Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi all,

I've got a dolomite rear axle that's going on my saloon (nice 3.8 diff!) but I need to get the hubs off. Can anyone give me any ideas how I'm going to achieve this please? They don't just fall off like the minor ones

All I've got to do then is find someone who can convert them ot moggy stud pattern ;-)

Andy G

The bearings are a very tight fit on my Minor axle too. I don't know if the Dolomite has the same hub arrangement, but the way I pulled the hubs off on Fenchurch was to remove the wheel, drum, halfshaft, big nut, and washer, then put the wheel back on with a thick piece of steel plate between the wheel and the end of the axle, covering the hole in the middle of the wheel. I then gradually cranked the wheel nuts down a bit at a time, and eventually the hub came unstuck with a loud "pop." After that I was able to gradually work it the rest of the way off by gripping the tyre and waggling it back and forth. To put the hub back on again, I pushed the hub on as far as it would easily go, temporarily fitted the halfshaft, then whacked the centre of the halfshaft very hard with a big rubber mallet. Before I figured out the halfshaft trick I tried hitting the outside of the hub instead, which caused the bearing to pop back out of the hub.

Is the Dolomite rear axle suitable for a Minor as I have not heard of one being used before and I didnt think it was the same as the Marina one.

Kevin wrote:Is the Dolomite rear axle suitable for a Minor as I have not heard of one being used before and I didnt think it was the same as the Marina one.

In the 'bible' (Owen Burtons book) the dolomite axle is quoted as it is the same track width as the minor one, and not 2" longer like the marina one. It does have draw backs, but this is mainly due to having to make spring mounts.

Russ Smith (Of twin cam fame) while working for practile classics (sometime back now) had a triumph engined trav, which broke the halfshafts on the standard minor axle. He fitted a dolly axle, and Owen Burton modified the hubs for him. Now Owen also did the spring locators for the axle tube.

Any idea where I can get this stuff from now?

Andy G

In the 'bible' (Owen Burtons book)

Right so it has been done at least once then but its still not a very common conversion then, and Owen Burton has not traded directly for some years and his book is nowadays regarded as more of a guide as some of the products are not regarded as having been produced-tested to modern standards as sold by some other companies.
I would also think you are going to have to get a one off prop made up as well

Well the minor center Brum have sorted the axle to spring mounts, that just leaves the hubs!

Another question how do you adjust the brakes on a dolomite? Are they self adjusting, as there seems to be no way to get at the adjuster with the drum on...

What fun this modding lark is!

Andy g

Another question how do you adjust the brakes on a dolomite? Are they self adjusting,

Probably best to ask a Triumph forum.

Kevin wrote:

In the 'bible' (Owen Burtons book)

I would also think you are going to have to get a one off prop made up as well

The prop will need to be made, but the next job is fitting a serria box, and the minor center Brum have told me that for an extra 15 quid they can get the prop made to suite any axle.

The dolly also has a larger set of rear drums so the braking balance will be good with discs up front.

Andy G

Sounds like its costing a few quid.
What about the handbrake cables ? is that a straightfoward conversion as well.

I would use the Dolly hubs - wheels from Dolly Sprint/TR7/MGF etc will fit directly! And if you use Marina front hubs - all your wheels will match. Sounds like a good conversion to me - spring mounts should be relatively easy - if that's all it takes.

The handbrake on the dolly goes to the back, but with swapping the backplates side to side (as on the marina axle) the handbrake is at the front and the cables mate with the standard clevis.

I am running marina discs up front (modded to moggy pattern), but have a pair that are not modded, so could go down the triumph rim route. I was hoping to keep the minor rims (well the 4.5 js that I run on it) to keep it looking standard...

Has anyone got a set of five rims that they want shut of?

Andy G

MGF wheels sell very cheaply on ebay - because they don't fit much else! Sounds like you have the ideal set-up to use MGF wheels!

What are the sizes and offsets like on them? The top of the kingpin is a real pain when it comes to wheels!

