 65.. this is what they look like at the rear ( apparently the wheels are montego wheels ) the wheels are black, these are ones i painted by the way

[frame][/frame]

[GeorgeHurst]

Hi Charlie,
Thanks for all that info, just what I needed to know. Those wheels look good, I have 195/75/14's on the rear at the moment (to ease the gearing - cheaper than a new diff!) so I would try and fit those I think.
The mods to prop and axle are going to prove too expensive I think at the moment - I think I'm just going to have to go ahead with the engine and all the mods I'm doing, sticking with the Minor axle, and then at a later date tackle a stronger new axle.
Might have a ring round engineering firms round here to get an idea of the prop mod costs.
Cheers
George

[charlie_morris_minor]

this is what the wheels look like with hub caps on, i am very happy with the look of them..

as for costs..

the mounts are not much £10 a side, mgf space savers i think i paid £60 ( inc postage) for 4 including good tyres, there are two axles on ebay going for 1 pound each. no idea about the cost of the drive flange

[frame][/frame]

[GeorgeHurst]

Looks great Charlie, interesting that the standard hub cap fits on.

I am watching the axles as I write! Contemplating bidding on the one in Brighton as I will soon be going down there with a trailer to pick up the Van I have been given

You mention it is a tenner for the mounts - are they available off the shelf or does one need to fabricate them from scratch?

I was thinking that one could take a short length of steel box, cut a recess for the axle and then drill a hole for the spring bolt, but not really sure what is involved in making new axle mounts...

If the ital one doesn't go too high I might just get it anyway so I've got it for the future

[charlie_morris_minor]

you use standard moggy mounts, just grind a little bit out so they fit nicely,
the hub caps do not fit directly on the wheel you need to fit some bolts so that hub caps have something to latch over ( like the series 2 wheels )
sorry i do not have a close up of the axle..[frame][/frame]

[GeorgeHurst]

aha! excellent - well that doesn't sound too complex at all - I've got a welder and if I don't feel up to it then I have a friend who is a good welder who could fix them on for me.
That only leaves the drive flange, so probably worth getting the axle anyway and then saving up for the cost of re-engineering the prop.
Thanks very much for the info Charlie.
I'm actually planning on fitting these hub caps: http://www.runnerduck.com/cars/images/white_walls.jpg and they are supposedly a universal fit onto steel wheels so the MGF spares would be perfick
I've got a bunch of stuff on ebay so fingers crossed the axle will be within my budget, thanks again, george

[bmcecosse]

And it should give you 8" rear brakes!! Does anyone know how different the diff flange is from Minor to Marina ?