1098 engine with a "Pudding stirrer" lever?

[Lewisd]

Hi all,

Picked myself up a 1098 engine and gearbox to go in my series 2 which I hope to fit in a few months time. I was looking originally at fitting a new floor panel and doing some cutting in order to fit the remote change but after a lot of though I decided I don't really want to get rid of my pudding stirrer so I though someone on here could help me out. I have trawled through the forum looking for past posts to help me but can't get a definitive solution to my problem.

I have seen that it is possible to fit a pudding stirrer to a 1098 box but it involves getting a spacer plate machined up and then fettling with other bits and bobs which seems a little too much for me to do myself especially with no clear guides to follow so is there anywhere I can buy a kit with all the bit's to do the modification or a pre-modified box?

I also have a 948 box spare which I understand is almost a straight swap with the pudding stirrer tail so if the above is not possible or really expensive, will a 948 box mate with a 1098 easily without the 1098 shredding the box?

Thanks in advance,
Lewis

[bmcecosse]

You could use the 948 bo x with 803 gear lever fitted - but it won't last long unless you are v careful with it...

[Lewisd]

Is the 948 box actually stronger than the 803 or is it just improved ratios?
What about these 803-1098 gearbox conversions advertised in minor matters. all they say is "keeps the interior of the car original" so is it the 1098 internals in a smooth case box ready to be mated to a 803 engine or is it still a rib case box ready for a 1098 engine I think I'll be making some phone calls this week as all these gearbox specialists never seem to have proper websites

[bmcecosse]

Let us know how you get on....

[mike.perry]

Contact John Evans, advert in Minor Matters. He does the 1098/803 conversion and will advise

[bmcecosse]

Hope you have deep pockets..........

[Declan_Burns]

This is the distance plate required.
Regards
Declan
[frame][/frame]

[MColes]

Aaaah! Why are you doing this to your car? Having seen it and heard it I love how original it is! It's your car and obviously good luck with it but I'd be keeping it original if it were mine.

[win]

Hi Lewis
Sorry I am unable to give you a suppler of a kit of parts.

It is not too difficult, you an need aluminium spacer as shown in Declans excellent picture.
It needs to be 4mm thick, you can cut one out a piece of 4mm sheet, with a jigsaw and file to shape.
Or do as I did, and cut off the face of an old gearbox remote tube, and have it machined to thickness,
by bolting it with counter sunk screws to a face plate on a lathe.
The main shaft spacer needs to be machined to 84mm long.

You will also need longer studs to fit the non remote tube, to allow for the extra 4mm, plus 2 new gaskets.

I also had to grind the end of the selector rods, because they hit the stops in the non remote tube,
and check the speedo pinion does not touch the main shaft nut and tab washer, and check you can engage gears correctly, build it up dry first.
You also need to consider diff and speedo head mods, to ensure you get the full benefit from the 1098 engine.

It sounds lot of work, but not really, I am glad i did it, but each to their own.

If you need any help, we don't live too far from each other, I have a spare non remote tube, you can borrow, so you can prepare everything before removing your 803cc engine and box.

Regards Win

[Lewisd]

Thanks for the replies! sounds like doing the modification to the ribcase with a spacer isn't too difficult then. But I don't really have access to many tools and I'm sure it'd take an eternity with a hacksaw
My gearbox is on the way out making a rather interesting noise in 1st and either my piston rings or valve seats are a little worse for wear I occasionally do a fair few motorway miles so a 1098 and a newer diff would be a welcome upgrade. If I can't keep the interior of the car original though I'm not interested

[bmcecosse]

Swop the ends over on thbe 948 box and use it meantime while you plan ahead for the rib box conversion...

[Lewisd]

The main shaft spacer needs to be machined to 84mm long.

Right I'm almost ready for the swap! I've got most of the bit's just need someone to answer this:
What is the main shaft spacer?
And why does this need shortening?

Cheers,
Lewis

[Declan_Burns]

Here's the article I found on how to do it. The resolution is not good and I don't know where it came from. I can just about read it on my computer. One of the lads here did the conversion recently using this method and a 1098 gearbox that I provided and it worked. That's where the photo I posted above came from. I could re-write it if you cannot read it.
Regards
Declan[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

[brucek]

Hi Declan

I posted that a while ago when another forum member was looking to do the 948 onto an 803 box conversion. It is from the original MMOC Technical Tips Manual. If you want a better res version Lewis - pm me with your e mail address and I'll send it along

[liammonty]

It is a good write-up, and I was fortunate enough to not have to perform any jiggery-pokery with the reverse gear shaft when I did the 'swap' from 803 to 948 box. The essential thing to remember is to swap the speedo drive while you've got everything dismantled. The difference between the 803 and 948 speedo TPMs is so great that without doing this, your speedo will over-read by about 50%, and once the box is back together, you need to strip it all again to get to the drive gear... I am sure people will say that you need to change the speedo anyway, to account for the altered final drive that you will use, but in reality, the speedos all over-read so much as standard (weak springs, smaller rolling radius tyres etc) that it isn't necessary in my experience. My speedos have always been more accurate after going 'up' a diff.

[win]

Hi Lewis
Pleased you are going ahead with this, the spacer I was referring to is between the main output bearing, and the main shaft nut.
Your question about why it needs machining set me thinking. Its many years since I did the modifications, and in my notes I put about this spacer being machined, so to answer your question, I have no idea, at the moment.
I built mine up from several different boxes, and I wonder if I had picked up a wrong spacer.
So build it up, and see what length it needs to be.
Sorry if I miss-led you, I am sure you will keep us up to date.

Regards Win

[Declan_Burns]

Thanks for the PM Bruce.
Regards
Declan

[Lewisd]

Thanks for help everyone so far
I have more questions! when making the spacer plate I understand it is supposed to fit around the bearing in the centre. does it need to be perfectly supported by the spacer plate or if the plate didn't come right up to the bearing would it still be supported by the rest of the gearbox? (i.e the main part of the gearbox would support it then the tail shaft would also support it but it would not be supported in the middle by the spacer)

Thanks,
Lewis

[bmcecosse]

I'm sure 'callyspoy' (who has just come back on the forum) did this job without all this fuss - ask him !!

[win]

Hi
The spacer should be clear of the bearing, the gear stick housing, retains the bearing.
Regards Win