Morris Minor Owners Club

Just a little update from AC Dodd about my engine (and the effect of drilling the airbox) "Firstly drilling the airbox does not destroy low end torque. It reduces it and by a very small amount. What does kill low speed torque is insufficient ignition timing cause by incorrect advance curve whic...

AC did drill my airbox. Which was totally my decision. It's essentially free power and he did match the fuelling to meet the extra air flow. It's makes a bit more noise but I like that and when you put your foot down it has a nice growl 👹I believe this is what has given it the extra 'go' at the top...

AC did drill my airbox. Which was totally my decision. It's essentially free power and he did match the fuelling to meet the extra air flow. It's makes a bit more noise but I like that and when you put your foot down it has a nice growl 👹I believe this is what has given it the extra 'go' at the top ...

Somebody on Minors on Tour was telling me they were very pleased with AC Dodd's work. Although I don't have his expertise, I can tune my car quite well in terms of getting the fuel mixture right at idle and the ignition timing. The advance curve is what Distributor Doctor determined for my engine. ...

Old thread, I know My Minor didn't particularly like going over 50 until I had it tuned by AC Dodd last weekend He said the advance curve way far too weak and it needed a new distributor and the carb was heavily worn But working with what he had and new service items it runs very smoothly and flows ...

I'll definitely keep them. It's nice that they still work so can be put on for that authentic appearance at shows and things

Thanks for the info!

svenedin wrote: ↑Wed Jun 10, 2026 7:16 am

What year is your car?

Stephen

It's 1965

The car is getting tuned this weekend (by AC Dodd) so will likely be replacing the leads but i will keep them as part of the car's history

i have cleaned the engine bay since this picture but it is the one which shows the leads best. Look pretty old, don't they? They were on the car when i bought it a year ago and seemingly work fine (car runs great)

Could they be original?

Although you've only had the car garaged for a year, who knows what condition the brakes were in prior to that. It hasn't been MOT'd for nearly 9 years, so quite likely has not been regularly maintained for some time? You've made a good start at the rear but have you checked all the front cylinders...

Excellent news, and thanks for the update; it's always good to hear the final solution. To avoid cylinders seizing in future, the best solution is regular use. If you do need to park up for an extended period, then leave the handbrake OFF and secure the car by leaving in gear, chocking wheels etc. ...

Thanks

Problem is somewhat fixed. Rear cylinders replaced and all brakes bled Pedal is a lot more progressive and it stops sharper. It could do with another round of bleeding as they take a little pumping and the pedal can go all the way to the floor sometimes. So obviously not really sorted but it's bette...

Cool. Thank you

Yes i removed it completely. We'll get it sorted i'm sure

Yes i'm confused by what i thought was front and rear locking up. That was after i had been driving quite a bit and maybe with longer use the rear start to work a little. I'm not sure. even though it's £50 i'd rather not spend i think i'm doing the right thing replacing the cylinders Any thoughts on...

Sorry, do you mean that when it's fitted it needs to slide up and down? I've seen people putting copper grease behind the cylinder on the backplate presumably to help with that?

I progressed a little. Got the car off the ground and placed a piece of wood between the seat and brake pedal The fronts locked up but the rears didn't. They still ran free. The handbrake works well btw (i don't yet know how the handbrake interacts with the cylinder meaning you can have seized cylin...

Thank you!

Just jacking the car up now so can test the nipples and see if I can some flow to come to through

I'm with the car now. Before moving onto the brakes themselves I thought I would upload to these two videos What I think they show is that the pedals aren't seized and move independently of each other. Also the brake pedal seems to return ok. They also show how much depression of the pedal I am achi...

Thanks I am coming from a modern car but my first Mini had drum brakes and i'm pretty sure it stopped better than this. I think part of the symptoms are the pedal doesn't modulate. Even though i'm pressing very hard it doesn't seem to increase the braking The pedal moves back freely and the clutch p...