Roadster Axle

[ggrum]

I've been contacted by a Roadster owner in Germany who is struggling to find a replacement rear axle for his early 1.8 Marina based car. I do actually have a spare axle of unknown pedigree but there is the logistical problem (& cost) of getting it over to him. I doubt very much that there is a source of Morris Marina spares on the continent but thought I would check if anyone has any ideas first.
Geoff

[Ye Ol Ripper]

Re: Roadster Axle

Hi Geoff

The Marina was produced for a later period in Australia and apparently a lot of Marina's were made to go quite quickly with bigger engines .
With that in mind perhaps there is a supply of standard axles over there, that had to be swapped out to accompany the more powerful engines.

Chris Weedon from the Marina Owners club may also be able to offer some advice/ ideas on the subject.

The early Toyota Corollas 1.6 from the 70's had a leaf sprung rear axle. They were very reliable and had larger diameter half shafts .
So in view of the large number of Toyota Clubs in Germany , perhaps the track width might be similar and be a viable replacement /upgrade.


Other than that, the Variants of the Lotus 7 Caterham, Westfield, etc often used this axle in the cars upto the mid 80's , so perhaps it's woth contacting the various owners clubs relating to the Lotus 7 , in case someone upgraded and has 1 sitting in their garage

[ggrum]

Re: Roadster Axle

Thanks for the reply. I was aware of the Australian Marinas and I will certainly mention that. The Corolla axle sounds like an interesting option if the track is acceptable. I had a closer look at the old axle in the back of my garage. A rough check of the ratio showed it to be about 3.8:1 so would be suitable for the 1.8 Roadster.

[Ye Ol Ripper]

Re: Roadster Axle

Hi Geoff

I also now recall talking to Chris Weedon a while back and apparently Rimmer bros can supply reconditioned diffs etc as the inards are the same as a Dolomite, albite sadly not cheap

[stevejgreen]

Re: Roadster Axle

This has been discussed at length and I produced a document to try to cover all eventualities.
it is highly possible that all that is needed is the diff centre, not the complete axle, common to many small triumphs and therefore available through Triumph parts stockists around the world, not just Rimmer Brothers. What will be needed is the ratio of the axle, there are five to choose from with whatever the problem.
Without more information it is difficult to help further, but I have documented everything you need to know.
Incidentally this document has been referenced by Chris Weedon so you will get exactly the same information from him.

The document in question can be found here or there

[stevejgreen]

Re: Roadster Axle

Hi Geoff

I also now recall talking to Chris Weedon a while back and apparently Rimmer bros can supply reconditioned diffs etc as the inards are the same as a Dolomite, albite sadly not cheap

True but there are two very different axles to be found in a Dolomite or a Dolomite Sprint.

[stevejgreen]

Re: Roadster Axle

Thanks for the reply. I was aware of the Australian Marinas and I will certainly mention that. The Corolla axle sounds like an interesting option if the track is acceptable. I had a closer look at the old axle in the back of my garage. A rough check of the ratio showed it to be about 3.8:1 so would be suitable for the 1.8 Roadster.

Changing just the back axle, apart from the need for the necessary bracketry for springs, shocks, brake pipes and cables is not a simple job. The chances are a new propshaft will be required.
There is also the need for new PCD wheel rims as the Marina sizes are rare and certainly not metric. So you could end up with a mismatch of wheel type and size from front to back axle, adding significantly to the costs.

[stevejgreen]

Re: Roadster Axle

About two minutes of searching. This looks promising https://www.bastuck.de/files/bastuck...talog_2016.pdf jump to page 48.

[ggrum]

Re: Roadster Axle

Thanks very much for all the info which I'll feed back to the enquirer.

[stevejgreen]

Re: Roadster Axle

Thanks very much for all the info which I'll feed back to the enquirer.

They would do well to take a look at the document I linked to, and the rest of my documents.
That one document is four pages long and contains information on the later half shafts and seals that is not well documented, changes of speedo gears to account for different diff ratios, spring rates and so much more than I can type from memory.

It’s been downloaded more than 2500 times so the information is out there in the public domain if you know the right question and who to ask.

it makes me wonder why he did not post here in the first place, I am cautious because so many things change in translation, even when using a common language.

[stevejgreen]

Re: Roadster Axle

Thanks very much for all the info which I'll feed back to the enquirer.

No evidence is a new subscriber accessing Keepandshare.
just maybe, to expedite matters if you passed his contact details on to me, I could help, as I have done for others.

Its a shame, I share on Keepandshare to help other owners. I can tell them where the library is, but I can’t make them walk in and take out the reccomend book, or even read it.
It’s almost as if people don’t want to be helped because Keepandshare is no secret.

[ggrum]

Re: Roadster Axle

Apparently the original axle was badly damaged beyond repair (I have no details of how) and the individual concerned is happy to arrange collection of the spare I have in my garage. I can only assume that the cost of this is not as high as I thought it might be. Thanks again for your help.