[Spridgets] Cracked rear plate

[Frank]

Michael Rowe wrote:
> I took apart a spare engine yesterday and today, the first car engine 
> ever for me.  The pistons were seized and the back plate was cracked 
> in three places so the part holding the oil pump cover fell off.  Is 
> there any kind of abuse other than dropping it on the floor that can 
> do that much damage?
Most back plate damage is from tightening it out of sequence when it 
hangs up on one of the tranny alignment pegs.
Other than that, towing a Spridget with the drive shaft connected will 
rip apart the trans which will (at the very least) crack the back plate.
Ryan saw a trans I have with the tail shaft 1/2 gone and the main shaft 
snapped off.  But the gears are all fine.
I bet it was towed. I had another engine with the back plate mostly 
gone, the trans tunnel in that car was peeled back like someone put 
dynamite in the tunnel.

-- 
Frank Clarici
Toms River, NJ
My own Fleet of Sprites