ok,,, so i`ve been bantering on for literally years & years (appox 45 years to be close) about how i "prefer" matching cases when i re-build gearboxes.

but,,, for roughly the same "years n years" i get all these people telling me that -->"yes the diff housing is supposed to match but primary cases can be swapped out all you like",,, blah blah blah

ok,,, so,,, if you build a gearbox or 2 every week,,, like i do,,, & have done for years & years,,,
then i`ll ring you when i get a gearbox job in here with miss-matching cases & you can come play around setting them up for me for free yeah?,,, it`s easy & they all just fit right??????????

well,,, nearly every mini nut-case keeps telling me that i`m full of Sh!t & that its easy to just swap a primary case over,,, they all fit cause they were jigged from the factory & just swap it over easy right???

ok,,, so we have small idler bearings (88G302),,, large idler bearings (13H7848) & even larger A+ type idler brgs (DAM3745)... & even bigger ones (TUK100320),,, then we get small stepped dowels,,, large stepped dowels,,, large straight dowels,,,, small outriggers,,, medium sized outriggers,,, & large diam outriggers,,,, plus we get cases with breathers ,,, cases without breathers & on & on it goes & on & on & on,,, easy isn`t it??????

i`m continually telling people that i really do """prefer"""" keeping primary cases & diff cases as matched sets , as best we can... & it really is for good reason.

but i`m also continually getting comments from people telling me , "without a doubt" that all primary cases fit all gearboxes... yeah right... NOT!!!

so,,, """""Ha!!!!!!!!!""""",,, that`s what i say to all you people
i`ll ring you when i get another one just like today`s drama & you can all come around here & set it all up for me with miss-matching primary case & see how long it takes you to make a good fit/match.

OK??????????

sorry,,, rant over

so,,, just be warned that if & when we`re chatting pleasantly about all things mini,,, & lets say the conversation turns to miss-matching cases,,, please don`t be surprised if i suddenly grab you around the throat & rip your head off when you tell me that """all primary cases fit on with no dramas"""''' ok?

I really do "Prefer" matching cases Honest!!!

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Hi Matt

What are the issues with using non matched cases.

They are getting hard to source particularly if you like the old stuff.

Kiwiinwgtn

What are you doing working on a sunday? Been surfing all week and need to catch up or something?

Kiwi, i have plenty of primary cases, all types,
it`s just a total stuff around swapping all the crap over, some times having to make dowels
sometimes having to change a case because someone has already changed the case to the wrong one
so we then have to stuff around making a correct one fit,
it`s just a pain in the Ar$e,,, & it`s certainly not as easy as some people think
just because they were told that they were all jigged & drilled the same from the factory does NOT mean they just simply swap over.

My comments to every one over the years is that i "prefer" std factory matched cases because it saves me heaps of time & it also therefore saves the customer heaps of money.

But we are continually being bombarded with gearboxes that someone else has already swapped cases & done a crap job, stuffing everything up in the process

some times so bad that both the gearbox & the primary cases are rooted & can`t be used.

i just warn people against simply swapping them without doing the homework & mate-ing them up correctly.

Matty,,, no , i havn`t been surfing for over a year,,, working sundays & late nights trying to play catch-up
but i am going surfing this week

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Just as a matter of interest, the 1100S gear box case and the clutch housing or transfer housing were numbered so that the correct housing was fitted to the matching gearbox case, these numbers can be found on the housing near the starter motor mounting hole, and on the gearbox at the end of the case near the idler gear, they are usually 3 digits so if you are going to fit a clutch housing from an 1100 S be aware that the locating dowels are a different size.
Fitting an un matched housing is not impossible, but as Mat says it is a lot more work, another thing to watch is fitting an early model clutch housing to a rod change gear box the housings are not the same, I know some people will say I have done it and it has not caused problems, and this can be true a lot of times, but it can and sometimes dose cause problems.

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" A Hundred Years From Now It will not Matter what my Bank Acount Was,
The Sort Of House I Lived in, Or The Kind Of Car I drove ... But The World May Be A Better Place
Because I was Once Important In The Life Of A Child"

What John means ^^ is the rodchange cover has an end stop lug inside for the selector fork rail, but a 4 synchro remote cover does not.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Matt Thanks for the reply.
I have a solution to your problem.

Charge a someone f#@k with it tax to help ease your pain

My dad would do that when he was a builder. If he was asked to do a fix up from someones botch up he would charge extra to sort it. He often got the work as no one else would quote. The reason for the extra is do he had enough time to do it properly not to rip the customer off and to cover an extra costs like messed about cases.

The point is there are costs to put things right and to do it right. So dont be afraid to charge for your time.

You are also suffering from a legacy of 50 years of back yard mechanic's. You will need a time machine to sort
That problem

Keep on smiling

Thank you for this John - I had seen these numbers on 1100S housings and wondered what it was for!

Yes I have often mixed gearboxes & housings ...but have always been careful when fitting, as Matty says above, there's lots of gotchas!

cheers,

Jacob

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'72 Clubman Van - 1022cc, 295 head, 731 cam - Daily Driver
'69 Morris 1100 S - Dinged by a bus, in shed under repair
'64 Morris 1100 - Early 1100, long term project

I have always been under the impression that gearbox and transfer cases were machined as a matched pair so that the idler gear and 1st motion shaft bearing bores were concentric.
I don't remember the source of that info but is it correct?
I have used different transfer cases with the same gearbox housing without any apparent problems. These have all been different housings but of the same type as the original. Remote type with breather housing casting but not drilled to take breather and to suit the 1 1/16" dia idler gear bearings.
I shall look to see if there are any matching numbers as per Johns info re Morris 1100.
I still have the original transfer housing and gearbox cases. I marked the transfer housing idler gear bearing bore trying to grind the idler gear bearing outer race to replace the bearing.
We all do silly things at times!!!

RonR

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68 build Mk1 Cooper S
72 Clubman GT project. Total restoration required

Matt, I am in the process of giving my 850 a little more fruit - and in doing so I will be using a 4-synchro remote gearbox with a magic wand shifter (as to avoid cutting any holes in the 850).
I understand the issues about the mis-match in the diff housing to gearbox case, however my question lies in the primary gear housing.

My donor engine is a 1275 A+, which came in parts but I believe the primary gear housing matched the original rod change gearbox.
Should I try to source an earlier 1275 casing (I don't have the one that was matched to this remote gearbox I am using) or shall I have the A+ one machined; and in doing so able to use the A+ drop gears; but will require machining of the input shaft to the remote gearbox.


Please shed some light for me!

Cheers

willy, if you're using a 4 syncro remote box with an A+ 1275 engine I'd just get Pre A+ drop grears, solved.

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The bitterness of poor quality (or Crappy Workmanship) remains LONG AFTER the Sweet Taste of Low Price is forgotten.

But then I would have to source a 1275 pre A+ primary gear case, as well as pre A+ drop gears.
To me that seems wasteful as I already have the A+ drop gears and primary case.

as an ex-BMC mechanic with a specialist in the 1980s i would not hesitate matching a clutch housing to a gearbox case assuming of course you also at least made an attempt to use a matched primary/idler and input gear set and correctly set up the idler float......

Diff housings were another matter and hardly ever (if ever) found a housing that would satisfactorily 'mate' with the gearbox diff bearing journal. Considering these were line bored when new its no surprise. Welding up or helicoiling an occasional broken diff housing was therefore routine to save it.

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....you just lost him his insurance bonus!

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