Engine recipe..

[gs.davies]

What I discovered today was that the gap between third and fourth is too wide. And while I’d like a 2.9 I’m not convinced an 1100 would carry that up long drags at 70 mph plus.

What can be done about narrowing the gap between third and top? S ratio?

[Alex]

Q: What "Ultra Wide Ratio" gear sets are currently available?

Q2: What are "two O/D drop gears"?

Metro HLE / MPi Mini are the wide ratio gearsets.
Metro HLE (and others) had a primary gear with an extra tooth (NOS one in a box on my desk) and the gearbox input gear had one less tooth. The two combined are worth an FD ratio, which is how Steve effectively has a 2.56 fd.

[Alex]

What I discovered today was that the gap between third and fourth is too wide. And while I’d like a 2.9 I’m not convinced an 1100 would carry that up long drags at 70 mph plus.

What can be done about narrowing the gap between third and top? S ratio?

Both of my 1100s will pull a 3.1 with no trouble at all, and the 1186 will spin the wheels in 2nd gear...
A 2.9 would be no problem at all.

[MiNiKiN]

I reckon it is worth to consider what the use case is:

• endless flat Norfolk planes filled with cabbage scents
• countless corners and inclines in the peak district
• the daily commute from NW to SE-London right through the centre

for the latter the 2 the 2.9 FD might be a bit annoying

[CooperTune]

Thanks Alex for filling in the blanks. The gear set like the A+ having a single tiny groove machined into teeth has two tiny grooves. The 30 tooth primary has a single groove and the 29 tooth first motion gear has a single groove in the shoulder between teeth and ball bearing. I also has a NOS primary new in the box and I paid $238. US for it several years ago. To be fair my 1990 Rover Cooper has a 1293 cc with SC/CR, 4.13 CWP, 11 t0 1 CR and a 285 Piper cam, twin HIF 38s. Steve (CTR)