Im looking to make my 850 a bit more drivable until fund permit something bigger.

As such is it possible and feasible to change from the old pudding stirrer to a remote change box without swapping out the whole gearbox?

The diff housing is what needs to be changed. They were line bored, so are matching to the gearbox case. In most instances mixed ones do line up fine.

I wouldn't bother changing it, but I do love magic wands (my van will always have one, no matter how big/hot the engine on top of it is!). There are plenty of other things to change to make it more drivable. First is brakes if you have the old single leading shoes...

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I changed it on my van to remote when it went from 850 to 1360 power and S gearbox. You'll need to fit a support bracket on the tunnel to hang the remote on. Plus you have to cut a hole in the right position for the gear lever and fit a boot.

Nicer gear shift and much more stable engine.

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Slide
1965 Mini Van (1360)
1970 Mk2 Cooper S (1310)
1978 Rover SD1 V8 (4.6)
1996 Land Rover Discovery V8 (4.0)

When you bolt a remote diff housing to a `magic wand' (850) 3 synchro box you should measure the size and roundness of the bearing housing each side with the remote diff housing bolted up, before assembly.
It's permissible to leave the 2 dowels out if you have to, to get them true, and also leave top and bottom gaskets out (if necessary) to get them round not oval.
If you leave them out I would use Loctite 515 Master Gasket sealant on the metal to metal joint. It's designed for it.
I use it on all my gearbox rebuilds now (with gaskets)- no leaks.

ps the `puddin' stirrer' shifter name is generally attributed to the 1969-74 Mokes and pov pack cars and vans with central shifter. They are different- they already have a `remote shift' diff housing, all that's needed to make them remote shift is swap some linkage bits, and add the remote extension.

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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.