Morris Minor Owners Club

Would like some feed back on the merits of Mechanical or Hydraulic clutch for a Ford Sierra 5 speed box coupled to a 1275cc engine.

I'm not familiar with that setup, but I will say that I've had hydraulic actuated clutches on various vehicles over the years and much prefer the mechanical actuated. Too many problems w/the hydraulics. The only disadvantage with mechanical is that they have to be adjusted once in a while, which is no big deal.

Thank you for reply, Katy ... seems nobody has ever attached a Sierra 5 speed to a 1275cc engine !

Hm, Derek

Oh I know many have, and I think on the whole they use a hydraulic clutch with a concentric release bearing. But it's a LOT of work.

Again Katy, thank you. I'm surprised that the folks who have actualy gone through this process have not jump in on the topic. Anyway I was'nt aware that the box/clutch internals were involved. Also, I guess there is a special kit for the 5 speed as opposed to the normal hydraulic kit advertised.
Derek .... I'm in New York, USA

Obviously most of the work is involved with removing the original Minor clutch pedal, and then installing a a hydraulic master cylinder/reservoir/pedal arrangement. I will just be sticking with the 1098 gearbox when I finally get round to fitting a 1275 engine.

Ive been using a mechanical setup for years & currently midway through converting to concentric hydraulic actuation
the mechanical system is a bit of a lashup but works ok. It uses a bracket bolted to the box so the cross shaft can be used. the original release fork is then mounted on a sliding pivot so a special release bearing can be mounted on the guide tube around the 1st motion shaft. also if your using a different clutch cover to the std 1098 one you may need to lengthen one of the cross shaft leavers to maintain an effective ratio (I had to do this when I changed to a sierra diaphragm clutch cover).
As for the hydraulic one I've got as far as mounting the master cylinder with a bracket from JLH but cant go any further with it now until I've rebuilt my engine as i need to make some measurements between the box & clutch for a concentric slave cyl

This book although Midget based has a lot of info on conversions that are still relevant to the Minor
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=V3ST ... q=&f=false

Hi Fuelpump, I stuck with the mechanical clutch arrangement as I could really see any benefit it converting to the hydraulic clutch. As it seemed like more work and cost for not much gain.
I think the usual suppliers sell a kit to convert to a hydraulic clutch using the existing pedals.

Thanks Guys, As I have ordered the Sierra box with the mechanical clutch and in the absence fo any advise to the contrary, I'll stick with that ... until I rip off the seat back trying to depress the clutch !
Cheers, Derek