On 13 Dec 2016 03:24:31 GMT, "DoN. Nichols"
wrote:

On 2016-12-09, Larry Jaques wrote:
On 9 Dec 2016 04:42:07 GMT, "DoN. Nichols"
wrote:

On 2016-12-07, Larry Jaques wrote:
On 7 Dec 2016 03:00:25 GMT, "DoN. Nichols"
wrote:


[ ... ]

Are clutch pilot bearings still sintered bronze? That's a dusty,
dirty, hot, and demanding application.

Well -- the MGA (1956 to I think around 1964) used needle roller
bearings for the clutch pilot, and the throwout bearing was a graphite
ring in a cup applied to a hardened steel ring..

Caged? Wow, advanced tech back then.

No such luck! :-)

At least those trannies were
single-armers. I used both knees and both arms to hoist my Borg T-10
up into the Javelin bell housing.

Well ... with the MGA, while the tranny was lighter, it included
the bell housing as part of its casting, so you needed to pull the
engine and trans as an assembly out of the car before you could either
pull the trans off the engine or re-install it. :-)

Back then, it took an hour for that job. It's a little different
today.

A bit longer if you followed the official service manual
instructions. They had you pull the trans tunnel, which required first
removing the seats and the (plywood) floorboards, and the screws holding
them in were usually rusty from salt spray from winter roads around
here.

After the first time, we figured out a way to do it with the
trans tunnel still in place. (Remove the smaller panel with the
gearshift boot, reach through that with a 1/4" drive ratchet and
extension and pull the shifter off, then reach down through there to
undo the four drive shaft flange bolts, and put an old V-belt around the
flange and through a 2x4. Then get under, an reach up the sides of the
trans and remove the nut and bolt which go through a rubber shock ring,
supporting the weight of the trans and engine with that V-belt and
lever. Once that was done, you also disconnect all wires from the
engine, and all hoses, attach a hoist (pulley over a tree limb), undo
the front mount pads, and lower the tail of the trans while pulling the
engine nose-up out of the engine compartment. (Actually you could leave
the engine over the compartment while removing the trans.) And, since
it was so much trouble to get to it all, while you had it out to replace
the clutch and pressure plate, also pull the trans apart and replace the
synchronizer rings. :-)

But if you want one which is *really* a pain to work on, find a
MGA twin-cam. Dual overhead cams, and the distributor was mounted facing
the radiator. To do a tune-up, you had to remove the radiator to
access the distributor. :-(

Of course -- there was the Sunbeam Tiger (no, I didn't have one)
which required removing two access plates in the firewall -- to reach
through and change the rear-most spark plug on each side of the V-8
engine. :-)

Then there were the 2 liter and 3500 Rovers --_