project Boris the '59 Minor.

[Joey spud]

Have a few random pics.

I want to get Boris up the end of my garden onto the hard standing outside my big shed but there are a couple of obstacles in the way...

Firstly the 80% welded Subaru is still up on stands and blocking the side gate and secondly the side access narrows down to 60.5 inches at the entrance to the garden.

Wikipedia says a Moggy is bang on 60 inches wide but the factory manual that came with Boris lists his width at 61 inches so it may end in tears.

And as its been raining for three days solid here so i can't now attempt this untill the ground dries out again.

[bunglebus]

4 minutes ago, Joey spud said:

The side access narrows down to 60.5 inches at the entrance to the garden.

How well do you get on with your neighbours, can you take fence panels out to make some room?

[Joey spud]

The panels aren't the problem it's their wooden posts that are concreted in that are the bummer.

Oh and the neighbour is a weapons grade arsehole too.

[xtriple]

Me, the tart that needs luxury and speed in abundance for any car to have a chance with me, would rock that until the grave reached out with its bony fingers! Serious amounts of lust here in sunny Devon.

I don't really hate you.... yeah, I do!

 

 

[vulgalour]

It's a bungalow.  Just make a ramp that matches the pitch of the roof and drive over the house.  You're welcome :B

[PhilA]

Just wedge a wooden beam across the top of one of the poles to the wall and push them sideways temporarily. Should be high enough to fit under.

[Joey spud]

3 hours ago, PhilA said:

Just wedge a wooden beam across the top of one of the poles to the wall and push them sideways temporarily. Should be high enough to fit under.

Now that aint a bad idea.

[Christine]

The prototype minor was 4" narrower , that how come the bonnet has a 4" raised strip up the middle ...but you already know that   . 

[Rustybullethole]

Lovely motor had my eye on it as a practical replacement for her Rena migraine though she wasn’t having it. Glad it’s found a home here. Phils shout is a goodun👍 My two penith is multitool the shit out of the posts where need be. 

[bunglebus]

Surely the widest part of a Mog would be the wings, and they bolt on? Then all you would scrape would be the tyres.

I know the doors have a bulge too but it would give you some wiggle room

[St.Jude]

I want a Moggy. A 4 door Moggy, with a K-Series engine in it. 

Could you not just hire a crane and get it lifted over your neighbours house in to your garden?

[Joey spud]

10 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Surely the widest part of a Mog would be the wings, and they bolt on? Then all you would scrape would be the tyres.

I think this is the way to go as the wings need to come off to sort the rot out.

The weather is looking set fair for the weekend too.

[ruffgeezer]

Ah so you bagged this one then, I had it firmly in my sights if I could have offloaded the Fiat quicker, we ended up getting a puppy instead :S

[Lankytim]

I've dabbled with Minors and absolutely loved them, nicely bought!

[Joey spud]

I have dry weather forecast for this weekend so i am going to attempt the Boris down the side of the house manoeuvre.

In the meantime i was nosing under the bonnet and spied a couple of things.

Firstly the size of the horn it's bigger than the Alternator.

Then there's this suppliers plate on the bulkhead anyone know it they or the garage still survive ?

And finally Boris doesn't have a chrome mascot thing on his bonnet instead he has a flat chrome trim.

Which to be fair i much prefer.

[Three Speed]

1 hour ago, Joey spud said:

anyone know it they or the garage still survive ?

Now Tesco (what else?) The building is called Issigonis House, situated on the corner of Cowley Road. A memorial of what was once the main  agent for Morris.

[2flags]

Lovely car. Well bought. Looks like a nicely warmed over version with sympathetic and period upgrades. Personally I'd ditch the Wellers and fit some Wolfrace slot mags. 😁 

[Timewaster]

2 pages of a car called Boris and no one has mentioned U turns.......

 

 

[Noel Tidybeard]

On 03/10/2020 at 19:30, Joey spud said:

Although it's now 1275cc  he is still running on the original 1098cc carb and pea shooter exhaust so there is definitely a few extra bhp to be liberated by uprating to an inch and a half SU from a Metro and a Marina twin down pipe exhaust manifold.

I have been looking on ebay for SU (hif) 1275cc carbs and they are now silly money,not so long ago you would trip over dozens of the things down the Scrappy's.

you could always chat up Richard the Slag Stag to see if he has a 1 3/4" stromberg spare

[bunglebus]

4 hours ago, Joey spud said:

And finally Boris doesn't have a chrome mascot thing on his bonnet instead he has a flat chrome trim.

Which to be fair i much prefer.

Commercial spec

 

Or if you're selling, OMG ULTRA RARE LOW LIGHT

[Joey spud]

12 hours ago, Three Speed said:

Now Tesco (what else?) The building is called Issigonis House, situated on the corner of Cowley Road. A memorial of what was once the main  agent for Morris.

