TC gearbox colour

[SteveW]

Quick question. What colour should the gearbox be. Engine coloured? I'm talking about the box itself, not the bell housing, which presumably remains bare metal.

[antijam]

I painted mine engine colour...

....not sure if that's correct. (but no one's going to know unless they crawl underneath)

[SteveW]

Nice work, I'll go with what you did.

By the way, how much play is acceptable where the clutch lever (the shaft that holds the clutch fork) goes through the bell housing before it's worth going to the trouble of putting bushes in?

[antijam]

By the way, how much play is acceptable where the clutch lever (the shaft that holds the clutch fork) goes through the bell housing before it's worth going to the trouble of putting bushes in?

This is a classic bell housing failure point on the TC. First thing to do is check the area carefully to see if the bell housing is actually cracked. If it is, it will need a welding repair. if not, but there is any discernible play I'd bore it out and bush it.
Mine was cracked and built up with weld before bushing (arrowed)....

[Tom Wilson]

Gearbox color
Originally it varied. The very early cars were a dark red (spot on to MG Damask Red).

Factory photos show gearboxes painted same color as the engine; it’s often appeared to me that the engine and gearbox were painted as a unit after assembly.
I’ve also seen black original paint.
If it’s a late TC I recommend using the dark red that’s same as the engine.

Tom Wilson.

[SteveW]

With regard to play in the clutch lever, there is no cracking, but there is too much play so I'll have to replace the bush. Is this something that can be done in the home garage with basic tools, or do I need a machine shop? Today I took it to the shop that skimmed and valved my cylinder head, but they were not keen on doing it.

Maybe a long shot given the international nature of the members on here, but if it does need a shop, does anyone know of one in the Nottingham area?