Fitting a Ribcase Gearbox To A 948cc Engine

This video will answer all the questions you may have when preparing to mount a later ribcase gearbox to a 948cc engine in Sprites, MG Midgets and Morris Minors. See links below for related items:
Front Covers With Seals:
www.spridgetma...
Tail Housing with new bush, reamed to size:
www.spridgetma...
Rebuilt Ribcase Gearbox:
www.spridgetma...
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[@GrandadFixit]

Claire Atkinson in the UK recommends against using the sheet metal backing plate as it may cause the clutch to stick when depressed. Great video!

[@nigelwells1643]

Hello Brendon, When my 1098 Morris Minor van engine finally gave up the ghost the only spare engine I could obtain at the time was a 948cc which had been used to drive a water pump on a nearby farm ! I bolted it straight onto the original ribbed gearbox with a new 948cc clutch kit and flywheel. It worked perfectly for years pulling 1.5 ton loads up steep hills and coping with heavy 'stop, start' traffic in Auckland city. Truly remarkable and underrated vehicles. Thanks for the informative video. Regards, Nigel.

[@minimania]

Cheers, Nigel. Did you take the backplate from the 1098 and mount it to the 948cc before fitting it?

[@nigelwells1643]

@@minimania I used the original 948cc pressed steel backplate. The cast iron 1098 cc backplate had fractured. A common fault I believe .

[@hillbillymark100]

hillbillymark here from ontario canada- thank you i am doing the swap right now. instead od machining the front housing deeper i am going to trim the shift rod end to match the depth that is needed

[@barryhall9589]

Good to know and thank you for the demonstration. I note with you offering up the new green back plate you have the oil pump cover on the wrong side of the plate, it should be sandwiched between back plate and engine with gasket sealant. in your video it fouls the flywheel, hence struggling to fit flywheel, worth noting for others. Best of luck.

[@peteb3091]

Hi Brendan, its Pete from Heathrow Transmissions, Gary said that you gave us a call couple days ago but I wasn't there, feel free to call again and ill be there for a chat, kind regards Pete.

[@SolarControlPgh]

Great video. Do you sell the cover with seal and premachined? Also is this the same for a 1098?

[@minimania]

Yes, the covers are available in new castings these days with the seals already installed. The only ones we have currently have are for gearbox rebuilds but they are available from ESM in the UK, too: www.morrisminorspares.com/gearbox-c76/gearbox-all-o-h-v-models-gearbox-c79/gearbox-front-cover-r-h-d-with-oil-seal-modification-1098cc-new-p830914 That one works for LHD Sprites/Midgets and RHD Morris Minors with ribcase gearboxes (1098 and 1275's).

[@csteinmayer71]

Could you use a Remote housing from a smooth case, on a Rib case, enableing you to be able to use a smooth case shifter?

[@minimania]

No, the shift rods on the ribcase are longer. It would be much easier to just source a ribcase shift lever in any case.

[@chevy3808]

What is the difference between a ribcase gear box and a smooth case gear box, is it the gear ratios, I have a 1968 Sprite that has the Rib case gearbox and had to rebuild a couple years ago taking a gearbox seminar at University Motors with John Twist. Had to relpace most of the components in gearbox, syncros lay shaft, lay gear 1st gear and a few other gears. Rebuilding the gearbox was a great experience and working with John Twist was also a great experience.

[@minimania]

The ribcase was fitted after 1962 to the Austin Healey Sprite, MG Midget and the Morris Minor when these cars went from the 948cc engine to the 1098cc engines. The internals of the box were vastly improved as true baulk ring synchromesh was added to the ribcase in place of the early cone type bushes found in the smoothcase. The gear set in the smooth boxes had either 22A287 or 22A207 stamped laygears - the ribcase had gear compliments with laygears numbered 22G1100 (most common type), 22G83, 22G232, 22G76 and 22A87. The gears are not interchangeable between the two gearboxes. Parts for the Smoothcase gearboxes haven't been available for many years.

[@thisisnotmyname4970]

@@minimania does first gear have sycromesh in the ribbed case

[@minimania]

@@thisisnotmyname4970 No, it's a 3-synchro box.

[@peteb3091]

Why not just keep the originality of the smooth case with 1098 internals? Pete at Heathrow Transmissions 😉

[@minimania]

I suppose that's another way to go. I don't know if we've ever had anyone request that.

[@theglumrant9477]

pete b hey, great question! That’s exactly what I want to do (for various reasons). If the 1098 internals are better/stronger than the 950, I’d definitely be interested in swopping them over. Are there any further differences between the 1098 and 1275 internals?? i.e. are the 1275’s even better?

[@peteb3091]

@@theglumrant9477 The 1098 (22g171) ratios are better than the original 948 also the 948 uses cones as where the 1098 uses baulk rings, also new gear train parts arent available for the 948 unlike the 1098/1275. The 1275 gearbox (22g229) has a different mainshaft and uses needle rollers on 2nd & 3rd instead of gun metal bushes, also has better gear ratios which are closer than the 1098. We can build a 1275 geartrain in a smooth case gaearbox as well but will be more expensive than using the 1098 geartrain as finding genuine 1275 gearboxes are becoming harder to find. Regards Pete at Heathrow Transmissions.

[@theglumrant9477]

pete b Wow. Great info. Thanks very much