Morris Minor Owners Club

I read somewhere that the Midget/Sprite was designed for gearbox removal through the top simply because the production line they wanted to build it upon didn't have access from underneath and thus they were unable to work from below.

Rob
Even if the story is true there is insufficient room around the bell housing and transmission tunnel to remove or fit the gearbox from below whilst leaving the engine in place - therefore the engine has to be removed to get access to the clutch.
Even fitting the engine from below is difficult if not near impossible as the engine is wider than the space between the chassis rails.
Phil

Yes I would have thought a production line would be designed for the vehicle rather than the vehicle designed around the production line.

There wasn't much spare capacity in 1958 so they were saddled with the Abingdon site which had been used to dropping motors in from above.

Here is a shot of the line. The gap beneath the cars is quite small. I'll try to find the original reference I have somewhere in the book shelves.
http://www.classiccarstodayonline.com/2 ... ly-line-a/