My response to Bill's question about the 5-speed being that much easier was
not a dig on you, just explaining to him that the 5-speed is a whole
different animal. I always just installed the drive shaft as the engine was
most of the way in on an install. You know the time when you lift the rear
of the tranny mount up on the lip. The hole I was talking about is the
large one that shops cut in the side of the tunnel to replace the rear
trannys seal without pulling the engine in the old days. I bet in most
cases the owner never knew they had done it that way and was charged for the
R&R. I've seen more than one car with this "modification".
Crash
> Yes, it really is that much easier with the FS5W60A tranny.
But I wasn't talking about the 5-speed, I was talking about the ribcase in
an RWA Midget. By installing the D/S after the engine is in place and
filling the trans after the D/S install, you have a very do-able one-person
job. Once you know that the front u-joint can be taped (or stuffed with
newspapers) to hold the nose up, it really isn't hard. The tape or
newspapers take themselves off in the first few miles anyway.
BTW, I always thought that the access hole under the front u-joint was a
feature of the rubber-bumper Midgets, but I currently have a 1974 parts car
in my driveway (Anybody looking for any parts?) which has the factory hole
there in a very definitely A-Series Midget. My other 1974 did not, although
it did have the "Sabrinas".
David Lieb
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