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Authi Mini driveshaft UJ

Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2017 8:20 pm
by mab01uk
This Authi Mini pictured below (recently spotted in Spain by a member of TMF on holiday) has driveshafts with outer Hardy Spicer joints, this was a unique original feature explained below.....

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More info on the Spanish built Authi Minis and their differences here:-
"As well as ADO16s, Authi also produced their version of the Mini for local consumption. As with its larger brother, the aim was to achieve 100 per cent local content, and as a result, the Minis that rolled out of Pamplona were very interesting indeed. The easy route to component supply in these transplant operations is to import as many of these items as possible from the UK, but in the case of Authi, this avenue was not open to them, thanks to the Spanish government’s insistence on full local content. As a result, components such as SU carburettors, Lucas lights and Smiths instruments were all assembled under licence in a new factory at Manresa, north of Barcelona. Other items that would ordinarily have been supplied by component suppliers in the UK, were blueprinted by BMC and produced in Spain.
Even the A-series engines used by Authi were produced locally, at a factory at Los Conrales near Santander. Interestingly, one feature unique to the Authi-produced cars was the driveshaft design – whereas the standard Mini/1100 arrangement of Rzeppa CV (constant velocity) joints was used world-wide, the Spanish version had to make do with a more simple double UJ (universal joint) arrangement. This was because there were no suitable Spanish manufacturers of CV joints at the time… Another unque-to-Authi feature was the casting code: NMQ."
http://www.aronline.co.uk/cars/mini-cla ... eas-spain/

Re: Authi Mini driveshaft UJ

Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2017 8:41 pm
by Inno Cooper
Already then they knew how crappy rubber for cv-joints was going to be 40 years later :shock:
Prizes on the 'spanish solution' will soon be sky-high :lol:

Re: Authi Mini driveshaft UJ

Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2017 4:43 pm
by CooperTune
I don't think the double cardan UJ will ever be a match for a normal outer CV if you keep it booted. This type joint is used on some drive shaft north south cars. Not a joy at all to change U/J s in one of them. Steve (CTR)

Re: Authi Mini driveshaft UJ

Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2017 7:20 pm
by LuisM
This type of shafts is commonly used here in Portugal by the Autotest racers, as its very hard to break them.

Re: Authi Mini driveshaft UJ

Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2017 8:16 am
by Mini4Ever
Interesting! Unfortunately, these are not on my Authi...

Re: Authi Mini driveshaft UJ

Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2019 11:21 pm
by iain1967s
Just noticed that the Authi 850 that sold recently on BaT has these “4x4 style“ open double-cardan universal joints on the outboard ends of the driveshafts, instead of conventional CV’s.

Had never seen them before I found this thread...

Learned something new today :)

Re: Authi Mini driveshaft UJ

Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2019 3:37 am
by 1071 S
One of the brilliant design elements introduced by the Mini was the use of the outer CV. The torque transmitted by a conventional uni joint changes with the angle between the input and output while with a CV joint it remains constant....

It would be very interesting to see how the steering reacts during high steering angle turns..

Cheers, Ian

Re: Authi Mini driveshaft UJ

Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2019 8:15 am
by Simon776
I've had three Authi's, all with the double UJ. I thought they might feel a bit clunky but in use have never noticed a difference in the driving experience between them and a CV joint.

Re: Authi Mini driveshaft UJ

Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2019 3:40 pm
by iain1967s
1071 S wrote:It would be very interesting to see how the steering reacts during high steering angle turns.
I thought the same initially, then I realised that Authi used a 'double cardan joint'. That is basically two UJ's back to back, so it operates at constant velocity. i.e. the second UJ is rotated 90 degrees to the first, so the it cancels out the change in angular velocity. Quite clever really.