Morris Minor Owners Club

My Haynes manual says 83lb (37.64 Kg.)

Unsprung weight in a morris is unlikely to make a lot difference, unless you are going to race or track it - dont get too hung up about it. You are more likely to be caught by the lack of independent suspension, or general kurb wieght than unsprung weight.

then again tell us more about your plans - maybe this will be interesting for us.

H

Don't try to stick a lot of power through the Morris axle. Best rule of thumb is about 100 bhp.
One advantage with the Minor axle is the range od Diff's
4.55, 4.22, 3.9, 3.7 the first 2 being Minor, and the second are MG I think, although the 3.9 and 3.7 are expensive second hand as supply is less than demand.

I can never remember this, but the lower numbers mean a higher gearing right? ie. the car accellerates slower but has a high top speed

the lower numbers mean a higher gearing right?

Yes Matt but the idea is to also give you lower revs for a given speed thus making the car quieter at cruising speeds with better economy.

i knew that, i just couldn't remember which way round the numbers went :s

Matt easiest way to remember is that if you take the top ratio as a direct drive in otherwords 1, when moving with a 4.22 it turns 4.22 revolutions but with 3.9 it turns 3.9 revolutions.

I would not try to put much more than 70 BHP through a standard Minor axle. Especially if you are racing it (rough sharp gear changes). That's why I converted my Minor to an Escort Mk2 axle (should handle 170BHP). If you put the two axles next to one another you can clarly see that the Ford item is far thicker and stronger, but unfortunately heavier. What sort of power/engine would you be using??

Hello Mercator,
Torque is big factor in stressing the axle and its components, which I would guess is not too high with a very high specific output engine. Also you can use wheels with added offset to increase track and still retain a relatively light axle.
I take it that De Dions are excluded?

Alec

That is a very good point about the torque. It is only of the order of 63lb.ft max.

If we are talking about stressing componants, torque and horsepower are as much a function of gear ratio, clutch and tyre efficiency as they are the ultimate output of an engine. If you are using racing tyres with a high coefficient of friction then the stress applied to the driveshafts will be much greater than say skinny 145 radials because the tyres resist the movement of the drivetrain to a greater extent.
Looking at it another way, I would hazard a guess that a standard Minor's habit of axle-tramp under load combined with the torque of the 1098 is more damaging to the driveshafts than exceeding the theoretical maximum of 70bhp suggested by many sources.