Morris Minor Owners Club

I'll use this chance to quickly introduce myself.
My names Ben and i'm 17, Just passed my Driving test and decided I wanted my first car to be a Moggie, cause I love them.
You may hear from me Here and there, probably asking for advice more than giving it, i'm only a noob. But I'm happy I chose a Moggie for my first car.

I'm not very mechanical myself, but my Dad helps me out with it all.
Bless him.

Either way, me aside- I wanted to ask for some Compatability advice for my Moggie, New brakes, Engines, and most of all gearboxes. I do a lot of Moterway traveling so a 5th Gear would be ideal for me. But me, Nor my dad know what gearboxes are, and are not compatable.

Some advice would be apriciated =D
Thanks!

Welcome, nice to see another young person chosing a Moggy.

Most common gearbox mod to get a fifth gear is the Ford Type 9 gearbox from a 1.3 to 1.8 litre Seirra. You need the type 9 box with the short input shaft, boxes from bigger engined Sierras do not fit.

You also need the fitting kit, which has a custom made bellhousing to match the ford box to the moggy engine backplate. It also has a new gearbox cover plate for inside the car, as the gearlever is further back, which means the handbrake lever has to be moved back as well 2 inches.

Common brake upgrade is a selection of different kits that give you disc brakes up front, and a servo if you need it.

Gearbox mod is about £500 + the cost of a recon Sierra T9 gearbox
Disc brake mods start at about £300 to £500

You can also get anti roll bar mod, Telescopic damper mods as well.

The 1098 engine will just pull a 5th gear on the motorway, but only just. Most people fit a 1275 engine with the 5 speed gearbox. So it can get expensive. However, the standard 1098 will cruise quite happily at 60-65 MPH with the standard gearbox, at that speed you will be at 4,000 to 4,400 RPM which is fine for the A Series engine. All you need is a little extra sound insulation at those revs.

There are other gearboxes that will fit, Older Datsun/Toyota gearboxes, but they are getting hard to find.

Main dealers for mods are JLH, ESM, Bull Motif and Morris Minor Centre Birmingham.

Good stuff. I'll make notes of that and decide whats best.

I have some disk brakes i'm taking from a poor, rolled, red pimped up Moggie at the scrap yard. Some new seats, Wheels and other stuff are available from the same car.
I'm trying to keep mine as origenal as possible, but at the same time try and upgrade it bit by bit.

If I can find other compatable parts around the yard i'll surely take them. Being 17, I only have so much to spend, so make it last.

I'll also be sure to look into Sound Insulation, at least untill I manage to find a 5 speed Gearbox.

And finally, any more details about the older Datsun & Toyota gearboxes?

Another option is to keep the 4speed box & use a higher ratio differential from a Riley/Wolseley 1.5

standuard boxx is fine if you are happy going at 60,you catch people up in the traffic jams