bulkhead 3 speed gearbox cover panel - is EA different?

[JonE]

has anyone got a decent picture of this cover plate please for the later ballchange cars - and is it different for saloons and Sports? 
I can work out the dimensions from the things it needs to adjoin, but the general gist of it would be good.

[Erich]

Jon, I am still on a learning curve with my car. That said the EA Sports had a crank case with raised feet at both front and rear, less raised at the front. This was necessary in order to place the nose cone in the correct position with the cowl. This puts the rear of the en line and consequently the g/b higher at the bulkhead. Gould's book does not describe this plate in detail as he could not access one. I'm not sure about your question on the ball change, as it is my understanding that all EAs were ball change, that having superseded the gate change. Saloons and tourers have the standard crank case so the cover is different than the EA. When you ask about "Sports", are you referring to 65s and Nippys and 75s and Speedys?

Erich

[JonE]

Erich - I only said ball change to narrow 3 speed options down. i.e. rearward later starter, as per all the EA, yes.
I'd like to see a standard non-Sports 3 speed example, and an EA example... just to see what the differences are. Even though I'm only dealing with a facsimile EA, I've been amazed to find that all the witness marks in the floorpan and bulkhead down to the rivet positions for the ally tags (from the original EA mould in the early 1970s) properly line up with the SWB chassis and fittings, so it's making me return a little to getting things right where they have the ability to be!

[JonE]

Was starting to think that perhaps there wasn't a cover, but this great shot shows the retained nuts for it and also the bespoke edge for the edge of the bulkhead above...
  Mo Fuller inside pedals.jpg (Size: 451.24 KB / Downloads: 238)

[Hedd_Jones]

  floor cover.jpg (Size: 100.03 KB / Downloads: 203)

The panel for a standard car (I believe). I've not got this one fitted as my floor has been tin opened so the clutch pedal comes out easy. My home made panel covers that hole too.

[JonE]

brilliant. thankyou.

[Steve Jones]

Early '31 RM.

   

Steve

[JonE]

thanks - great picture - I can now see that Hedd's IS the same pressing. So presumably the EA one when we find one will allow for the higher crankcase position over the standard engine.

[Hedd_Jones]

Jon

The one I have (in the photo) I speculate actually came off a RK which a guy in Crewe seems to have broken up in the 1990's, the mortal remains of (chassis, v5 and cowl) I also had and sold on to someone who probably lurks on here. I also had the bonnet (now gracing an AE chummy) and the R47's, but nothing else identifyable. I guess I may have its axles and wheels, but thats a guess. Nevertheless assuming someone hadn't taken a tin opener to my floor, it would fit the RL (I have tried it), but it doesn't cover all the holes.

The AE I had AE also came with an identical one, or rather I assume it was identical as that too would fit the RL (I tried it).

No idea about the EA. Your probably in a good position to suggest cars that may not have been buggered about with that may yeild answers that a historian would be happy with.

I have to say that I'd be surprised if they are not the same component, or started life as the same component, just hand fitted to suit.

[Ian Williams]

Austin were very good a repurposing parts form their standard range of cars onto the sports models, you see this time and again so Hedd is probably bang on the money. If you think about it these where cheep cars back when new, to have tooled up specially for every component on low volume models would not have been economic.