Progress from the Weekend Part 2

I got up on Sunday morning with the full intention of assembling the gearbox. I was actually looking forward to this because it represents a real step forward in completing the car.

Previously I reported that I had assembled the mainshaft and fitted it to the intermediate housing or sandwich plate.

Here's how it went:

I take the tail housing, and install the little selector shaft oil seal and its bigger brother the output shaft oil seal.

I take the casing (heavy bugger), clean it out and fit the magnet in the bottom.

I fit the needle bearings and spacers to the countershaft gear cluster, secure them with grease and insert the countershaft. I lay this in the casing.

I insert the mainshaft and sandwich plate from the one side, the input shaft from the other, complete with the caged bearing and join them up.

I invert the case, just like the manual says. I hear a "thunk" meaning the gears have meshed and then I make sure the countershaft lines up with its hole in the casing and I tap the countershaft home.

On goes the 5th driving gear with associated spacers and washers and nut, drive it home and tighten it up. I fix the 5th driven gear in place with its associated synchromesh and circlip,  then fit the selector shaft, forks and assorted goody-ma-gafters, on goes the tail housing and I am nearly finished....

BUT, in all the tapping and fitting, I have failed to notice that the 3rd/4th gear synchromesh has disassembled itself, and the spring and blocker bars have fallen to the bottom and stuck to the magnet. The reason is simple, the input shaft has moved forward in its housing, allowing the synchromesh, which sits between the input and mainshaft to come apart. Sheesh!!

I think they heard my scream in the next town......! Rita is still traumatised!!

Quickly I disassemble everything, retrieve the offending parts and go about reassembling the box. This time I make sure the input shaft cannot move forward by bolting the front retainer cover on.

Same process again but this time it seems to go a lot quicker. My only delay was cutting a new gasket. I did not want to disassemble the mainshaft to trace the sandwich plate so I resorted to the old standby of placing the gasket paper on the casing and bashing one out with a soft mallet. Works!

Assembly goes quickly and by dusk I have completed the gearbox. Quick check she goes through all the gears - SHE WORKS!!!!!! What a mission!!! Now all I need is a brass gear selector saddle, because a plastic one will not hold up. Burton's has them. I also need to make a tailhousing rear cover plate.

A whole day used up on this. But I am very chugged with myself. So is Rita, as it means a huge chunk of toe stubbing metal has disappeared from the store room to the garage