Dealers may not be aware that the gearbox of the latest type of Austin Seven can readily be withdrawn from inside the car, thereby effecting a considerable saving in time and cost. Average time being 5 hours including replacement.
First take out both the front seat cushions and the front rubber floor coverings. Then remove the eight nuts and bolts at “A” in the accompanying illustrations and the two setscrews at “B” with their lock-washers that together secure the gearbox fume excluder, and the toe-plate above it, to the metal floor.
Working from underneath the car, fully slacken off the hand-brake lever adjustment and disconnect the speedometer coupling from the gearbox. Returning to the interior of the car, release the metal gearbox shield from the rubber seal round the base of the gear lever and remove the shield by pulling it up and off the gear and hand-brake levers after pulling the latter right back. The rubber seal can be left on the base of the gear lever.
Lift the offside of the bonnet and slacken the nuts and bolts securing the brake- and clutch-pedal stalks in the split ends of the levers. Returning to the front compartment, withdraw the pedal stalks through the toe plate, and remove this plate.
Unlike the offside transmission tunnel body-bracket (which is riveted) the body-bracket on the nearside is bolted to the frame to allow it to be easily removed which should now be done by undoing its three securing bolts to the frame and a further bolt passing through the floor (see the illustration herewith). The fibre packing piece shown in the illustration must be carefully retained and replaced when refitting the body bracket.
Bend back the lock-washer tags of the four nuts and bolts ‘E” (see main illustration) securing the front propeller shaft joint to the third motion shaft, unscrew the nuts, remove the four bolts, draw the joint back on its splines and allow the propeller shaft to rest on the hand-brake cross shaft.
Remove the eight nuts and washers from the studs securing the gearbox to the flywheel housing, and the two setscrews retaining the flywheel pit cover. It will then be possible to draw the gearbox off the studs and the splined clutch plate centre and lift it out of the car from the nearside.
Replacing the gearbox is simply a reversal of the operations described above.
