possible broken gearbox? help please

[Two tone tommy]

Hi recently brought an austin 6cwt van ive been told theyre pretty much exactly the same as morris minors and people think its a moggy all the time this is our first ever austin/ moggy so sorry for the lack of knowledge and ignorance but had the first long ride out this weekend to a show which was 2 hours there and 2 back on arrival home just as i started to put it into the yard put it in gear and nothing dont really remember a smashing noise or anything like that really its just as if its not connecting at al had a look under and it all seems to be in place was just wondering if anybody has had the same problem?
thanks tommy

[bmcecosse]

If the speedo goes round -it's a broken half shaft.. If not - the clutch plate has failed.

[PSL184]

My money is going on a halfshaft

[Two tone tommy]

sounds like a clutch plate then luckily when we brought it the guy gave us a spare brand new one he did warn us it might be on the way out cheers guys just quickly as well what sort of things can we do to the engine to get the best performance possible? a friend has suggested getting a pancake filter to replace the boxed cone filter

[bmcecosse]

Err NO ! Pancake filters lose power... Get a better advisor... There's no easy answer to more power - it involves mechanical changes to the engine - which will cost money. Fix the drive problem first.

[Two tone tommy]

ah ok so is it best to stick with the original air filter in the box with the breather hole facing toward the ground? yeah were going to get the drive problem fixed first but toying with the idea of changing the engine for something with a bit more power its the 1098cc engine oh and its 1971 if that helps?

[bmcecosse]

There are relatively inexpensive ways to get more power from the 1098, but it needs to be in good condition. The air cleaner is the very least of it! Fix the drive, then make sure the brakes are in good order, and improve the wheels/tyres and suspension - then think about more power.

[don58van]

If you point the breather hole down toward the exhaust manifold, it will lose the engine a couple of hp. For best power, it is best pointed where it can draw cool air.
D