Wolseley 18/85

[TVR keith]

In the pub talking about the above among other similar cars of the era tonight and I said it had chain drive on (I think) the auto boxes.
Am I mad as they all thought I was, can anyone shed some light on this?

[lowdrag]

Dunno, but I remember that the autos were very fragile and troublesome. Perhaps that was the reason?

[jith]

TVR keith said:

In the pub talking about the above among other similar cars of the era tonight and I said it had chain drive on (I think) the auto boxes.
Am I mad as they all thought I was, can anyone shed some light on this?

You were talking about the Wolseley variant of the Austin/Morris 1800; a very underrated car incidentally.

The auto version used a device called a "Hyvo" chain as the transfer medium between the output shaft from the convertor and the auto 'box itself. It had a specially designed tooth profile to give silent running and was from memory, four links in width. I personally had very few problems with these 'boxes, providing they were properly serviced, and they were very nice to drive with a responsive kickdown.

The one that did give problems was the Mini and 1100 transmission, mainly due to the fact that they ran it from the engine sump in the same oil!! Utter madness!

[TVR keith]

Thanks for that, glad I'm not completely mad, not that everyone would agree....

[Petemate]

jith said:

The one that did give problems was the Mini and 1100 transmission, mainly due to the fact that they ran it from the engine sump in the same oil!! Utter madness!

Never had any problems with my Wolseley 1300 auto years ago. Agree a bit odd to have the trannie running in the same oil as the engine but the filter was different to (and larger than!) the manual-engined cars. Regular changing ensured no problems. I also found it a lovely 'box to use. Made by Automotive Products as I recall and my own one was ultra-reliable.
Pete