Hello all,
Today, the easy and short part: modifications to the engine in order to
fit the Datsun trans to the 1275 and the mating of the two!
As you may recall, the flywheel was removed and sent to Morriservice to
have the Datsun pressure plate fitted.
This was done very well, indeed! Pauls' workmanship was superior in every
respect. New dowels were installed, the new holes drilled and tapped, and
a step was machined onto the face of the flywheel in order to boost the
clutch authority. This last was needed as the 1275 in the Morris is a
Vizard spec engine with the accompanying boost of power.
Once the assembly returned, a trip to my machinist comfirmed the balance of
the unit, and it was back home to the shop.
The rear engine plate was checked for fit (it did, perfectly) and was
painted the infamous Austin-left-over-Matilda-tank-paint green.
While the paint was drying, the new pilot bush was inserted into the rear
of the crank. The bush is two part: one is the usual bronze part (that
needs to be soaked in oil overnight before installation), and the other is
a .82" od aluminum bush that is inserted into the crank first.
For fun, I put the aluminum bush into liquid nitrogen to shrink it, and
then slipped it into position using gloves. I suspect that the nitrogen
really wasn't needed, but what the heck!
I then tapped the bronze bush into the aluminum adapter with a plastic hammer.
The new aluminum rear engine plate that came with the kit was bolted to the
engine block, taking care to use new gaskets and the proper sealant. The
oil pump cover is re-used, and fits into a machined area just as it did on
the original rear plate. Everything so far fit as advertised and looked
pretty good!
Using a new lock plate, the flywheel was re-installed and torqued to the
proper value. Then, after installing the new clutch and pressure plate with
the pilot tool suppled in the kit from Morriservice, the 5 speed Datsun
transmission was offered up to the engine at long last......
It fit perfectly, and after installing the new, longer bolts (remember, the
rear plate is thicker than stock) the unit was ready to drop back into the
car.
I've run out of time, this trip, due to a large and unexpected number of
honey-do's, but next will be the fitting of the engine into its' old home
again.
Regards,
Ray
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