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Rob, Why? Mine is much better with all 4 wheels on the ground, in gear and with the engine running. It's much more fun that way. Have I lost the point of this thread? Guy "Guy Weller" 25160... MORE
You can anticipate the changes by working it out in terms of percentages. Changing a 4.22 diff with a 3.9 diff is about a16% change. Revs in any gear for a particular road speed will reduce by 16%. Or road speed will increase by 16% for the same revs. In theory (but not in practice) acceleration will be worse by 16% which sounds a lot but is barely noticable. That said, acceleration changes are not quite so straightforward as it depends on how well the gearing is matched to your particular engine torque and power characteristics. And these depend... MORE
Nigel, If in doubt, forget about the numbers and count the number of revolutions of the pinion to turn the crown wheel once. Or, since you want a reasonably accurate answer, count pinion turns for 10 crown wheel turns. Guy "Guy Weller" 25158... MORE
Stewart..... If your engine is tuned for the high end (and it certainly sounds this way.."useless road engine"...."lumpy idle"), then going to a 3.7 will make it more a useless road engine in terms of the low end. So...it you are using the car mostly at highway speeds (say, 3k or higher) than no problem. Town driving will become more of a hassle as you'll be at lower rpm more of the time at lower speeds, unless you retain lower gears more of the time then you are currently used to. The more available 3.9 might make for a... MORE
You've successfully made every argument on the situation. Pick your poison...'-) The OD unit is probably the easiest and most practical. Your other option is to install a 1275 with a Datsun 5 speed. That's the best choice in my opinion. Easily done too. You could opt for all Datsun drive train too. Gerard "gerardchateau" 25154... MORE
Stewart, is the 1275 in standard tune? If so, the acceleration won't be sparkling but it's perfectly usable and much more relaxed than your original (which would have been 4.22:1 not 4.55) The top gear mph/1000rpm will go up from around 15 to 18, so 70mph will see the revs drop from 4700 to 3900 (roughly) Don't forget though, that BMC could get away with making 1275 Spridgets with 4.22 diffs as standard, so they must've thought it was reasonable at the time! Regards David "David Jacobs" 25148... MORE
....and Series II 803cc Minor. Nigel, it's always possible the crown wheel and pinion from a 5.375 diff has been put into the 2A7230 housing from the 4.875, so the part numbers wouldn't match any longer. (can you see any numbers on the actual crown wheel? - they're usually stamped on the outer diameter somewhere) David "David Jacobs" 25147... MORE
IIRC the fraction you refer to is in fact the number of teeth on the pinion/crown. Actually I was gong to ask about diffs any way. I have two for the frogeye (which has a later 1275 motor) the original one which IIRC is 4.55:1 and a riley 1.5 one which is a 3.7:1 diff. What would the effect of fitting the 3.7 diff to the frogeye have, as it stands its will rev straight through the red line and out the other side in top gear, even up hills speed at the red line is 80 ish with... MORE
Nigel, it's good if you want storming acceleration for sprinting/hillclimbs etc, but you'll run out of revs at about 85mph. Looking at http://members.fortunecity.com/minormania/html/article_restore_axles.html says yours came from an A55 van, which I would have thought had a B series diff, so I suspect they mean A35 van, but I may be wrong here. Regards David "David Jacobs" 25137... MORE
Gerard Thank you, that was most helpful. It was an 8/39 which I guess is a ratio of 4.8 - is that good/bad? I'm afraid it doesn't really mean anything to me! Bearing in mind, these diff's were given to me by a guy who used to race Spridgets in the 60's. Thanks, Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 25136... MORE
Nigel, There is a number stamping at the top of the mounting flange about the same position where the brake tee union is attached. It is expressed in the form of a fraction, i.e. 10/39. This exaple would be a 3.9 diff. you can do the division or goo to the Sprogets Specs page on my site (in the Tech tips section) to see the different fraction and corresponding ratios. http://www.gerardsgarage.com/FS_Garage.htm Gerard "gerardchateau" 25133... MORE
Hi guys I was given a couple of Spridget differentials recently, but I can't seem to figure out what ratio's they are. Does anyone know if there are any identifying marks on diff's to indicate what ratio they are? Thanks in advance. Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 25126... MORE
Ummmm, not sure of any other issues but offhand I would say that you should be really sure that the rear end is supported "by all means possible"! I hate to think what would happen if some shifting of weight knocks the Midget off its stands while revving to say 60mph?? Steve Steven Michelsen 25123... MORE
