Orange box drop gears

[foggy]

Does anyone know what system of drop gears were used in the Orange Box cars when the engine was round t'other way???? Cheers

[Tim]

I think there was no drop gear, just two larger diameter gears. By adding a third gear they could reduce the size of them all, which meant there was less inertia when the clutch was pushed in, taking some of the pressure off the inadequate cone synchromesh.

Tim

[AMCO72]

What on earth do you want to know that for Foggy? Surely the extra gear was inserted otherwise you would have had 4 reverse and 1 forward gear. Yes???? Nothing to do with size or anything else. When the engine was turned to put the carb in a slightly less vulnerable position the distributor got all muck thrown at it but was quickly fixed with an oversize condom!!!! Great English thinking.

[foggy]

Well I was having a coffee this morning with a like minded Mini nutter , and amongst conversation about s/c drop gears etc, the topic came up..... I think Tim may be on to it, photos/drawings anyone ?

[ivor badger]

What on earth do you want to know that for Foggy? Surely the extra gear was inserted otherwise you would have had 4 reverse and 1 forward gear. Yes???? Nothing to do with size or anything else. When the engine was turned to put the carb in a slightly less vulnerable position the distributor got all muck thrown at it but was quickly fixed with an oversize condom!!!! Great English thinking.

Now the distributer might have ended up in the rain, but does anyone want to try changing the points with the engine in the original position? Btw, at that time probably every 6K miles. The other reason for the drop gears as is, was that running the engine the other way was considered, but it was not stressed to run in that direction.

[mab01uk]

Would be good to see some drawings of the early orange box set up inside:

[AMCO72]

This post seems to have dried up. I'm not surprised. As only 2 'orange box' cars were made, and designed as they went along I doubt that any drawings, plans, or pictures exist of the mechanicals of the cars. The best book I have come across that covers the very start of the Mini story is one written by Laurence Pomeroy in 1964. Pom was a personal friend of Issigonis and I can imagine them having a lot of spirited discussions about the proposed car. There is a wonderful chapter which shows a lot of the 'back of envelope' drawings that Issigonis was famous for,not just the usual ones that you see, but nowhere is there a diagram or drawing of the intended gear setup between the engine and the gearbox. Most articles you read come from the pens of journalists who I'm sure do their research very well but you can't question the provenance of Laurence Pomeroy in a case like this. I will lend you the book Foggy if you would like to read it but I suspect you already have!!! The book by the way is called, surprisingly....'The Mini Story'. Published by Temple Press Books 1964.