Morris Minor Owners Club

i'm about to change the bmc and have noticed from other threads that the best way forward is to grind off the original bolts as they are behind the torsion bar, so far so good.
looking at my manual they suggest removing the gearbox housing cover complete, is this really necessary as the bmc is inside the chassis leg not outside?
they also suggest removing the speedo cable from the gearbox casing, is this necessary also?
also what size spanners will i need for the brake unions?

Grind them off? I don't remember ever seeing that. You'd need to be very careful not to damage the torsion bar. You don't need to remove the cover, but it makes it easier to put the bolts back. I can't imagine why you would have anything to do with the speedo drive, and (in the expectation of being told it's a Whitworth size really) 7/16 AF

It's actually fairly easy to replace without using a grinder! (needs a block of wood and a long bar)
Reversing the bolts is common but can lead to torsion bar failure!!! I've seen many cars where putting them the wrong way round has worn deep grooves into the torsion bar This happened on my own car many years ago when I didn't know better and therefore I've been mindfull to look at other cars and seen this too many times
The bolts are the correct way round for a good reason, safety!

For tips - see this one in 'useful tips':
http://www.morrisminoroc.co.uk/index.ph ... 439#107439

thanks ray, i've read the article and will follow the instructions, all seems fairly straight forward

speedo cable maybe on LHD cars?

it's an old haynes manual (blue cover) i've quoted from, they're usually pretty good.

Aha - you don't know the "book of lies" like some of us do

job done ... eventually.
first i couldn't find the 7/16 spanner so had to resort to a small adjustable, trouble is they never stay adjusted.
then i disconnected the brake pipe at the back union and slid a piece of tubing leading to a tub to catch the fluid as i pumped it out ... only problem was i connected the tubing to the wrong part of the pipe and proceeded to pump brake fluid all over the drive!
and to top it off i rested my head on the canister of wd40 and filled my ear.
apart from all that the job went reasonably well, the brakes now work.

Congratulations I had a look at my Haynes after you mentioned it - what a performance! They must have been used to being paid by the hour. "Remove the driver's seat", "remove the speedo drive" , "remove the clutch pedal" - Why? I just want to replace the master cylinder

cliff wrote: i rested my head on the canister of wd40 and filled my ear.

Well it is recommended for getting that hard to shift dirt Dare we ask what the phrases were that you used at that moment

We all do things like that like the time I was disconnecting a fuel line and sprayed petrol into my eyes It isn't easy to find your way out of a cluttered shed when you can't see.

Glad to hear she is all go (or stop )