Morris Minor - An Car

[Dick Longbridge]

6 hours ago, Asimo said:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/578045874051261

This one even has it’s fresh-air tube in place. 

.

That looks lovely for 3.5k. Fairly late one too. The lack of detail in the ad is a little off-putting though. 

[Asimo]

17 minutes ago, martc said:

Whatever engine is in it you really need to make sure it parps on the over run.

NO!, that silly noise was the worst thing about them on standard pipes. I modified mine to not parp 'cause it was so annoying.

[vulgalour]

4 hours ago, skoda_fan said:

I had one for a while, really just to see what all the fuss is about. I found it charming but archaic (as you would expect I guess). It was so antiquated compared to anything made in the last thirty years. It was basic beyond belief, including those penny-pinching door straps that feel like they're gonna break instead of a proper door pull.

 Archaic, charming, and basic beyond belief is exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for.

@martc @Asimo I'm pro-parp!  Little bit of gearbox whine too please.

[Dick Longbridge]

44 minutes ago, Asimo said:

NO!, that silly noise was the worst thing about them on standard pipes. I modified mine to not parp 'cause it was so annoying.

Nooo! Bring back the parp! 

[Mally]

I dailyed one every other week for a couple of years. They do need a higher gear really.  Diffs may be available to achieve this.

You need one of those chamois blocks that old codgers use to wipe the inside of the glass.

Everything is available, all have been patched, but some repairs have been done better than others. 

Check front chassis box , leaf spring mounts front and rear.

Bottom trunions do fall apart often. It is possible to chain them together as a get me home.

Gearbox whine is acceptable, but you don't want the rat- tat- tat on second gear.

Check it doesn't jump out of second on overrun.  Brakes are only just up to it imo. Bigger fronts or disc conversion is the way to go.

Perfect car for you I'd have thought.

[Mally]

Interiors can be expensive. Try to get decent seats, and sit in them all to test them.

[vulgalour]

Interiors are also very simple though so providing I can get things like whatever the seat base is made of, I can't see retrimming things being too much of a hardship?

[barefoot]

I learned to drive in my old man's 1098 on a D plate, the clutch was like an on/off switch and I discovered a whole lot about opposite lock & double de-clutching. It was a black two door (coupé) with a red interior. In hindsight, the gear-change & steering were incredibly light & direct. It wasn't fast.

[captain_70s]

I reckon a car with such good parts availability will be a nice change from you usual cars with numerous NLA bits putting them off the road for long periods of time. Plus a massive supply of scruffy but usable parts second hand.

The fact there are billions left means low values as well. Although a lot them have been patched to buggery as they rot like mad. It'd be easy to accidentally buy one held together with pigeon shit and underseal.

[SiC]

4 hours ago, Mally said:

Bigger fronts or disc conversion is the way to go.

Iirc different ages had different setups. Esm Morris minor do front disc conversions too. Later Drum setup is enough for stock engines though. 

That master cylinder though...

Issigonisis folly certainly is accurate.

[SiC]

Don't forget that rotten ones are so cheap that it would be possible to buy a complete spare car for parts. Providing you have the room to store/strip it down. 

[vulgalour]

42 minutes ago, captain_70s said:

I reckon a car with such good parts availability will be a nice change from you usual cars with numerous NLA bits putting them off the road for long periods of time. It'd be easy to accidentally buy one held together with pigeon shit and underseal.

Very much this.

I'm not going to be naive enough to suppose whatever price point I buy at will mean I don't have to crack out the welder.  Whatever I get is going to need welding, it's a fact of old cars, the key is trying to get something that needs as little welding as possible so I can nip it in the bud.

Getting a spares car isn't something I want to have to do either.  Been there, done that, and honestly it's a ballache if you haven't got land or indoor storage.  A huge appeal of the Minor is that I don't need a spares car, I can just buy anything from a full wing to a bolt because somebody somewhere will have it and it won't cost a fortune.

[High Jetter]

Minor, safe? Princess brave? Reading with interest.

[vulgalour]

In my trawlings I found this very useful series.

