No that wasn't one of them -

iir it was SNGBarratt, Engel Imports, and one other. The SNGBarratt were the 'certified' or more costly ones. Engel told me before purchase that they were aftermarket and he couldn't guarantee their fit. But as I was told by SNGBarratt, 'We have sold hundreds HUNDREDS!!! of these and no returns or complaints (you idiot!)'...

I wound up replacing only the front case bearing because even after I shaved the half-thou off the outside, there was still interference between snap-ring and tailpiece. This procedure, while daunting as I'd never been into a transmission before, wasn't too bad other than the bearings. Thanks to Dick Maury for talking me thru the re-assembly tricks you need to know about to get the layshaft/gears back in the case. This procedure is NOT covered in the workshop manual and without it, I don't see how you're going to get the transmission reassembled.

 

Good to know as I also have my transmission on my bench and deciding if it should be rebuilt. I plan to replace the oil seals for sure but hope the bearings are still good. I'm glad I have not pre purchased any parts yet. I'm going to have a trans guy check it soon but if it needs to be rebuilt I probably will farm it out. Although they are in England I have found Martin Robey more accurate on a lot of parts.

 

That's why I took mine apart - the original seals had turned brittle and were leaking badly. To just replace these, you take the bellhousing and tailpiece off. However I would say for sure your layshaft is going to be suspect - my transmission had 34,000 miles and mine was visibly worn and galled. So if I were you I would have it done- and I would go to the shop and have the discussion with them about bearings and PRECISELY what it means if you don't have the same dimensions. When you take these things apart, the SLIGHT interference fit allows you to pull the first motion shaft forward along with the bearing from the case and remove it, thus freeing up the mainshaft. If the OD is too small, the bearing spins in the case but if too large, you might get it in (everyone says 'just put it in the freezer!!!') and while this will indeed shrink it, what happens the next time some poor fool needs to take it apart again. If it were me, I would stand there and have them measure -or you do it - the OD of the bearing that came out -using a good 0.0001 micrometer, and the new one. You will be able to take the old one, assuming it hasn't been spinning in the housing, and once its aligned tap it home in the case with very light taps from a small mallet.

Or maybe you're lucky and your existing bearings are good enough to go back in.

In any case, good luck!

 

Ironically I also acquired my 70 OTS in Jacksonville, and the interior floor and sheet metal was about in the same rusted condition when I started my restoration. I got most of my sheet metal from either SNG or Martin Robey but there were several areas, especially where not visible, that I made significant structural improvements to strength the car.


As started

Bottoms up


Inside out .. complete

 

OMG John! That was some serious rust. It appears you replaced the entire tub; whole different league from my efforts. Keep us posted on the rest of it.