Thankyou Sir.

Well that's put pay to revisiting Boris's supplying garage for a photo.

I've just had a quick google and it looks like Stewart and Ardern were a massive supplier of Morris vehicles back in the post war and pre war era.

My mate came round the other day and had to do a double take at the cars reg number.

His father in the late 1970's had a black 2 door with a TMU plate attatched so it too probably also came from Stewart and Ardern in Acton  

And the funny thing is back then my mate lived two roads away from here.

[Joey spud]

9 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Commercial spec

 

Or if you're selling, OMG ULTRA RARE LOW LIGHT

Ah yes you are right.

I am going to claim it's a period modification.

[bunglebus]

16 minutes ago, Joey spud said:

Ah yes you are right.

I am going to claim it's a period modification.

I like mods like that, subtle so you can see something is different but it takes a while to work out what

[Joey spud]

I made a good start today honest but then my friendly neighbour needed help replacing his fence panels and the four dogs needed walking and i wanted to get down the Institute to watch the football at five so i didn't get a as much done as i had hoped.

The drivers side brake was binding badly so much so that Boris was about 90% one wheel drive and so had no chance of traversing the damp grass to get to the shed.

I backed the adjuster off and cleaned the crud out of the drum and all was good while it was on the jack i had a look at the n/s back brake which  was free but smothered in gear oil from a failed hub seal so thats a job to add to the list.

The n/s rear wing although rusty on it's  lower extremities (will go again if i can't find a better one at a sensible price) unbolted easily enough revealing some scary holes and grottiness.

Oily shoes.

And many holes / weakness.

The o/s wing wasn't  worth saving so i sliced it off with a cutting dsc.

This side is by far more grotty than the n/s.

But it's all repairable and panels are cheap enough.

Also the rear springs and bushes are new.

 

[Joey spud]

Oh it needs a boot floor panel as well..

I think i will delete the rear bumper when Boris hits the road again.

I got as far as pulling the front bumper off.

I would like to loose this too but it would leave the bottom of the wing exposed so i need to think about this.

I also gave the engine a quick tune up too as it was running way too rich despite the little carb fitted.

So tomorrow  i will get the front wings and grill panel off ready for operation "Side alley".

[lisbon_road]

Great car.  I've driven a standard one and found it very good to drive, loved the way it didn't rush.  Five speed box must be a really worthwhile modification.  Perhaps electronic ignition too, though this set up seems better than Ford or Vauxhall ones way back.  Looks like you are going to sort it out properly too.  

 

[Isaac Hunt]

On 10/4/2020 at 7:24 PM, Joey spud said:

The panels aren't the problem it's their wooden posts that are concreted in that are the bummer.

Oh and the neighbour is a weapons grade arsehole too.

Unbot the wings............easier said than done though with 61 year old bots, but a po may have had em off and greased the threads, ha never know.

as others have said, there my be just enough 'give' in those posts.

this car is ace.  I'm really fancying a 60's motor, alll that mechanical simplicity.  My Dad had Wolseley 16/60 Auto's, one after the other.  I fancy building one with MGB 1.8 taken out to 2.0, auto box, disc brakes, Afa front seats in red leather, TR6 wheels, a boom n burble exhaust.  It would be painted in two tone Rose Taupe and Beige cos that's the colours he had.

that would do me, plenty fast enough.  Too many years of many miles flying around the UK far to fast

It will be the U in the reg that has probs saved it form a transfer, unless you are from the Urquhart clan or the Unwins

and i''be just read the rest of the thread.........nicked my idea 

[bunglebus]

6 hours ago, Joey spud said:

I got as far as pulling the front bumper off.

I would like to loose this too but it would leave the bottom of the wing exposed so i need to think about this.

That always bugs me a little about the Minor, the wings need extending down to line up with the valance if you want to run bumperless. 

I reckon some VW nerf bars could look good

 

 

Probably not those last as they do sweet FA in a shunt, they were just a way to negotiate California bumper laws in the 70s

[Joey spud]

9 hours ago, bunglebus said:

That always bugs me a little about the Minor, the wings need extending down to line up with the valance if you want to run bumperless.

Exactly this.

Having had a dig about on google there are a few images of home made wing extensions (some better than others) so i may have a bash at forming something suitable.

Another thought is to do away with the bumper backing panel and rework the mountings to pull just the chrome blade tight against the bodywork obviously the bumper will need to be cut and shortened and tweaked but the centre cut can have a plate  made to cover the join like the earliest cars had.

[mitsisigma01]

On 10/3/2020 at 10:36 PM, danthecapriman said:

That is utterly cool as fuck

Sweet as