I would rather ask and be taken as simple minded that not ask and do possible damage . . . is there any problem jacking up a spridet's rear differential housing ends, starting the engine and going through gears with the rear wheels off the ground? On a tread mill there is some load and normal weight on the rear wheels but this would be a no load situation. Don "Don May" 25119... MORE
Don't know. The car was not driven for almost a year and I do not know what all the PO did to it. The guy I bought it from bought it running, drove it home and a couple of times around the block, did some work on the battery pan, put in a new radiator and hoses then got too busy at his job to do more so never took it off the no-op license and let it sit for almost a year, then when he tried to drive before selling it discovered he could not get it into... MORE
Went to the DMV and took my Purple 73 rwa off non-op today then took it out for its first freeway speed run. Was hoping a good run would cure my transmission problem I posted about before . . . can start it in first and reverse and runs fine in first and reverse, however once I drive and shift up to second and above then stop I cannot get it back into first or reverse . . . gears grind (yes, I do shift into second first, then try first) I do not want to force for fear... MORE
So I am motoring down a nice quiet highway at 50MPH and come to a leisurely stop at a traffic light. 30 seconds go by, light turns green and I motor on up to 50 MPH again. AFter about a mile, I detect the distinct smell of burning brakes. Dang, I hope that's not me.... unfortunately it was. SO I pulled over to the side and came to a stop. The brake pedal was hard and would not depress very far. Furthermore, the brakes were not responding very well (nor grabbing). After stopping I noticed the stinky smoke coming... MORE
If you are certain you are getting enough travel out ot the slave cylinder to disengage your clutch, then the first thing that comes to mind is that your clutch disc is stuck to the flywheel. How long has it been since it was driven and working properly? Was the fluid loss the reason for the failure and was it from sitting to long? Three other posibilities: * First motion shaft is stuck in or has to much friction with the pilot bushing. * Clutch pressure plate spring/s have failed. * Throw out bearing has come off the fork.... MORE
Reshelled? Seems to me if the color on the bulkhead/areas up under the dash is not the original color then what is left of the car but the engine trans and drive train. :-) As Nigel was pointing out it would be very rare if that is not the original color if it matches one of the few original colors the car came from the factory from. A previous owner would have had to strip the car down to the shell, strip all the paint from all surfaces and repaint in order for hidden areas to be other than... MORE
That is fantastic news. Enjoy!! It must be great to be back at the wheel after so long. It will be even better when all the rest of the problems are sorted and you can put the whole incident behind you. Nothing quite like the purr of the 'A' series lump at a nice cruising speed, or working up through the gears! R "Roger Stinson" 24972... MORE
are you sure it's the frame it's rubbing? (i.e. is it visible rubbing there, or just audible?) It's not uncommon for a wheel to rub on a flexible brake hose on full lock - check this out, as they can rub through with obvious potential disastrous results! They shouldn't contact anything solid though - there is a lock-stop built into the king-pin which the stub axle contacts before anything else, unless you have ultra wide wheels! The other thing to note, once you've sorted the rubbing thing, is that if it turns more in one direction, both tie rods... MORE
Guy, I concur. I made the same discovery one day many years ago. And, youdonlt need exceptionly long arms either. Afterall, the driveshaft is only about 32" long. Gerard "gerardchateau" 24911... MORE
OK, Here is the "Gibbon method" again ! (thanks Cap'n!) Also favoured by vets of large domestic animals I have said this before, and it caused some amusement, but it is perfectly do-able lie under the car and to reach your arm, full length in along beside the prop shaft from the rear. Hold the front U/J with your fingers and guide it into the G/box tail shaft. Sounds like you need very long arms but it is really very easy. I used to mess around with coat hangers, bits of foam and bungee straps until one day I... MORE
"It will be shred and become part of the landscape" At which point "sarikas" gets arrested for littering...and drops a dime on DLancer who must post his bail.....but at least the driveshaft is in. Let me know if the judge "buys" your story when you get to court, Phil. :):) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 24896... MORE
Help! I am sure I have heard or read of a slick method to do this, but can't seem to find it in the archives. My problem is this, I have the engine and transmission all in, but neglected to put the driveshaft into the back of the transmission till now. Is there a clever way to keep the U-joint from flopping around long enough to get this into the transmission without cutting holes anywhere? The last LBC (a 70 Midget) of these I owned (20 years ago) it seems some previous owner had solved this problem by tearing... MORE
