Having the gearbox start popping out of 4th had me bring the midget to
my Favorite British Car Mechanics, Lawrie Alexander and Steve Pratt of
the British Sports Car Center. The gearbox is safely on its way via UPS
to Mini Mania for Don & his crew at Mini Mania to rebuild. My engine got
torn down (at least the bottom part) yesterday and here's what Steve &
Lawrie found:
Main Bearings shot (crank was still round and not damaged)
Connecting Rod Bearings shot (so far no bad connecting rods)
Oil Pump shot: Replacing with a Superflow one from Mini Mania.
So it looks like my motor was on borrowed time, even though the pressure
was within BMC's spec's for oil pressure.
Also to get my LBC back into top notch shape:
Motor and Tranny Mounts (also shot)
Complete SU Rebuild, (got one of the best in the World to do it: Lawrie)
Piston Rings (we got the motor out already, why be cheap?)
Fuel Pump (I had a new one lying around)
Clutch Kit (mine wasn't as bad as I thought, glazed from oil leaks
though)
And a few other odds and ends.
Right now I've got my fingers crossed that my gearbox will be
rebuildable, I've got a lot of confidence Minia Mania will be able to do
so. It would be nice to keep the original gearbox since it is rare
(Ribcase for 1098CG).
Thanks to everybody who gave me advise on my oil pressure concerns, I
verified the spec's for the Bentley Manual, however Chris Harvey's books
Spridgets says for an A motor "Accept nothing lower than 40lbs for
Normal driving", mine was 25-30. Nobody could tell how worn it was
without looking.
So hopefully in a few weeks I will no longer have to buy kitty litter
for a Cat I don't own to soak up the oil leaks, and I can start taking
the car outside of the 25 mile radius I limit myself to now.
Fred Krampits
1963 Midget MK I 1098CG
Soon to be the nicest Midget in the World (but give me a few years)
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