2 hours ago, TripleMcB said:

 

I'm not too sure but it was the first commercially available 5 speed not an option.  

 

I remember when looking into buying a new front wheel drive Escort in 1981, I made a comment about when was Ford going to use 5 speed gearboxes, I was s******ed at by the sales staff who pointed out that Ford and most others would never find the need to use 5 speed gearboxes, it was just a sales gimmick by BMC - well that way of thinking did not last for much longer, when the 1.6 Ghia Escort got its 5 speed gearbox I bought one but not before that!  Ten years on and I was looking at replacing my 1988 Orion Ghia 1.6 Injection, I asked when Ford would start using 16 valve engines, different dealer but many more s******s, so I shuffled off and bought a 6 month old Cav GSI 2000 16v 4x4, I think that I made a good choice there - then Ford started using Zeta 16 valve engines which quickly were changed to Zetec 16 valve. Still I suppose, in modern times FoMoCo would never claim to be "leaders" - so the technologies they use do seem to have been well tried by other marques before FoMoCo commit to using them, maybe VW Group could learn a lesson there?

 

Edit:- yes Maxi was the first 5 wheel, 5 door, 5 seat, 5 speed car on sale - maybe there were more "5"s in there as well?

Edited 16 November, 20178 yr by rum4mo

23 minutes ago, rum4mo said:

Edit:- yes Maxi was the first 5 wheel, 5 door, 5 seat, 5 speed car on sale - maybe there were more "5"s in there as well?

 

5 valves in the radio?

18 minutes ago, TMB said:

 

5 valves in the radio?

 

5 bearing crank

 

I had a 5 speed Austin Allegro 1750 Super Sport (same engine as Maxi)  - actually went rather well

 

Edited 16 November, 20178 yr by bigjohn

Most modern manual gearboxes use a layshaft for all gears all the time wheras older 4 speed rearwheel drive gearboxes effectively connected the input shaft to the output shaft in top gear. Early Ford rear wheel drive 5 speed boxes were unreliable as lay shaft was now in use in fifth gear.  Around the time of the Sierra Cosworth reliability much improved as revised gearbox and engine components were introduced on all models (bearings, conrods, pistons etc...)

 

PS my MKI Octavia 1.416v still has drum brakes -they have been very relaible and the self adjuster is uber simple (ratchet wedge). Only had 1 set of shoes in 120,000 miles and if you pull the handbrake on whilst moving slightly it is still capable of locking the rear wheels up

Edited 16 November, 20178 yr by bigjohn

5 hours ago, TMB said:

Wasn't the Maxi one of the first cars to have a 5-speed gearbox?

Correct . The MK1 had a cable system which was a disaster ,but the MK2 had a very reliable rod change system.

octyal- mentioning getting drums off where the bearing is integral ,again takes me back to Maxi- you slacken bearing nut, then fit a spanner/ strip of metal (drilled out to locate on wheel nuts) , on the studs. Bolt down ,then screw nut up to spanner/metal and continue. Hub will come free or if /when tension is applied to spanner/metal strip, hub is taped with hammer- always worked for me.

But as said, I've worked on a host of BL/BMC/Vauxhall ( of various models & marques)/Reliant/Renault and Furby is the only one where I've had piston pop out.

 

5 VALVES IN RADIO- Mine never had a radio, but at that time only folks using valves were GPO ( now BT).

bIgjohn- that would be the 1750 HL variant- modified cam and twin SU carbs.

As for 5 bearing crank- the elderly Vauxhall ( ex Bedford) 1600/2.0L OH cam had 5 bearing cranks, where the centre crank bearing was "adjusted 2 by rubbing on  wet 7 dry on a sheet of glass to get the side tolerance.

oNE ALMOST 5 (MINUTE ) job was clutch thrust bearing replacement. Hardest job was battery & housing removal.

Edited 16 November, 20178 yr by VWD

1 hour ago, bigjohn said:

 

5 bearing crank

 

I had a 5 speed Austin Allegro 1750 Super Sport (same engine as Maxi)  - actually went rather well

 

 

That same engine in 1500cc form and with twin Webber's made it into my my maestro, the one with the LED dash and taking computer. Christ I was a flash geezer about town back then !

4 minutes ago, TripleMcB said:

 

That same engine in 1500cc form and with twin Webber's made it into my my maestro, the one with the LED dash and taking computer. Christ I was a flash geezer about town back then !

 

I had a Maestro 1.3 company car - didn't matter what gear you were in, it still couldn't overtake anything - awful car!!

 

I got an Astra 1.3 after that - flying machine compared to the Maestro and was a great car. I did a lot of driving then and did 65,000 miles in one year, changed jobs when the car was on 75,000 miles - it still had it's original tyres!

Edited 16 November, 20178 yr by bigjohn

Best but was my dad worked at Longbridge in the "experimental" dept. He and his mates had the car for two weeks. It came back with discs all round, lowered, bigger alloys, bored out to just shy of 1800cc and the then new fuel injection that was going into the newer 2.0.  It could beat an RS escort turbo of the lights and embarrasse BMW 325's. If I can find a pic I'll post it. 

 

Chopped it in on a Renault feugo 2.0 turbo from Australia. Not the usual 1.7 turbo rubbish. 

 

Edited 16 November, 20178 yr by TripleMcB

Obviously things have improved with car design and the ease of maintenance - oh hang on:-

 

So being able to change a clutch on a Datsun 100A in 20mins was the bad old days - Access hatch on bellhousing and removable shaft from inside wheelarch 0h and it did 50mpg

Cavalier - also very simple clutch change

 

Ford Cortina MKII - could remove an engine in 1 hour

 

Saying that what would I drive on a motorway a Cortina II or a Superb II - blimey stuff has really moved on but I'll leave the fixing to someone else

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 16 November, 20178 yr by bigjohn

15 minutes ago, bigjohn said:

Obviously things have improved with car design and the ease of maintenance - oh hang on:-

 

So being able to change a clutch on a Datsun 100A in 20mins was the bad old days - Access hatch on bellhousing and removable shaft from inside wheelarch 0h and it did 50mpg

Cavalier - also very simple clutch change

 

Ford Cortina MKII - could remove an engine in 1 hour

 

Saying that what would I drive on a motorway a Cortina II or a Superb II - blimey stuff has really moved on but I'll leave the fixing to someone else

 

 

 

Maxi- hardest job was getting the battery box out.

Cavalier clutch- very simple.

 

 

 

Have never used special tool (hook) for drum springs for my Furby last 10 years- but have done drum job many times.

For me, water pump pliers (or simple pliers) is enough if job is done correctly > grab lower part of pad and install pads with springs pre-mounted.

And same pliers for dismantling, too.

hi had to take the hub off has one off those tight springs his at the back off the shoe, are u have to take the brake cylinder off, the wedged bit ajuster look at it and the teeth were worn, pain in the neck.

15 hours ago, kenrobo said:

hi had to take the hub off has one off those tight springs his at the back off the shoe, are u have to take the brake cylinder off, the wedged bit ajuster look at it and the teeth were worn, pain in the neck. skoda fabia, his there another ajuster u can put in its place, like the screw type  where u flick it round and it spreads the shoes.