HMC A series of MINOR developments

[LightBulbFun]

16 minutes ago, HMC said:

@LightBulbFun is that its original plate? 

sadly not, its a 2013 Bristol issue Age relates series, twas originally GGL686

given how it so obviously spells a word, I was always surprised the DVLA issued the xxxYUP series for age related use rather then retain it for select-issue/private plate auctions, interestingly the Bristol block (401-499) was only issued up to 464YUP, so your Morris Minor is one removed from the end of a registration series, after which new age related series where started which where all Centrally issued from the DVLA in Swansea directly, so bit of an end of an era in that regard!

also shares a block with this Tippen Coventry, 429YUP which was originally KDA54

(which should never have been allowed to have been robbed of its number plate as Invalid Carriages are not an MOT'able vehicle type! but we all know the DVLA barely known their head from their arse when it comes to edge cases where the important details actually matter...)

[Lonestar]

35 minutes ago, HMC said:

Well the broken carlton has had a deposit put on it by a local guy.

Well, saves me working out the finances and logistics on how to get it to Basingstoke 😅

[HMC]

32 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

sadly not, its a 2013 Bristol issue Age relates series, twas originally GGL686

given how it so obviously spells a word, I was always surprised the DVLA issued the xxxYUP series for age related use rather then retain it for select-issue/private plate auctions, interestingly the Bristol block (401-499) was only issued up to 464YUP, so your Morris Minor is one removed from the end of a registration series, after which new age related series where started which where all Centrally issued from the DVLA in Swansea directly, so bit of an end of an era in that regard!

also shares a block with this Tippen Coventry, 429YUP which was originally KDA54

(which should never have been allowed to have been robbed of its number plate as Invalid Carriages are not an MOT'able vehicle type! but we all know the DVLA barely known their head from their arse when it comes to edge cases where the important details actually matter...)

Thanks!

Currently going down a rabbit hole…

 

[Six-cylinder]

1 hour ago, HMC said:

Well the broken carlton has had a deposit put on it by a local guy. Id actually agreed to buy a 2002 chrysler sebring off him @Mrs6C  @Six-cylinder but it developed an issue before the sale went through.

Meanwhile a patinated ‘57 morris minor is on its way down to the westcountry as i type….

@LightBulbFun is that its original plate? 

What a shame it did not work out. I have always like the Sebring and done around 50k miles in them in the USA.

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

sadly not, its a 2013 Bristol issue Age relates series, twas originally GGL686

Why might someone want GGL 686? Good Game, Larry?

[HMC]

[Sigmund Fraud]

A lovely pair, especially as Minors are one of those cars that only look "right" with plenty of patina !

It's lucky that they are both four-door models, otherwise I could have not resisted asking for dibs.

[Tayne]

12 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Why might someone want GGL 686? Good Game, Larry?

For a reason that we will likely never know.

Living up here in private plate land I see many cars that have a dateable plate which is wrong for the age of the car, or a non-dateable plate which has no obvious reason, very few are as obvious as ANG1E (later changed to ANC1E after the police turned up to complain about that screw head).

My own plate is an 07 which makes sense if you know my name, if you don’t know me you might get a different name or not realise the car wasn’t available in 2007.

[IronStar]

I am a bit envious about your car plating system, as it seems so sensible, and can be used as an actual visible vehicle identifier. Over here they decided that plates need to be attached to city/region where the car is currently registered, so every time car moves, you get a new plate, that’s just what’s next in line. Your car was put of reg for more than two months? New plates. They also changed the plate format to more “Euro” format in 2011, so all the plates got recalled and issued with whatever back then. Also every time you need new ones, you return the old plates, even though you paid for them. There’s also no lookup system akin to MOT checker.

Makes car archeology completely impossible, which is a shame. 

[HMC]

Lets see some more of the patina- otherwise known as  ruined paint 😂

[tooSavvy]

463 YUP.....

Newcastle, yupp 😁

🚙💨

[HMC]

Daily driver duties…..

The fuel pump takes a bit of waking up after a cold start to avoid stop/go progress….

my fuel pump tapping tool, earlier.

Requiring internittant coxing into life with a few taps, for the first couple of minutes and then shes good for the rest of the drive. Maybe i need to clean up the fuel pump points? 

[High Jetter]

Well worth checkin ghtem, anyway. Shame about that seat.

[HMC]

Hi all, with many thanks to @Austin-Rover this fine automobile is my new “modern” 

I was very grateful he was able to deliver it down to the westcountry. Its a credit to him, having been rescued from an uncertain future and given lots of attention. Its a wonderful car and am i correct that it came from the same works as its elderly relatives that make up the rest of the fleet?

