Caution: I tried to keep this mail short, but it still took 44 lines to
describe my situation:
I currently have my repaired & painted MGA frame sitting in the garage complete
with suspension and an engine. It is quite funny watching peoples expressions
when I show them the "car" they keep hearing so much about!
The engine and tranny that I am fitting are out of an MGB, and the tranny is
a 4 synchro o/d unit. These were in the car when I bought it, and to make them
fit the previous owner had cut the center x-member right out. Then he did a
major hack job on the tranny tunnel and other stuff to bolt everything in
place.
I didn't like this so I welded in a new x-member because it seemed like it
should be there. I had to put it in 2" lower in order to clear the o/d. All I
have to do now is weld in the bracket which the rear transmission mounts bolt
into. It is located about 4" forward of where the stock MGA mount was.
My dilemma is how to locate the "best" vertical position for this bracket. Here
are the trade offs as I see them:
- if I lower the mounting point things fit better in the tranny tunnel, and I
have less "transmission tunnel customization" to do
- the transmission output also lines up better with the diff input (there is
still about a 2" drop from tranny to diff).
- the bad things about a low mounting point are that the top of the
bellhousing gets very close to the firewall, and the engine sits "tilted"
backwards in the engine compartment (maybe 5 degrees)
In case you're wondering I am talking about a movement up and down of 2 to 3
inches for the mounting bracket.
So, do you have any comments? Does a stock MGA engine sit perfectly level (I am
talking about front to back)? What problems could arise from having the engine
tilted towards the rear of the car? How much should I allow the drive shaft to
drop before it reaches the diff? Should I just mount the thing level and put
the work into modifying the tranny tunnel (which of course affects the carpet
fitting!).
Could someone with the "A-antics" publication see if the have any advice on
fitting this engine/tranny combo in an A? I meant to order a copy of this book,
but I just never got around to it.
Thanks,
Rob <neilson@mprgate.mpr.ca>
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