Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi Guys

My trav has a marina engine/box in it and due to a load of fiddling etc, i would like to put the marina engine in the spridge and the spridge engine in the minor.

What do I need to do to get the marina engine to mate with a minor/spridget 'box?

I know you have to modify the crankshaft, but can a spridget one be subsituted in its place? and do i need to aquire a backplate from somewhere?

You can certainly swap the cranks about - and I guess the backplate has to stay with the gearbox otherwise it won't match! Seems like a whole lot of work - what's the gain ?

The 1275 Marina should mate to a spriget box. It's the backplate that needs changing to fit to a Minor because the starter motor is in the wrong position - that's not to say it's going to foul in the spriget though. I think that's the only issue with the backplate (?).
I don't know of a problem with the crank. I believe that's only inline engines.

The gain is that i can put the marina lump in my spridget after its been rebuilt, whereas I have a prefectly good spridget lump and a 5 spd conversion that will go on it, but apparently not on the marina.

I thought the crankshaft had to be drilled for a 4 bolt pattern as the marina is a 6 bolt on the clutch end?

Your 5 speed conversion should be able to fit on either engines - whichever engine you use needs to have the right backplate and flywheel but otherwise I can't see a problem.

ok, the main problem is the trav is roadworthy except the engine, the spidge is nowere near roadworthy but has a reasonable engine as far as i can tell. Thats why i want to do this!

So people think the spridget box should bolt straight on to the marina engine? and the clutch etc will still work as it should....

So people think the spridget box should bolt straight on to the marina engine?

not if the marina engine is currently on a marina box - I expect the backplate needs modifying (some differences in the bolt pattern) - may be easiest to get a different backplate rather than modify it. You may be able to keep the marina clutch + flywheel but only if it fits in the bellhousing and the linkages work - otherwise you'll need to swap to a different clutch/flywheel.

Would the backplate from a 1098 minor engine work? I have one in the shed...

Very probably - can't see why not. All 1275 engines are 6 bolt crank tail - so yes Minor 1098 flywheel (4 holes) would need some new holes drilling. Two holes will line up anyway - just need to mark through where to drill the other 4 - and possibly one for a dowel too.

There isnt much space in the bellhousing, and i *think* the marina clutch might be bigger. Is there why i wouldnt be able to bolt a spridget clutch on to the marina flywheel or bolt a spridget flywheel and then the clutch to the marina crankshaft?

sorry for the silly questions, but i havent got the engines in front of me... and im not too hot on the technical details of the engines!

I think the Spridget clutch is of a different type which will result in a hellishly sharp engagement if used with the Minor linkage.

They are both 6 bolt - and so should be interchangeable - but whether they will fit inside each others bellhousings is another matter! Best to keep the flywheels with their own gearboxes and clutch mechs.

I think the Spridget clutch is of a different type which will result in a hellishly sharp engagement if used with the Minor linkage.

Quite right Chris it gives an awful pedal which is wonderful in traffic, and as its a smaller plate as well so probably wont last anywhere near as long.

i was going to use the spridget hydralic clutch because i have a marina pedal box with a hydaulic clutch

it gives an awful pedal which is wonderful in traffic, and as its a smaller plate as well so probably wont last anywhere near as long.

I have a standard Spridget 6 1/4" diaphragm clutch behind my 1380 A-Series. The centreplate is an uprated AP item for the Toyota 5-spd box. Using a completely standard Minor mechanical linkage, the pedal and engagement is fine in all conditions, traffic, open road, track etc., and to date the whole assembly has done 25,000+ miles.

The standard Spridget unit is designed for the 1275 engine, so I do not understand why it should not last very long?

Partly because it's designed for a small light car.