A40 - Bloody fuck and snot!

[SiC]

Well, I've just missed out on a Healey Sprite with all the bits in I need by 20 quid. Bloody ebay 
Would've been a cheap way to do the job, although can't imagine it would've made me popular, scrapping the shell like.

I'd have bought the wings!

The shell probably is in better condition than mine

[SiC]

This one?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204473578862

I'd probably bought the rest off you sans drivetrain!

[Matty]

2 minutes ago, SiC said:

This one?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204473578862

I'd probably bought the rest off you sans drivetrain!

Exactly that one Si. Don't say that though, your making it worse 🤣

[SiC]

Looks like a Marina engine in it which would have hurt its value. Plus the auction ending midday on a weekend.

Shell looks in better nick than mine too 🫣

More original with less bodges needing fixing.

[SiC]

There's always knackered Midgets up for sale. It's that time of head where all the old dodgers are popping off and leaving a garage/barn full of knackered cars to be cleared out by their relatives. 

With the market softening up, they should be regularly available sub 1k. Don't forget the earlier ones had a 1098cc and later a 1500cc triumph (rubber bumper cars).

 

[Joey spud]

51 minutes ago, Matty said:

Looks brilliant. You should be justifiably proud of the work you've put in.

Cheers but he's far from finished.

There's no interior fitted,well it's in there but in boxes on the rear seat and in the boot and none of the lights are wired up either.

The rear lights look odd at the moment as the current red ones are actually the indicators and another pair the same need fitting below for the stop and tails.

And he has a horrible flat spot and hesitation when you accelerate hard so electronic ignition and probably a carb rebuild await.

I insured him the other day and my new post code seems to have trimmed £18 off the policy to a very agreeable £68.58 (yes I am that old).

[Matty]

39 minutes ago, SiC said:

Looks like a Marina engine in it which would have hurt its value. Plus the auction ending midday on a weekend.

Shell looks in better nick than mine too 🫣

More original with less bodges needing fixing.

I had clocked the filter position and figured Marina, but a quick bit of mental reasoning under the bonnet I figured it would fit without impeding on anything else.

The fella selling the Sprite has since messaged me with a tempting offer though. Not giving much away yet, but I'll let you know how it works out later!

[N Dentressangle]

7 minutes ago, Matty said:

I had clocked the filter position and figured Marina, but a quick bit of mental reasoning under the bonnet I figured it would fit without impeding on anything else.

The fella selling the Sprite has since messaged me with a tempting offer though. Not giving much away yet, but I'll let you know how it works out later!

Ooooh, exciting! 🤯

[Matty]

Well that escalated quick. I'm now the owner of an engine, box and diff, subject to going down to get it. Currently still in the car as he's using it, but converting it to mx5 power. Not going to let on what I've paid but its a good deal.

Not counting chickens mind, its a done thing when cash changes hands and its in the back of the van. I'll keep you all updated.

[Matty]

@MiniMinorMk3. Git. 😆

[JMotor]

5 hours ago, Matty said:

Well that escalated quick. I'm now the owner of an engine, box and diff, subject to going down to get it. Currently still in the car as he's using it, but converting it to mx5 power. Not going to let on what I've paid but its a good deal.

Not counting chickens mind, its a done thing when cash changes hands and its in the back of the van. I'll keep you all updated.

Excellent! I understand your reasoning too.

As you'll want it away tae fuck before they change their mind! 😆

Really do like the A40. Such cool looking cars! 

[SiC]

6 hours ago, Matty said:

back of the van

Redditch is only 90 miles or so from a visit to the seaside at Weston Super Mare (and a set of Dolomite seats)

 

[Matty]

23 minutes ago, SiC said:

Redditch is only 90 miles or so from a visit to the seaside at Weston Super Mare (and a set of Dolomite seats)

 

And I need them seats. I'll PM you when I get a date for collection. If I get a date 😄

[Scrubworks]

On 9/29/2023 at 9:28 PM, Matty said:

 he also had a 1340cc a series he took out of a rotten midget. But he wants 1500 quid.

I spent a fair few hundred more than that building my 1032cc engine. It's surprising how parts and getting engineering work done adds up, and that was doing all the actual building myself.

As others have been saying, a 5-speed box is essential for highway work. They're also able to handle much more power, and you get a synchro on first. You may also want to look into changing the diff ratio. I don't know what ratio A40s came with, but Moggy diffs for 1961 were 4.55/1, way too short. The later 1093 cars had 4.22/1, which is much better, though still rather frantic for highway work. Plenty of people swap to the 3.9 spridget diff, which taxes a stock 1098 a bit but is a must for highways if you don't have a 5-speed. A 5-speed box, 3.9 diff, AND a tuned up engine will transform the car at higher speeds, though 3.9 diffs are now, predictably, rare and command a premium. There is also a 3.7 spridget diff, but that may not be suited to your car. It'd be great on the motorway, but would kill your acceleration.

As for gearboxes, the only gearbox conversion that's really available is the type 9. There used to be a kit made by the Aussies that uses the gearbox from a Toyota AE86, but both the gearboxes and the kits are now impossible to find. There were noises a few years ago about people using Mazda RX-8 gearboxes for some conversions, because they're cheaply available, small, and give you 6 gears! Never seen one in person though.

You could go down the road of making a custom backplate for the engine, then basically use whatever gearbox will fit. MX-5 mk1/2 gearbox would be an obvious choice, then have an MX-5 flywheel drilled to suit your crank.

