Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[hunsta]

Gday all. Has been a little while, but have been sidetracked by a motorcycle build and now Im coming back around to the my Morris 8E series.
Question I wish to ask is, has anyone here swapped the Morris 8 918cc motor for a later model Morris motor. A friend down the road has a Morris Oxford Traveller with a spare 1500cc motor and I took some measurements today but think it may be too long for the engine bay.
Reasons for this is Id like a motor with a water pump, and also Id like to be able to have comparable traffic speeds. I do intend to match the motor to the relevant gearbox. Also if doing this will I have to change the diff as well? I love the look of my Series E, but would love to get a more modern drive from it.
I apologise if these questions invoke thoughts of gathering a pitchfork and torch mob to run me out of the forum.
Cheers
Craig
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[ukdave2002]

Hi Craig

I have seen a Rover V8 shoehorned into an SE so I suppose anything is possible!

By the way it's a 918cc engine not 819, and the later units can be fitted with a water pump, as they were in the early post war Minor.
The half shafts and diff are not the SE's strongest components, I'd upgrade them if you introduce more power. I have seen a Z van with an A series engine and box, perhaps you should look for a scrap Minor or Marina and use all the mechanicals.

There is then the question of things like the brakes, whilst they are more than adequate for the standard car, I doubt the small shoes would fair well with the demands of high speed braking.

You could always fit an external water pump, below is the Morris 8 engine as fitted in Centurian tanks, if you look at the bottom that's the water pump, driven by the fan belt .



Cheers Dave

[hunsta]

OMG Dave. You know I kept looking at that "819" I I kept saying "Why does that look wrong?"
As for the bigger motor, I wasn't banking on the 1500cc as I thought it may have been too big for the car. I was thinking maybe converting to a 12v Morris Minor motor and box and obviously the final drive would have to be adapted. As for breaking, Im not looking to run it down the quarter mile, but just be able to do 100kph on the hway if needed.
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[goneps]

Come on, chaps—you both need your eyes tested! What Craig said was not "819" but "Morris 8 918cc motor" (good job it's not a murder charge you're so willing to admit to, Craig).

Anyway, I'd go along with Dave's suggestion to use an ohv Minor 1000 motor, if you must have more power and a water pump, although I really can't see the need for the latter—it's just something else to go wrong.

My Eight Tourer and I used to live in South Africa, where summer ambient temperatures in the high thirties were the norm, yet there was never a suggestion of overheating even on second-gear (and sometimes first-gear) slogs up a 1,500ft. escarpment. The standard thermo-syphon system has ample capacity.

Richard

[hunsta]

Dave wasn't seeing things goneps, I did put 819 instead of 918 in both the title and question. Thank god for the edit button. Yes the 1000the motor does seem the go and there's plenty to choose from in Australia. Unlike the series E which seems to have no upgrades to speak of.
If only I could graft my E series body onto a F1 frame Id be set.

Im kidding fellas........................Hey what are you doing with that rope??????????
I was joking!!!!!! I was joking! !!!!!!!!!!!
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[goneps]

OK, forget I spoke—didn't realise you'd done a retrospective edit.

[hunsta]

OK has been a while since asking this question, and Ive taken it a step further down the track. Ive bought myself a Morris Minor 950 motor and gearbox. Got the short gearstick model as was told it was a better box than the series 2 model. I also got the complete rear end to match with it.
Now the first problem there is that its 4"/100mm wider in the rear track to the Morris 8, and the only real solution for this is to have the housing and axles cut down.
The question to ask now is the Morris Minor final drive is 4.55 as opposed to the Morris 8`s 5.2 final drive(hope that correct). Can I get a diff centre with a ratio more toward the Minor`s ratio? Or would I be better off getting the minors rear end, cut down to fit?
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[Farmer John]

Hello Craig. Narrowing the rear end should be simple to have done. Hotrodders commonly make this alteration so there should be engineers around who are thoroughly conversant with the process.

John

[hunsta]

Yes John that does seem to be the go. I have however found a rear end that would work and is exactly the same width in track as the Morris 8 SE. Its a rear end off a 1966-69 Datsun 1000. However these are few and far between and Id like to keep it Morris. Even if it isn't original Morris
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[Miken]

An Austin A35 back axle is virtually the same as a post war Moggy but it is a few inches narrower. and with some different brackets on it
Sorry I cant remember how much, but maybe 3- 4".
I know this because I have recently fitted one to my 1933 pre war Minor . Although It was too wide even for my application and I had to shorten the A35 axle case to suit. I used a GPO van Minor diff which is the correct ratio and had to shorten the half shafts.
It was quite a complicated task as i had to graft the ends of the pre war Minor onto the A35 axle case via some specially turned up adaptor pieces. It required the use of a large lathe to swing the entire assembly. You can look on the internet and see people just setting it up on a surface table and butt welding it all togather but I wasnt keen on that method. At each stage I turned accurate registers so it all slotted together dead true and tig welded it very carefully.
I paid a toolmaking company to make me the special form tool required so that i could cut the new splines after I had shortened the the half shafts.
The MOWOG half shafts are not hardened and they machine quite nicely.
I was also concerned that I might introduce stress raisers when turnng the new ends of the half shafts so I turned them oversize and had them cylindrically ground all over when finished.
It was all quite time consuming . I reckon I must have spent about 40hours altering the axle case and maybe 10 hours shortening the half shafts ( I made a couple of spares). Plus countless more hours lying in bed planning each operation.
I think what im trying to say is ; If you need to have this done, I dont think it will be be cheap.
I wouldnt want to do another one.
Fortunately , we have long tea breaks in the machine shop where I work.
Hope this is of interest
Mike

[Farmer John]

Hi Mike. Would you care to offer an opinion on shortening the Morris 1000 axle at the wheel end. Cut the axle to length, turn the end true, bore the drive flange to suit, weld the flange to the axle. In practice I guess the axle would be turned where the flange will be before cutting.
The procedure is really only worthwhile on full or three-quarter floating axles as these do not carry a hub as such and carry no vehicle weight either.
Would the welding be a concern for you?
Not wanting to go off at a tangent Craig, hope it is vaguely relevant.

John

[hunsta]

All good John. All possible information is relevant. The thought had crossed my mind and being a welder by trade myself. Doable. However I do work in a large engineering factory and have aces to milling equipment. Also we just had the bosses son build a classic car to which a diff housing was cut and welded using a proper diff housing jig.
Still it is a lot of work and I just want to explore all options first.
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I really am a nice guy. Just ask anyone that hasn't met me.

[Miken]

[Farmer John]

Thankyou Craig and Mike for taking the time to reply and share your knowledge and experience.

John