 

[hairnet]

@Lord Sterling worcs doesnt want a flood - no dribbling

 

[Marm Toastsmith]

Lovely. Saw a nice Rover 800 being driven in Newton Abbot on Friday (I think). I presume just a coincidence... but it made me think of this car... Well bought!

[primeradoner]

On 29/03/2026 at 10:02, tooSavvy said:

463 YUP.....

Newcastle, yupp 😁

🚙💨

Its Durham  

[Dick Cheeseburger]

14 minutes ago, primeradoner said:

Its Durham  

The irony is that it was originally a Cornish registered car. 

@HMC did you manage to get in contact with the woman who owned the car in the early days, when it was still registered as GGL? I'm fascinated to hear if she's got any photos or stories of it from back in the day.

[HMC]

16 hours ago, Dick Cheeseburger said:

The irony is that it was originally a Cornish registered car. 

@HMC did you manage to get in contact with the woman who owned the car in the early days, when it was still registered as GGL? I'm fascinated to hear if she's got any photos or stories of it from back in the day.

I send a message on Facebook messenger but havent heard back.

A minor update….

Remember the dying duel pump? It did die. I changed the pump for a second hand unit which seemed to be ticking a lot- which indicates its unable to reach the desired throughput pressure. hmmm. Also the car developed quite a bad misfire. 

Long story short- i cannibalised the old and replacement pumps to make one good one, and cleaned out the main jet and float chamber of years of crap.

I was working on the basis that replacement pump had a small hole somewhere in the diaphragm, and also swapping the pumps over disturbed sediment from the fuel pipe joints. So much for the theory…..

Result? Back to running on all 4 and the fuel pump neither ticking too much, nor not at all. Great!

[Hertz]

[captain_cal]

I have often had GL down as a Cornwall suffix (along with AF, RL and CV) but sometimes it comes back as Bath and sometimes not. Did we "borrow" the letters occasionally?

[grogee]

The 800 is nice. Really nice, I'm jealous. 

For some reason I like it when @HMC moves out of stodge and into semi-modern. Navigating around the lanes will be a breeze with that engine and power steering. 

[HMC]

Further minor developments….

The black one has returned to being go to reliable after fuel system woes…

Meanwhile the white one has gone from slight slippage (4 up, climbing in 3rd) to most of the time slippage -so much so ive avoided climbing the hills out of tavistock with it even solo. Had a look at adjusting it but i think its just worn .

Having tried a lot of old stuff it makes me reallise just how much i like these. Even how they sound gives me a buzz.  I had a very rotten one in 2002 as a student and it never put a foot wrong in 10k and at the mercy of my less than skillful driving. That was a 4 door too, maybe why i like those best.

[Weird Car]

3 minutes ago, HMC said:

I had a very rotten one in 2002 as a student and it never put a foot wrong in 10k and my less than skillful driving.

Either that was a very busy 2 days or you actually owned a car for an extended period of time 

either way both deserve a congratulations 😆

[HMC]

8 minutes ago, Weird Car said:

Either that was a very busy 2 days or you actually owned a car for an extended period of time 

either way both deserve a congratulations 😆

Deffo !

iirc had it from 2002-2004

[Zelandeth]

Like the MGB, there's plenty of reasons that they're so popular in the classic car community.  Not going to win any prizes for speed, but they're just easy things to live with and are a pleasant way to get around while still very much scratching that Ye Olde Car itch.

Honestly not quite sure how I've not ended up with one at any point so far to be honest.  

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Great to see the black one is now turnkey, although frustrating that the white one has clearly had it's jolly nose put out of joint. 

My trafalgar blue two door was a barrel of laughs when I dailied it in my late teens, back in the 90s. I still have very fond memories. The photo is of a mate's photo unfortunately, so the quality is a bit shite. 

The fella who bought it ended up rebuilding the engine, then left it to rot on his driveway for reason unknown. I bought it back years later for £50 and it was rotten as a pear. It's the only car I've ever sent for scrap.

I did manage to sell the engine and box for £100 to a couple of lads who were fixing up a pickup. They removed the parts too, so I didn't need to lift a finger. The number plate still adorns my garage wall. 

[camryv6]

1 hour ago, HMC said:

Deffo !

iirc had it from 2002-2004

Have you ever taken the same car for two MOT's ?

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

Honestly not quite sure how I've not ended up with one at any point so far to be honest.  

I'd guess there might be one available in the West Country in the not too distant future! 😀

[Zelandeth]

2 hours ago, High Jetter said:

I'd guess there might be one available in the West Country in the not too distant future! 😀

Absolutely no room at the inn!  Which has probably been why I've never ended up with one when I've seen them pop up before. 

It's definitely why I've not had an MGB yet.

One of the cars here is one I found through this thread anyway!  I should add though that it was one of the easiest car buying experiences I've had, especially doing it all remotely, and the motor was very reasonably priced for what it was.  Would absolutely buy from HMC again.