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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - 5 Speed Gear Box Moving the Gear Lever

I have just finished moving the gear lever on a Type 9 box closer to the engine. Cutting the aluminium housing was scarry but no problem. Aligning and welding the housing was OK but the aluminium was dirty and I don't have an ultrasonic bath to do a proper degrease so there was some splatter. However drilling a new hole in the single rail was a nightmare. I was meticulous in measuring and marking out and drilled the hole using "V" blocks and clamps. When reassembled I could not engage any gear. I removed the roll pin that holds the casting that the gear lever engages with and realigened the casting and evrything was fine. Looking down the roll pin hole I could see my drilling was out by about 10 thou. I didn't know how to sort out my cock up and even considerd tack welding the casting to the rail. After a bit more thought I set the casting and rail up in situ with out the roll pin and dribbled some super glue in the join between them. This allowed me to use a needle file to rough out the step in the hole and then ream a new slightly lager hole. A quick wisk over with a blow lamp and I was able to break the super glue joint and clean everthing up. I have now made an over sized pin and all appears to be working well. Maybe not conventional engineering but a problem solved


Jan T
J Targosz

Jan, I did this on my T9 box some 20 years ago. I cut the turret off by hand using a hacksaw with it balanced on a workmate. I reassembled the box, sliding the turret onto the selector rail and glueing it in place with spots of epoxy resin at the alignment I wanted, before then taking it to the local tech college where someone welded it in place. He actually used it as a demo for an evening course on alloy welding that he was running for a local motorbikers' club.

On reassembly I then drilled the new hole in the rail shaft, using the cast fork that the gear shaft locates with as a guide, but otherwise doing it by eye using a hand held cordless drill. It worked just fine, first time. There was nothing like the degree of accuracy that you are describing!

The only thing was initially it wouldn't select 5th gear. I thought I must have got the drill alignment wrong, but it wasn't that. The problem was when assembling the tail casting I should have selected 4th gear to ensure the locating pin was correctly aligned on assembly. If it misses the fork on assembly, then 5th gear won't select.
GuyW

Most gearboxes have a magnet in the drain plug to capture any bits of swarf. The Ford 5 speed does not have a drain plug but there is a magnet, secured betwwen two lugs in the bottom of the casing. Normally if you drop something into a opened up gearbox you can simply turn the box over and the nut/washer etc will fall out. Not with the Ford! The magnet captures it and won't let go! You would be very brave or foolish to leave it there so a partial dismantle is needed. Don't ask me how I know!

Jan T
J Targosz

So, when its dismantled you drill and tap a drain plug.
GuyW

I know my place.

When I converted my Sprite to a T9, even though I later rebuilt four T9 boxes, and converted my current one to a long 1st gear, I bottled any attempt to move the gear lever.

Hats off too you both.

anamnesis

Have a long first gear too like Anamnesis, well worth it!
And the oildrainplug.
T9 boxes dont have oildrainplugs as they last a lifetime Ford says ... lifetime of the car is by factory standards 7 years?
I like to refresh my oils when I feel like it so a drainplug is very practical to me.

A de Best

I have fitted a drain plug but it is in the cast iron casing, up through the large circular magnet. Don't do what I did and leaver the magnet in place. It collects all the swarf and it is a devil to remove. Before I tapped the hole I made up a simple tool from a piece of bar that was a snug fit in the hole with a collar about 1" in diamater. I stuck some coarse emery cloth to the face of collar and spun this with a drill to provide a flat surface for the drain plug to seal. Hope it works - I don't want another drip!


Jan T
J Targosz

This thread was discussed between 18/08/2023 and 25/08/2023

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