Ric-
For 9 years I was convinced by my friend and MG mentor to keep my Midget
drivetrain stock. In that time the car was used as a daily driver. I had
the first transmission rebuilt by Ammco and one month later first gear
shattered when I was doing a stop light, drop clutch, drag race start (yeah,
I was young and stupid once upon a time). The second transmission lasted
about two years, then started poping out of gear. Replaced that with a
rebuilt one from England. Was driving down the street minding my own
business about 6 months later and it self destructed. Opened it up and it
had sucked something between 2nd gear and the Lay gear. Ruined everything.
I was very cash-poor at that time, so I took 3 used trannys and made one out
of them, but even with the same part no's, first gear changed several times
during production, so that tranny was never right. Limped it along for a
year (mostly stored the car) then bought another rebuild. It was a decent
transmission, but I was always afraid of what might happen next. Finally
had the opportunity to buy my brothers Datsun B210 from him. The car had
175,000 miles on it. When we opened the transmission , all it needed was
bearings. I have that tranny in my MG now, and it probably has well over
220,000 on it. Second gear syncro is a little worn, but overall, it is
still better than any of the Ribcases I've had over the years.
David Riker
74 Midget
63 Falcon
----- Original Message -----
From: Ric Bergstrom <Ric_Bergstrom@britishcarclub.com>
To: <spridgets@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 1999 8:59 PM
Subject: Tranny questions..rebuild vs rivergate
> Tore apart 3 ribcases tonight to just take stock of what I have.
> One of our locals club members dad used to rebuild 3-4 per week when
> he was a mechanic years ago. Amazing watching one come apart in
> about 10 minutes. Don't think I could put it back together now. He
> can do it in his sleep....should be interesting to see them go back
> together.
>
> All the lay gears were great on the outside, but the bearing
> surfaces on the inside and the laygear shafts were pitted and worn.
> So I need a new lay gear/shaft.
>
> Question came up...does anyone ever resleeve lay gears? At about
> $170 each they are pricey.
>
> Also need 1st gear, reverse, all the bearings, gaskets, seals. FUN
> FUN FUN.
>
> Does anyone sell a rebuild package? Or is it pick and choose from
> the catalogs?
>
> Who sells the best value....i.e quality at a decent price...not the
> cheapest price.
>
> I've been thinking more about the datsun tranny. Aren't I just
> swapping one set of problems for an equally pricey set of problems
> (plus overdrive and a synchro first) or are these japanese trannies
> just indestructible? Aren't most of them 20 years old now with
> 100K+ miles?
>
> Is it really that much better?
>
>
>
>
> Ric Bergstrom
> 83 R80RT
> 73 MG Midget
> President, Central Virginia British Car Club
> Richmond VA
>
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