Morris Minor Owners Club

Just wondered how many of the 1275cc modified cars on here run on hardened half shafts or do you find the standard ones are fine as long as the cars BHP is not too high, what have you got or done.

1275 in van standard half shafts, not been any problems,

When I ran a tweaked 1275 as a 17 year old (that means I gave it loads of stick because I did not know what steady driving was!) I never bust an axle. Gearboxes though.......6 in a year. I could get home from school have the engine and box out before tea and back together to go out in the evening!

I can not recall what a Minor 1/2 shaft looks like but would guess that the splines are on the same diameter as the rest of the shaft. When a 1/2 shaft snaps it goes at the point of highest stress which will be the run out of the splines and or where the splines just come out of the diff.

If you turn down the diameter of the shaft in the region of the spline run out so the root diameter of the spline is the same diameter as the shaft you will reduce the stress concentrations. So making the shaft last longer. The correct heat treatment will also help as would shot peening.

Like this.....



John

Is it fair to say that no-one is making new Minor half shafts these days - and so there is a finite number of them available for the future generations of Minor owners ? If so - buy them up for the kids now !

Well the Birmingham centre certainly sell them.