Crankcase Ventilation Separators

Positive Crankcase Ventilation before 1963 was through a draft tube.

The following year a separator to remove the engine oil and return the blow-by gases back into the engine via a PCV valve.

Between 1964-1967, there are two types of separators and matching fuel pumps  for the Kent series engines:
1) In/out baffled internal drain separator and AC fuel pump with non-drain tube.
2) In/out baffled separator with external oil drain outlet and AC fuel pump with oil drain tube.

Internal drain separator can be used for either AC fuel pump. Just plug the AC pump drain tube.
External drain separator is only used with an AC pump with a drain tube. Do not plug the separator drain tube when installing a different fuel pump. This will fill the separator with engine oil thus making it dysfunctional.

An excellent explanation on Engine-Breather Systems by Burton: http://www.burtonpower.com/tuning-guides/tuning-guide-pages/engine-breather-system.html

Speedometer Cable Housing - Plastic End Fittings

Some English Ford speedometer housing cables have plastic end fittings which attach to the transmission by a metal fork. The plastic fittings will eventually warp by heat and pressure from the attachment fork.
( Replace speedometer cable assembly if the plastic fitting is loose around the cable housing )

Warped plastic ends will cause oil leaks even silicon sealant won't solve the leaking problem.
To resolve this defect without replacing the housing. Use a 1/16" thick washer 1  3/16" x 5/8" cut off a 3/8"
section so it would slip past the housing. Apply a bit of sealant to the plastic fitting face.  Place the washer

cut out end up, against the plastic fitting and tighten the attachment fork.

Anglia 105E Steering Box Top Plate re-inforcement

105E steering boxes, in general, are relatively reliable units and will function properly for years as long as they are kept topped with the correct oil.
Occasionally, the steering box top plate works itself loose due to worn suspension components, unbalanced wheels, or vibration.  Requiring re-tightening of the four top plate bolts. Eventually, the top plate will work loose again causing play in the steering box and steering wheel shimmy around 40 mph. A loose top plate will put stress on the internal components of the steering box.

A permanent solution to this problem would be to weld two 1/8" thick "L" brackets to the top plate and body, as shown.
Remove the top plate ( collect the spilled oil ). Produce two similar "L" shaped brackets. Mount them symmetrically together, clamp, and drill two holes for two 1/4" size head bolts and nuts. Install and tighten. Weld one bracket to the top plate, as shown in the picture. Re-install the top plate to the s/box. Tighten the four top plate bolts. Tap weld the bracket to the body. Remove the 1/4" bolts from the brackets. Remove the top plate. Cover the exposed steering box with a rag and weld the bracket to the body. Apply a bit of Locktite to the top plate bolts threads and install the bolt locking plates if desired but now, not necessary anymore.

This modification especially benefits Anglias still using a steering box for rallying.

Magnetic Drain Plugs

Magnetic engine oil drain plugs were not an option on any English Ford vehicle, to at least, up to the 1970's.
I've seen a few automatic transmissions that had a prolonged small iron magnet pressed into a drain plug but these are very weak compared to a new style magnet.

Attach a "rare earth magnet" ( Neodymium-Iron-Boron ) size: 3/8 x 1/8 to the threaded end of a drain plug by either drilling a 3/8" hole, approx. 1/8" deep for an Anglia 105E  3/4" x 24 plug type or epoxy to the end of a 1/2" x 20 plug i.e. Cortina MK2.

Once installed, this will allow you to observe any ferrous metal particles in the engine oil after an oil change.
Too much metal attached to the magnetic may indicate a problem with i.e. the camshaft lobes.

Manual transmissions have a cup-style drain plug to trap metal particles which are mostly syncro ring brass particles. By the way, the flat-end fill plug should not be installed as a drain plug.
Add a "rare earth magnet" or remove the old iron magnet on the drain plug for an Automatic Transmission.

Some of these transmissions had a iron slug magnet welded to the inner bottom of the pan which should be left in place.

Positive-Ground Systems.

The transition to negative ground came around the mid-1950's for American cars, 1967 for English Fords and around 1971 for all other English cars. The preference to use - or + ground didn't matter much. The standardization to negative ground in the Auto industry was only because of the introduction of negative ground electronic gadgets.

If you already converted the car from + to - ground, do not use the original Lucas coil marked CB and SW even though you reversed the two wires on the coil. Purchase a new coil made for negative ground systems. It should read + on one side and - on the other side of the coil.

Here's why:

Primary & Secondary Circuits on a CB / SW positive ground Coil:

When the engine is running, each time the points open, the current stops flowing and the magnetic field collapses around the primary. The secondary has approximately, 20,000 turns of fine wire ( 100 to 1 wire wound ratio secondary to primary ). The collapsing magnetic field will induce a voltage of + 22,000 volts at the core for the spark plugs.
Auto-Transformer action: In a coil the secondary and primary windings are in series.  If the wires to CB and SW were reversed then the current will flow in the opposite direction and will defeat the purpose of an auto-transformer effect. The arc-over voltage output of the coil would be approximately 10% less . It is spark current that ignites gasoline. Obviously, if you don't achieve arc-over voltage, no spark current will flow.
In other words, there is approximately 10% reduction of voltage required to jump a spark plug gap. If the car is converted to a negative ground and a negative ground coil isn't installed then the 10% voltage advantage is gone.

105E / 113E / 118E Transmission Back-up light Switch

 This procedure is done with the transmission removed from the car and reverse selector rod removed from the transmission. It's not necessary to completely dismantle the transmission for this step.

Anglia 105E, Classic / Capri, and Cortina MK1 models have a manual activated toggle switch located on the lower end of the shelf as standard or optional equip. After 1967 the back-up light switch were mounted on top of the transmission casing activated by the reverse selector rod.
Any early transmission casings can easily be modified to an automatic back-up light system. By using a reverse switch from the Cortina MK2 or any universal 3/8 x 24 ( 1" long shaft length ) similar switch.

Drill a proper diameter hole directly above the reverse selector rod transmission casing, as pictured, for a 3/8" x 24 tap. Grind a 1.63" end section off the selector rod to create a 9/32" wide flat surface. Then grind a 5/16" long, approx. 20 degree slope at the end of the selector rod for a switch step-up.

Insert the rod in the casing and mount the back-up light switch. Adjust the switch so it will turn on-off ( an ohm meter will do ) while moving the reverse rod. Assemble the transmission for re-installation and mount the switch to the casing. Engage the stick shift in reverse to check activation. Leave the switch installed as it will not interfere with transmission installation.

English Ford Transmission Selector Forks

Worn selector forks or syncro-mesh assemblies can cause the engaged gear to jump out of its position when decelerating.
Assuming all transmission components are in good condition but the selector fork facing on both sides are worn down to 5/32" thick ( new fork facings are 1/4" thick ). This excessive play within the sleeve groove
can cause the transmission to jump out of gear.
One solution is to fill the worn area of each side of the fork by weld bracing up to 1" in length and grind smooth and form to a thickness of 1/4". Do not repair forks that are worn beyond 5/32" thickness. New forks are still available i.e., Burton Ltd.
Displayed are two 113E brass forks from the Cortina MK1. On the left is a worn repairable fork and on the right a reconditioned fork after weld filling and finish grinding.

I have reconditioned steel forks for Anglia 105E transmissions and brass forks for the 113E - 2000E three-rail box and later single-rail Cortina MK2 box. I found that all selector forks for these boxes have a face diameter / thickness of 1/4". Reverse selector forks don't have much wear.