Morris Minor Owners Club

Any motor factor will sell the concentric release bearing.

Also be aware that you are meant to replace the concentric every time you change the clutch

I am running marina fly wheel, 83 sierra 1.6 clutch plate and pressure plate, and a 2001 on mondeo concentric.

All should be available form any local motor factor. Sierra clutch kit about £50, concentric about £70.

Burtons do also sell an adaptor to fit mondeo concentric to type 9 for about £35, but I don't know if the offset is ok for a birm bellhousing. But due to the fact that offset isn't critical it should be either ok or machinable or spacer fitable.

Someone should write a definitive 'sticky' for this subject!

has anyone else gone the modern concentric route yet or am I alone?

Does anyone else not like the birm solution for clutch actuation?

Any other mods to solve this been done and mentionable?

I believe a well known modifier/restorer based in Leamington is working on this! Im not sure if a kit will be avaliable though

It should be near to Christmas or just after. but its no longer Leamington Spa but rather Napton on the hill

Yay! Has to be better that that damn roller release bearing, and I've been studying the concentric options...

Nothing wrong with a good old carbon thrust. Just don't ride it!

Thanks for the useful tip, I'm sure. We're talking about Ford Type 9 5 speed boxes though, not Morris 4 speeds

Yes I know that! But I'm sure many a Ford box has been installed still using the carbon thrust bearing - although I fully agree that a concentric type release (as per marina etc) is an obvious improvement. However - the cost - £70 just for the concentric !!!!!!!!!!!

In the end £70 is a small stumbling block in the conversion to a Type 9, which in itself will cost the better part of a grand if fitted at a Minor specialist. The difference is huge, giving a production car level of pedal feel and reliability.
Like most mods , you need to weigh up the benefits against costs plus what you really want from the car. Many are quite satisfied with the car as it left the factory, but a growing amount require one form or another of modification. As this is such a tiny market, and the traders who manufacture 'new' products for the Minor , are not wealthy benefactors, with money burning a hole in their pockets, the mods that are available will carry a higher premium that those mass produced, for the likes of the Mini or MG market.

I changed from a minor pressure plate to sierra pressure plate & ideally Iwould of liked to of used the ford release bearing on it but the lack of a decent release fork & time was the stumbling block on that so had to modifiy the existing setup, not ideal but it works reasonably well . I do want to convert to a hydraulic setup sometime & will probably go for a concentric slave release bearing

surely if you go ford pressure and drive plate with a concentric then its job done.

No messing. Perfect pedal. No adjustment needed. Lots of clamping pressure, so no slip even with real power.

It is diy engineeringable, I did!

JLH will also be supplying it soon.

It is fit and forget.

It means you can then go and worry about other bits of the car wilst forgetting the clutch altogether.

I know it is easy for me to say having done it, but if I hadn't, I would!

Thanks for the great discussion, keep it going, the more info the better I'll understand what I have got. Suffice to say it was removed from a working car and has a mechanical clutch linkage with adapted fork set in 1098 minor bellhousing cut down to length with a hefty webbed backplate welded on.
If someone could give me the lenght of a marina diff from centre of axle to nose of diff it would be useful to establish if I can use a prop designed for that combo of box and diff with a Minor axled car.

To hijack slightly. does anyone happen to know what prop length the T9 to Morris axle needs to be?

I would measure mine but I am running a ford axle. sorry.

I can't remember exactly where to measure from and to, and don't specially want to take the engine out and put in the one with the T9 either

49 1/2"

Thank you

49.5" eh?

Im guessing that I could quite easily mesure the distance between the diff mounting flange and the wheel centers on a marina and minor axle and work out the difference! Does anyone see any probs with that?