It's exactly what I plan to do, and shows the very real pitfalls and how easy a lot of things are to sort out.  Well, maybe not exactly what I plan to do, I hope to get a car with less rot and expanding foam in the structural elements.  A decent little series to binge watch and get up to speed on using a Minor daily in the modern world.

 

[Matty]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374187777812?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=krq1bwfiqqq&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=svwv9r4orxa&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[vulgalour]

I really don't want a mobile cottage.  However, I do like what they've done with the front seats in that one.

I do rather like this one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165598766097

Trim and colour combo is very appealing, it's nicely worn in all over.  Been untaxed (not sorned) for a couple of decades though so who knows what it's like underneath.  Pictures of the usual rot spots are conspicuous by their absence.

[jonathan_dyane]

Looks nice but looks like trouble.

A newer model that hasn't been festering for 20 years probably less problematic 

[vulgalour]

Oh yeah, I agree.  I should clarify that while it looks nice, it's not what I'm after.  I need something that's not really been off the road for a significant period and has instead been used and cared for so I can just get in and use it no bother.  A bit like the Maestro was when I first got it.

[warren t claim]

For some bizarre reason for too complicated to explain here I ran a 1969 Traveller as some sort of company car back in 1998. They're actually OK to drive if you can cope the non synchro 1st. They do handle surprisingly well and can keep up with modern traffic. Brakes can be iffy and are a twat to bleed. 

[vulgalour]

The galaxy sized spheroids of whoever was piloting that Minor.  It always amazes me when I see that video pop up, it's just insane.  There's desperate, and there's successfully getting away from the police in a bright red Morris Minor with L plates desperate.

[Mally]

I've had a few Travellers. Need to watch the condition of the wood.

They really are a useful tool. The Saloon boot is woeful.

 

[ETCHY]

Don't forget though the backrest of the saloon back seat folds forward so makes boot bigger.

Clever trick for a car of that age.

[Back_For_More]

I've always gravitated to getting a traveller.... Just never had the cojones to hand over the folding. 

It's on the list - my woodworking skills have improved in the meantime 😁

 

[Mally]

https://www.morrisminorspares.com/body-inc-panels-trim-c21/traveller-parts-c34/traveller-replacement-external-wood-kit-late-type-double-lamp-hole-wood-only-assembled-p1238914

Not too expensive, but I don't fancy doing the job.

[vulgalour]

I still really don't want a cottage.  The whole point of this exercise is to get something that doesn't need weird maintenance things.  Greasing kingpins is one thing, replacing structrual beams on your daily is quite another.  Remember also it will be living outdoors, that won't do a cottage any favours at all.

[Dick Longbridge]

5 hours ago, ETCHY said:

Don't forget though the backrest of the saloon back seat folds forward so makes boot bigger.

Clever trick for a car of that age.

Eh? I don't remember that? 

[ETCHY]

21 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Eh? I don't remember that? 

Yep it does. The Minor saloon has an open bulkhead at the back with no cross bracing.  There's a lift the dot type fastener/ clip on back of seat accessible from the boot . Backrest then flops forward. It aint totally flat but you can load through.

[vulgalour]

I was very happy to learn about this Minor function when trawling info and videos, makes it a very practical little car.  A roof rack and towbar for a little plywood bodied trailer completes the set really.  I doubt I'll ever have back seat passengers, I don't have that many friends.

[Matty]

@vulgalour this belongs to a fella in the owners club. Really nice man. Uses it very regularly over decent distances. Seems a very good but usable example. Very similar to a minor (although obvs isn't if you've set your heart at a minor) and the spares backup through the club is excellent. Very realistic dailies IMHO. Minus points for the restrictive boot opening if you want to carry large objects though.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115483085005?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=3ioL-casRUm&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=svwv9r4orxa&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[martc]

On 7/30/2022 at 5:37 PM, vulgalour said:

I was very happy to learn about this Minor function when trawling info and videos, makes it a very practical little car.  A roof rack and towbar for a little plywood bodied trailer completes the set really.  I doubt I'll ever have back seat passengers, I don't have that many friends.

For full authenticity your plywood trailer needs to have Ford Pop (or similar miserable '50's horror) wheels and axle, I can't remember the last time I saw one of them... Or this...