Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[moggiedriver]

Oh, forgot,
I remember the one that Murse Gladys Emmanuelle drove, who are you calling old? :lol:

[Uncle Joe]

Should I say that its only the intelligent ones amongst us that remember Nurse Gladys?

One thing that did strike me after I posted the half shaft comment. I have vague memories that BMC once said that radial tyres should never be used on Moggy's. If I have remembered correctly, could thishave been something to do with the half shafts?

[moggiedriver]

Uncle Joe, I do agree.

I wouldn't think the tyres would effect the half shafts but I may be wrong

The standard Morris wheels will not accept tubeless tyres without inner tubes, could that be the reason

[admin]

I do remember something relating to A40 Farinas (and probably applying to other BMC motors too), whereby the extra loads imposed on the steel wheels by the extra grip offered by radials, could lead to cracking between the stud holes - maybe thats what UJ is remembering, kind of? crossplies tend to hang on less that radials, giving the wheels an easier time I think

Rick

[Uncle Joe]

I dont remember anything specifically regarding the A40 Farinas, although I could be wrong.

I could well imagine that half shaft problems were caused by the extra grip afforded by radials. There could also be another contributory fact though. Percentage wise, the Moggy did get a lot more power/torque during its lifetime. Assuming that BMC never changed the design, just this fact alone would kill them.

[moggiedriver]

The axle design was changed in 1953 for the introduction of the series 2 cars fitted with an A-series engine of 803cc , as you know there were two further increases in engine size. The first was to 948cc and then later up to 1098cc. It is possible that the half-shafts were left unchanged for the final two engine upgrades. If that is so then it would explain the broken half-shafts.