modded classic insurer

You can try Herts. Not my favourite, due to over long phone queues, pathetic paperwork, and the one time I wanted to claim I got the run around, but a decent price for mods, IMO. A bit pants for normal classic policies though.

I wanted to know how much it would be to insure a Triumph 1500 with a 1275 A series fitted - They asked what car the engine would be out of, I said Marina auto, they said the Marina was a lower grouping than the 1500, so prolly wouldn't put it up at all. Similar question about a Monty lump, they went by the grouping of the Monty engine, and priced accordingly.

Not tested them out by actually modding a car yet though, MOT would run out before I got through to them...

The 5 speed converion's quite pricey IIRC for the A Series rwd. And surely the 1275 can pull along a high diff without too many probs? It's a bit mor epunchy than a 1098 (although I am a 1098 fan).

Footman James and Flint & Co both gave me pretty good quotes for my TR7 V8. I ended up with Footman James because it was slightly better and have been insured with them for over 5 years now.

Best Regards John McCabe

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On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 15:25:44 -0000, "Stuffed" dribbled:

Youre not sodding wrong! *Horrifying* is how I would put it.

And surely

Ah, and therein lies the rub. I couldnt lay my hands on a 3.9 diff for love nor money and whats gone in is a 3.7 from, I think, a Wolseley. That diffs recently come out of another Traveller, that one a 5-speed

2 litre. Apparently it was wonderfully long legged and cruised happily the wrong side of 90, but as soon as it came near a tiny incline it needed a drop into fourth. Its only in my Traveller on trial so to speak - Im gonna give it a go to Germany and see how it is.

It's a bit mor

lol I was going to say that. I'm sure money can be saved by getting alot of the bits from elsewhere, and just buying the unique bits of the kit. I'm guessing you've looked at the Frontline site?

Don't know Minors that well, but in the Mini even 998cc ones had a 3.1 diff on later cars with 12" wheels... So I would've thought a 1275 in a Moggie should pull a 3.7. Might not be spritely of course, but should be nicer for long runs and fuel costs maybe? :)

But the 998 Mini used different drop gears from the 1275

I have never quite worked out why ? all it would really take is a custom engine back plate, and a bit ingenuity with the prop shaft, the clutch operation can be solved either mechanical or hydraulic -- to do it hydraulically anybody with acces to a lathe can make a bobbin to fit a SAAB slave cylinder that fits co-axially with the gearbox input shaft, the master cylinder can be provided by fitting the pedal box from a Marina or Allegro

But the overall gearing still gave the 998cc "E" cars a good few mph per

1000 revs more than the shorter 3.44 and 3.76 diff fitted ones.

And I thought the drop gears would be different more because of the physical differences between 998/ 1098cc and 1275cc blocks?

All utterly beside the point, because the poitn I was trying to make was that if a 3.1 can pull a 700kg car on 12" wheels powered by a 998 A series, then surely a 1275 can pull a 3.7 on (13"?) Minor rims. Not good for the lights grand prix, maybe, but perfectly driveable.

On Thu, 19 Feb 2004 13:16:23 -0000, "Stuffed" dribbled:

14 inchers and the traveller unladen is 775kg

Having a long day, remond me hwo to work out the differences... ;-/

But basically, the car weighs about 10% more than the later Mini (80s ones), has larger rolling radius, and this one's on a 3.7 diff. Also it should have at least 60hp, even if the engine's tired.

No ball of lightning then, but shouldn't be any slower than it was originally with a 1098 engine (although those lumps do drive beautifully :)

But what is the differance in the gears ratios in the gear boxes???? sure the engine is bigger and they both have a 3.7 diff ,,but what about the gearboxes????? lol

Oh god, I hoped that wouldn't be mentioned!

I was assuming the Minor had had a 1275 fitted to the old box, so no difference. If not, then I guess maybe it could have a Marina (Triumph) box. Either way, top should still be 1:1, the lower gears might just be a bit oddly spaced. Still perfectly driveable though!

I imagine the owner would've gone for a none A series lump if performance was the reason anyway :)

I once ran a Mini with an Allagro lump and box, including diff... On 10" wheels. Was mainly for town and twisty roads, and boy did it get off the line well! Screamed a bit at 70 mind you...

One other thing ,,,have you had the carb settings checked properly?? and the timing??? at high revs and not just low revs... If these are not right then even though you may have a good top end you can still lack power to keep the enging going under (x) amount of stress,,,IE ,,, when going up hill..

In article , Stuffed writes

No, you can't make that comparison because it depends on the gearbox ratios. Most RWD boxes have a 1:1 top (or 1:1 4th) whereas FWD boxes vary hugely. So it may well be that a 3.1 diff on a Mini is actually _shorter_ geared than a 3.7 on a Minor. (Though I don't know that much about Minis so I'm only pointing out possibilities).

Assuming a 1:1 4th gear, a 3.7 diff on 13 inch wheels is similar gearing to a Dolomite 1500 or Spitfire 1500, both of which were quite happy to take an overdrive on top. I would guess on a 1275 Minor it would be OK, but not particularly sprightly.

On Fri, 20 Feb 2004 08:44:12 +0000, Robert Pearce dribbled:

Dont ask me, I got confused ages ago ;o) I'll let you all know how it drives as soon as I get some miles under it

a Mini on a 3.1 and 12" rims gives something like 21mph per 1000rpm, IIRC.

And the Minor in question must have either a Marina, Midget or Minor box fitted to the 1275 lump, so chances are it's not going to be undriveable for the sake of a mildly different diff..

No worse than on the 1098 engine. And I think I said before, if performance was the goal, I'm sure the owner would've put something rather larger in, or tweaked the 1275 engine somewhat. Should be a perfectly driveable car, IMO, as nippy as my 1500 auto at least.. ot that it could be much slower!

On Sat, 21 Feb 2004 21:57:07 -0000, "Stuffed" dribbled:

No its most definitely NOT about power - all I was trying to acheive was quiten her down a bit on long distance 55mph cruising while at the same time giving me a little overtaking urge for 52mph lorries ;o)