Helping a friend with a Morgan...

I have a friend with an older Morgan(4 wheel... not 3...). He likes to drive his car, and he feels he is twisting too many rpm now while on the highway(based on ear.. not tach) The car is equipped with a Formula Ford(Kent 1.6) and it has a Moss transmission. 4th gear is 1 to 1, and I believe the final drive is 4.58. What he is looking for is a 5 speed (with an o/d) so his highway cruising is easier on the engine. So is there a small 5 speed transmission that either fits, or can easily be modified???

GRMers (and CMers) any ideas???

I thought you could get a miata trans to bolt to the Kent with an adapter that's available? Am I crazy?

A T5 is pretty compact and may match the bellhousing bolt pattern that is already there.

The Mg Midget crowd uses a Nissan 5-speed from something small in the 1980's, I think maybe the 210? That might be an option as well.

Shawn

Well a Kent has the Ford 4-cyl bellhousing pattern, so anything transmission from a Ford 4-cyl SHOULD bolt-up to that block, except for the most common 4-cyl around here, the Lima found in Mustangs and Rangers, which is based on the old Ford Straight-6.

If he can find one, a T-9 out of a Merkur should bolt right-up.

Or he could just get a Zetec adaptor from Quad4Rods to adapt a T5.

Trans_Maro wrote: A T5 is pretty compact and may match the bellhousing bolt pattern that is already there.

A T-5 is anything but compact when looking at a small British car. A T-9 is smaller and more likely to fit (kits are available to put them in Spitfires, which have a pretty tight space for transmission fitment.

...and my google-fu is good today. Apparently the bell housing is different:

http://www.gomog.com/allmorgan/5spford.PDF

4.58!

Might be the way to happiness is a better rear end?

I'd look into what the MG crowd runs.

Seriously why even bother. Get a old volvo inline overdrive unit and call it a day.

Rear end for sure.

It looks like many cars used a Salisbury 7HA - so multiple axle ratios are available.

My '62 Sprite was 4.10 when I got it, and I swapped in the 3.9 from a later car same time as the 1275 motor. Much happier on the highway.

didn't some of the Morgans have a larger engine 2,0L? seem to remember Triumphs. Rear gears would be different.

If he is just using it to tool around in why not change the rear gear?

Change the rear gears or take backroads, where's the fun in driving a sports car on the highway?

wearymicrobe wrote: Seriously why even bother. Get a old volvo inline overdrive unit and call it a day.

Um... do you actually know how those work? The overdrive is an integral part of the transmission (I own one). Perhaps you're thinking of a Gear Venders O/D unit, which is sold for inline, add-on applications.

Kenny_McCormic wrote: Change the rear gears or take backroads, where's the fun in driving a sports car on the highway?

Because sometimes after 6 hours hanging out at a car show on a 90 degree day, you just what to get the berk home... I experienced this on Sat driving the Mini... didn't really want to take the turnpike home... but after 20 min of back roads driving, I realized a normally 20 min drive was going to take 2 hrs...

If I am guessing right, it's probably got a Ford 4 speed. Then the Type 9 from a XR4Ti is the way to go. It should bolt up to the bellhousing and damn near be a bolt in affair. The input shaft might be a 1/4" long but you can grind it or get a new one from Taylor Race Engineering. They have lots of parts for the Type 9 (look under Quaife Sierra). I've never used TRE but I day dream on their website.

Have you considered bolt-on overdrive units?

If memory serves, it was used on GRM's Amazon project.

http://www.gearvendors.com/

I don't think I want to own a Morgan, but I wouldn't mind working on one for a while.

Ian F wrote:

wearymicrobe wrote: Seriously why even bother. Get a old volvo inline overdrive unit and call it a day.

Um... do you actually know how those work? The overdrive is an integral part of the transmission (I own one). Perhaps you're thinking of a Gear Venders O/D unit, which is sold for inline, add-on applications.

Seriously..... take a step back.

Why add an extra overdrive component when you could just replace the transmission with a 5 speed version of the 4 speed one that's probably already there? The Type 9 has a different tail housing that has a 5 gear in it and the front box is essentially the same as the Type E 4 speed.

Lots of expensive suggestions.

The ones that make sense are to switch diff ratios and/or go to a modern 5 speed box - the Sierra should be the right bellhousing for the Kent engine IIRC, and the Moss box is a PITA to use and hard to get parts for today, so no loss if he converts (keep it around in case he ever wants to sell to a purist though).

The other suggestions (somehow meld a totally foreign transmission like a Volvo or a stand alone OD like the Gear Vendors) seem to be pretty far detached from sensible economics.

If he swaps rear axles that's going to change the overall ratio for all the gears meaning it's going to be less 'peppy' on acceleration. For that reason I'd want to go with the 5 speed trans with 5th being an O/D. Best of both worlds that way.

wearymicrobe wrote: Seriously..... take a step back.

Sorry. Just the way you posted it was incredibly confusing.

I think the Ford T-9 is the way to go. I have one I bought here waiting to go into one of my Spitfires.

I've recommended the Merkur box to my friend... the rest is up to him..... It DOES seem like the right choice.............

THANK YOU ALL.....

Chevette 5 speed T5 is a nice close ratio box with the Ford bolt pattern on front, if you can find one.