If you don't find a Midget engine, the holy grail for Moggy enthusiasts is the Morris Ital 1275. It's the only A+ series engine that was made in a RWD configuration. Tricky to find, but they do crop up now and then. Another option is converting a Mini/Metro 1275 A+ to RWD. That requires drilling and tapping some extra holes in the back of the block. MED engineering has a video on Youtube explaining how they do it. It's extra expense and probably would require the engine to be disassembled completely, but it's an option. Marina engines can still be had, though the main issue with them from a performance perspective is they use a different style of crankshaft and conrods. The Spridget engines have stronger cranks, and can use Cooper S conrods, which can be bought as modern H-beam items. Much stronger.

[SiC]

I'd much rather go for the more modern Suzuki R7ME box than the ancient, rough and expensive Type 9.

Is it really a 5spd is worth the effort and considerable expense? 4 speed is sufficient as I imagine an A40 isn't going to be very stable too much above 70mph on the motorway. Better classics that can do that well for much less than the cost of a gearbox + kit and heavily tuning. 

[Matty]

7 hours ago, Scrubworks said:

spent a fair few hundred more than that building my 1032cc engine. It's surprising how parts and getting engineering work done adds up, and that was doing all the actual building myself.

The price he wants is absolutely fair. It's just more than I'm willing to pay. It's still a non runner that's not in a car at the end of the day. It's as much of an unknown as any of the other bare engines on ebay, but a lot dearer. 

I'll be doing a refresh of the one I buy anyway, but the one I'm (hopefully) getting has the great advantage of currently dragging a car around so fundamentally it should be sound.

@Scrubworks, how's your projects going anyway? Such a good thread, certainly compared to me just doing headgaskets and half shafts 🤣

[Matty]

47 minutes ago, SiC said:

I'd much rather go for the more modern Suzuki R7ME box than the ancient, rough and expensive Type 9.

Is it really a 5spd is worth the effort and considerable expense? 4 speed is sufficient as I imagine an A40 isn't going to be very stable too much above 70mph on the motorway. Better classics that can do that well for much less than the cost of a gearbox + kit and heavily tuning. 

Absolutely. It's actually very good on the motorway but 60 is really max as its revving it's nuts off. If you wanted to do high speed sustained cruising you'd buy a car made to do that in the first place, like a Scimitar or something.

[SiC]

Scimitar and such won't be quite as good fun to blat around locally in though.

[Man_maths]Clearly the solution here is not to tune your A40 for motorway work but instead buy another classic. Cheaper and less work. [/man_maths]

[Matty]

3 minutes ago, SiC said:

Scimitar and such won't be quite as good fun to blat around locally in though.

[Man_maths]Clearly the solution here is not to tune your A40 for motorway work but instead buy another classic. Cheaper and less work. [/man_maths]

Nail head. Most of my driving is fast b roads and round town. This is where the car is great fun. I'd love 2 but only have room for one. 

I'm not going to try and make the car summat it isn't. The aim is to build a quick one (#relative). And all easily put back to standard. The ability to cruise at 60 at slightly lower revs will be an added bonus. This car is all about sprinting between corners for me anyway!

[Scrubworks]

20 hours ago, SiC said:

I'd much rather go for the more modern Suzuki R7ME box than the ancient, rough and expensive Type 9.

Is it really a 5spd is worth the effort and considerable expense?

Agreed. That's the Jimny box isn't it?

I'd argue, yes, for the most part. If you're fitting a mildly hot 1275, the stock gearbox just won't take it for long. You can of course pay for it to be uprated, but I'd argue that's even less sensible use of money.
Failing that, swapping to a longer diff will get you most of the benefits of a 5th gear, as long as the engine has the legs to pull the car in the lower gears.

20 hours ago, Matty said:

@Scrubworks, how's your projects going anyway? Such a good thread, certainly compared to me just doing headgaskets and half shafts 🤣

I keep trying to write a long update post for the Moggy, but every time I do the car nipple-cripples me and runs off with my purse, and half of what I've written is irrelevant. Should be able to nail it down in the next few days .

[Matty]

I have collected. 

Behold, treasure!!

[Matty]

[Matty]

[Matty]

Many thanks to @Mr Pastry, @SiC, @Egrvalve, @MiniMinorMk3 and anyone I've forgotten for the ID help. Defo a 1275, defo a marina lump. Going to get on with this soon as possible. Thorough clean of all lumps first, engine strip and refresh (rings, shells, head gasket, oil pump all that jazz) gearbox rebuild but I'm farming out the diff to a mate. Too much pissing about with dtis and the like for me. I do mechanicals, never had much patience for measuring sadly. I can do, part of the training, just I'll avoid it where I can 😆

[Matty]

Fucking hard work to Wollard an engine and take a photo one handed on your own 🤣

[SiC]

Did you want those Dolomite seats?

I thought you were going run a bit further down to pick them up after the engine.

[Matty]

39 minutes ago, SiC said:

Did you want those Dolomite seats?

I thought you were going run a bit further down to pick them up after the engine.

It's going to have to be a shitely or I pay a courier. Probably a courier as its cheeky asking folk to do favours for free. 

[Matty]

Actually, hold that thought. I've just had an idea...

What's your postcode Si? Obvs pm me

[SiC]

59 minutes ago, Matty said:

Actually, hold that thought. I've just had an idea...

What's your postcode Si? Obvs pm me

Just busy and can't easily message atm  👨‍🏭 (through gloves)

But will message later.

If you don't want/need/can't have them, please don't feel compelled to have them though!

[Matty]

55 minutes ago, SiC said:

Just busy and can't easily message atm  👨‍🏭 (through gloves)

But will message later.

If you don't want/need/can't have them, please don't feel compelled to have them though!

Not at all. I'm just really shit. And I'll look forward to the update on the Midget seeing as you've got gloves on 🤣