Morris Minor Owners Club

I was worried how the engine/gearbox would go back into the car (1960 4 door saloon), having replaced both chassis legs....

and so was pleased when the assembly aligned itself "perfectly" with the front engine mountings and gearbox cross member mountings. So I sped ahead and assembled all the other bits & pieces.

I did notice however that the gearbox, viewed from the back appears to "list" a bit (to the left, in the photo below). In addition the clutch relay shaft was not as straight as I thought it should be....

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It looks worse in the photo than in real life. The engine viewed from the front seems vertical.There not being many reference surfaces it is not easy to measure.

So I chose to ignore it but on my attempt to fit the gearbox tunnel/gearbox lever gaiter contraption the problem was more evident; when the gear lever when in centre neutral the gaiter/rubber boot gets pulled to the left end will probably tear in a short time.

I guess there must be enough play in the 4 mounts that this can happen?

I will attempt to "jiggle" the engine tomorrow to see if I can twist it one or two degrees...

Comments will be appreciated!

thanks

There should be some room for 'adjustment' on the gearbox mounts - which have slots. If need be - you could slip a 1/4" shim under a front mount if that helps to straighten it all up.

Can you put another pic up showing the gearbox mounts a bit closer?

Its possible to put them in upside down or downside up as well! Heres a link to a previous post with a pic from my traveller.

http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=36712

Thanks for the replies!

I've got the gearbox mounts wrong, thanks for pointing that out!

I must admit I had some doubt when the gearbox went back in but convinced myself this was the only way they could go!

And to make matters even worse I had the parts assembly diagram printed and on my desk all the time

I will attend to this tomorrow and report back....


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OK, so I decided not to wait until tomorrow.

Jacked the gearbox up so I could wriggle the brackets & mounts out, then swop left/right & upside down. Took weight off engine mounts with a hoist & the engine gearbox could then slide back to fit the new bracket position.

The engine must be at least 0.2" or more further back and the gearbox must be about the same amount lower at the mounting points.

Clutch relay shaft now sits perfectly aligned and the gear lever/rubber gaiter contraption looks like it will fit now.

Thanks for all the assistance.