Anyone in norfolk with a MGF that I could borrow a rim from to try?

Andy G

Hmm - they could be inset quite a bit. I know GAS runs MGF wheels - but he has coil spring front.

I have the 6 spoke (old standard type) MGF wheels, 185 60 15 tyres on the front, and i have to use a wheel spacer to clear the kingpin.... I cant remember the width, possibly around 10mm I think.

You can however easily replace the studs on the marina hubs with the longer ford versions (M12x1.5thread - they sell them on eBay), i found the splined shoulder was the same size as the marina studs. Then you can run ford wheel nuts for alloys and its easier / cheaper to get decent locking wheel nuts.

I then run 205 50 R15 on the back, these are on the marina axle and so I had to bend away the lip on the wing to let them fit up inside, but with the dolomite narrower axle it should be fine, again I fitted the ford longer studs.

Hello UAX6,

you will no doubt have noticed the four link setup of the Dolomite axle,
it would be nice if you could use the radius rods as well, (the coil springs would be evn better but getting to be a lot of serious chassis modification?

I'll have a look in my Dolomite manual when I get home and let you know about rear hub removal and barke adjustment.

Alec

Hello UAX6,

is it a Dolomite or Dolomite Sprint axle as they are different, with the hubs on the former being more difficult to remove. A slide hammer of adequate size is recommended and this will pull the half shaft and hub of as one unit. The hub, in both cases is on a taper and needs the correct type of puller to remove from the half shaft. This puller bolts to the face of the hub using the four studs to attach it and with a central jack screw.
The rear brakes are self adjusting which is accomplished by the handbrake.

Alec

Exactly - it's not at all easy - hence I would just use the Dolly hubs and fit wheels that suit!

I think hub removal is about the only job I haven't or don't plan on tackling on my Triumph! Everything I've heard says it's an utter swine. I reckon I'm better off just keeping 2 spare axles!

The brakes may or may not be self adjusting, and that includes if they have self adjusters! Dolomite 1300s didn't have self adjusting brakes, I can't remember if base Dolomite 1500s did - It's manual done by turning a square peg on the backplate, same as Minis and Metros. Higher spec Dolomites had self adjusting brakes, done through a lever acting on a toothed wheel between cylinder and shoe. The toothed wheel has a thread that "unscrews" when the shoes are worn to the point the lever can push the wheel another click (the teeth are ramped one side so ratchet). Quite often years of brake dust and general crud cause these wheels to stop turning effectively, so it's best to pop the drums and get the adjusters off for a thorough clean. I then ratchet them up with a screwdriver with the drum off until they're "just right" (trial and error of fitting and removing the drum to readjust) as I have little faith in the adjusters even when cleaned up...

Marina front hubs/ brakes would give the same PCD as stated, which would mean a choice of Marina, Triumph, Montego/ Maestro, later Metro and MGF wheels. All of which should be easier to find reasonable quality and price rubber for than the standard Minor rims, but of course they'll not look standard.

Alec wrote:Hello UAX6,

is it a Dolomite or Dolomite Sprint axle as they are different, with the hubs on the former being more difficult to remove. A slide hammer of adequate size is recommended and this will pull the half shaft and hub of as one unit. The hub, in both cases is on a taper and needs the correct type of puller to remove from the half shaft. This puller bolts to the face of the hub using the four studs to attach it and with a central jack screw.
The rear brakes are self adjusting which is accomplished by the handbrake.

Alec

Alec,

It's a dolly 1500 auto axle (so I'm told!). I was going to take the hub/shaft to an engineering shop to get them to press it off (looks the easier way to me!). If I unbolt the brake back plate will I be able to just remove the shafts? The backplate bolts seem to hold the outside of the wheel bearing in place (or a cover over the wheel bearing), so undoing that should allow it all to leave the axle tube shouldn't it?

The brakes must be the self adjusting type, they have a very odd little adjuster inbetween the shoes and the cylinder.

I want to take the backplates off anyway to swap sides so that the cables for the handbrake will fit!

Andy G