Morris Minor Owners Club

If you put a spring here like this then changing from 2nd to 3rd is much easier, you just slide the gearstick forwards, and it pulls into the middle for you, no more going back into 1st by mistake!! takes 2 minutes to fit and cant be seen under the rubber cover.

anyone else got a similiar thing in place?

Picky

Err - NO! Never have any bother going 2 nd to 3 rd anyway! Your spring may cause v rapid wear on the selector forks - take it off!

hmm you could be right - im going to have a good look at an exploded diagram of the gearbox before driving it with the spring fitted.

Picky

That is a very Heath Robinson fitment but basically the same as what is done on most modern cars. However the spring load would usually be retained on a gate 'H-plate' to stop it being applied to the box when in gear.
Side load on the lever (when in gear) will pass a bit of side load to the adjacent select lever, however the bit that is normally a wear problem is the end of the fork faces and the synchro cone itself. This side load will not affect either of those - but it mayd put a small rotational load onto the selector fork which may or may not be a problem in the long term (it's not meant to have rotational load, so could affect the synchro hub or the fork)

If it was me though I'd either make sure the spring load was as low as possible, or more likely - live without it.

ive had a look at an exploded diagram, and if i fit two springs, one either side then this will not create any unusual load on the selector forks, i had a go describing the ins and outs of why but its almost impossible.....

Picky

Interesting idea but the gearchange on mine is so perfect anyway I've never seen a need to do anything to change it.
Thers such a huge gap between the gears I've not had any problems mis-gearing - so far... (of course I will now I've said that!)

Two springs will just cancel each other out! But - they may stop the 'singing' from the lever.

two springs one either side will still make the gearstick return to a central position...

The gearchange on the Minor was famously superb in its day and should be no problem now, if you have any trouble double check you clutch pedal free play. My son thought the gear change was surprisingly good after some of the modern cars which he had driven.

I agree! with a decent gearbox the gear change from 2nd to 3rd is a breeze even without a clutch! The only trouble I've ever had is with a worn gearbox or more often than not a poor/tired/badly adjusted clutch.

My son thought the gear change was surprisingly good after some of the modern cars which he had driven.

Much nicer than any of my past 'modern' Fords and even nicer than my Dads Civic which is made by clever Japanese folk who should know better.

I'm guessing its an 'inline' thing and they just work better due to the directness... no cables, bars etc...

I've always had great fun with a Minor gearbox, though that said my only comparison is an Eighties Landy so that might be why, otherwise everything I've driven has been auto!
I have only one problem, but I've heard it's quite common. My gearstick jumps out of first sometimes, usually the worst times (hill starts being a favourite)... Is there a cure for this? I've got the engine out at the moment so I might be able to do something with the gearbox if it's easy. Is it a sign of wear?

Fraid so - wear in the bearings. Gearbox rebuild is the answer. But if you are careful with it - and don't over-do it in first gear, the box will last for many many miles yet! When it starts jumping out of second and/or third it's a bit more serious.

I have only one problem, but I've heard it's quite common. My gearstick jumps out of first sometimes

that could be a few things including bearings, worn selector fork, broken detent spring etc..
The only short term solution is to hold it in first! (not easy for hill starts when you're on your own - unless you let go of the steering wheel and use one hand for the handbrake and one for the gear lever However a well trained passenger can hold the lever when requested - we had to do that on the 54 I took through the desert! She jumped out of 2nd when unloaded but driving over random surfaces could cause it to unload and jump out just at the wrong moments.

Well, I'm not allowed to drive solo yet so I always have a well-trained passenger! That should make things nicer. But no, between second and third is very easy, and the car jumps out of neither.
I think I'll let it rest until I can no longer, if that's the best policy. I don't drive it very far ever, I probably don't do more than 200 miles a year, though I drive it often. It should last a long time.
I am planning a trans-America trip sometime in a few years, though... Not so exciting as across Africa, but you can't have everything!

I'm not allowed to drive solo yet

From which we could deduce that you are still learning?

Think about how you change gear. Do you grip the gearknob? That can be a cause of selecting the wrong "line" of gears (1st/2nd vs 3rd/4th.)

Try just using the palm of your hand, without closing your fingers tight. Palm on right of stick when you want 1st/2nd, palm on left of stick when you want 3rd/4th.

Of course, that doesn't work so well on a 5 speed box, but they have spring loading for 3rd/4th.

Just a thought.

I'm actually fifteen! I don't really drive at all officially, but there's a huge private complex (complete with roundabouts etc) nearby, where the owner has kindly allowed me to use the space for practice. I've had most conditions now- that picture in my signature is the time I was practising hill starts in the snow! Not so good with a Moggy's grip.
I've never checked which grip I use, but off the top of my head I would say I generally use my palm, though I don't use it on sides- I just cup it slightly, to hold the gearknob. Thank you for the advice!
I don't think I'll be getting a five speed for a while, though there's a lovely 5-speed toyota Austin Healey 3000 for sale nearby that I would love to have, if price were no consideration... Slightly out of my range though.

Lol i got my morris running a month after i got my license with a 1275 and a ribcase. The first test drive 2nd gear was completely gone. Worked all night and put another rib case in that looked in good shape by inspection of the internals. Second gear was horrible on it but if i had full throttle and the lever forcefully held in second gear she would go pretty good. Drove her for a year that way until she would slip in second. Put a smooth case in it which worked like a beauty. Too bad becuase 3 weeks later the motor took a nose dive with half compression in all cylinders and smoking like crazy.

Sounds like you've had a little bit of a rugh time with your car... What happened then? D'you fix it or sell it on?

I'll never sell that car, i pulled the motor and trans out and did a 4age conversion. Its a high output 16 valve dual overhead cam 1600cc motor. It came out of a toyota mr2 and should be good for about 130 bhp stock. Also using a toyota 5 speed.


Its nice to see another young kid interested in Morris Minors lol, especially one from the United States.