Since parting ways with BMI (owners of the Mini Kingdom Online business) I have been working on various projects to refurbish or remanufacture Mini and Moke parts that aren't generally available elsewhere. I'm posting this in case what I'm doing is of interest to some. You may have examples of other parts I could develop or improve so please contact me or post on here if that's the case.
Those who drive a Mini with the later "magic wand" gear shift arrangement will know that selecting gears can eventually become difficult as components wear through continual use. The end result is a sloppy feel in the gear selection lever and in extreme cases an inability to select any gear. This gear change arrangement is the one fitted to the Mini Van, some models of the Mini sedan (often called poverty pack) and early Mokes. The picture below is from my parts catalogue.
Attachment:
Magic Wand Change Speed Lever.jpg
The main culprit to a sloppy feel is a part called the Seat, Change Speed Lever or Gear Selector Toggle - part 22A1832. It's number 95 in the following image and fits on the shaft, number 91.
Attachment:
Magic Wand Gear Selector Toggle.jpg
The small pin in the toggle that sits in a slot in the gear change lever wears badly and sometimes even falls out. You can see the toggle with missing pin in the image below.
Attachment:
Magic Wand Housing.jpg
To my knowledge new toggles have not been available for some time so one of the common workarounds if a good toggle can't be sourced is to install a remote change or rod change system in place of the magic wand. This is not a trivial task, can be reasonably expensive and takes away some of the originality of the vehicle.
For those wanting to retain the magic wand and have it operate as it was when new I have modified the gear selector toggle by making an uprated version of the steel pin that seats more securely in the toggle. At the same time the rubber and steel bush is checked and replaced if necessary and the whole part bead blasted.
Attachment:
22A1832 Seat Change Speed Lever.jpg
While this post wasn't meant as sales pitch I will mention that the improved Gear Selector Toggle is available from me on an exchange basis for $44 plus shipping. Give me a call if interested and feel free to spread the word. Other Mini products are in the pipeline.
John Smidt - 0427 671 314
P.S. If anyone has any second-hand toggles they no longer need I would be interested in acquiring them for refurbishment. Please call me.
