Very Long but after some V big needy advice

[luflorence]

Hi there,

My boyf's grandad has kindly given me his Morris Minor to keep although the one mishap we have is that its been sitting in his garage for 15 years (never been started) since the day his wife stopped using it.
I have spoken with my Mechanic who agreed to have the car towed out and taken to his garage to have it looked over hence this was back in July.
But unfortunately there was a slight lack of communication and we never managed to get the car out due to Keith (boyf's grandad) leaving 3 cars on his drive and going on holiday.
It has now come to his attention to have another try but with alot more negative thoughts on the whole thing.

1) Why does a girl of 25 want to go to all this trouble to have a Morris Minor
2) Costly

My mechanic has also said the oil will be a very big job as it will have turned to treacle etc - how difficult could it be to restore all of this and find different parts?

Originally he agreed to take the car apart and have a look over it but he has now said he doesn't have the time and will have to pass to a classic car engineer whom will sort it out for me, but has told my Dad it could cost up to 1,000 in repairs and for the car to be stored in the garage while he is restoring it, which could work out to be alot more then orginially expected and not guaranteed that the car will be 100% once i start driving it due to break downs etc...

I desperately need some advice on what to do, not sure whether to take the gamble and go ahead with it or to completely forget about the whole idea and move on to a more modern car - even though I want the car very badly and have a lack of funds to repair it initially but can do gradually.
Wld anyone say its a real no go area especially if its been sitting in a garage for 15 years. Although the car itself has been kept in the garage with a dust sheet had a rust seal put around it and was the last one ever to be made in 1974 ( I could find a few advantages).
I personally think my mechanic is trying to throw the worse possible scenerios at me alongside my dad who is completely against the whole idea!

Please help!

Lucy.

[alex_holden]

Have you read the responses you got the first two times you asked about this car?
http://www.morrisminoroc.co.uk/index.ph ... ic&t=12473
http://www.morrisminoroc.co.uk/index.ph ... ic&t=11316

I doubt the oil will have "turned to treacle" after 15 years. As I said before you may have problems with the petrol in the tank having gone hard and blocked the fuel pickup pipe, but that's not a huge job to fix. In fact if it was in working order when it was first garaged I wouldn't be surprised if there's nothing wrong with the engine and transmission.

How much it will cost to get it on the road again mainly depends on what condition the structural bodywork is in. If it needs a lot of welding the cost adds up fast. It sounds like you could do with an expert to come out and check the car over carefully with you. Where is it? Maybe somebody on here could come and look at it?

[chickenjohn]

The very best thing you can do if you're keen on Morris Minors (sounds like you are! ) is to join your local branch, get to know a few people and persuade someone local to you in the club who really knows Minors (preferable has restored a few themselves) to go and have a look at your car and assess its condition.

[bmcecosse]

The mechanical parts are irrelevant - they can all be fixed very easily and very cheaply compared to modern car standards. It's all about the body condition - was this a nice dry garage attached to a house - or a drafty wooden shed in the garden ? One fair way to estimate the state of the car would be to get an AA inspection done. Or - ifr you tell us hwere you are - someone nearby might be willing to pop round and have a look for you. It will definitely need 5 new tyres and a new battery - and a new exhaust system - and a complete brake overhaul. The engine will need careful reviving - DO NOT just try to start it up! The oil should be drained and refilled with new and a new filter - and some oil poured down the bores - and the engine carefully turned over by hand to check it's not seized. Then crank it up until the oil pressure light goes out before any attempt at starting it. The water will need draining and all new hoses fitted - and a new fan belt. The ignition will all need renewing - points/condenser/rotor arm/dizzy cap/HT leads and plugs !! The clutch will almost certainly have stuck to the flywheel and the fuel pump will need the points sorting too. But if the bodyshell is in good order - all this is well worth doing. If it is DIY it would cost about £300 for the parts. If you have to pay someone to do it - then it will be double - and that's assuming NO bodywork repairs - just cleaning. It's a long shot - but it's worth getting the car properly surveyed. Minors were not made after 1972 in the UK - the last ones were all Travellers.

[luflorence]

Thank you for that, so minus the body work do you think about £300 you have to consider i have no idea on morris's and my dad is talking like he knows everything about them, he is saying the car will need be lined etc...
I just dont want to give up until I know its def a no go and needs ALOT of work, my friend's dad has offered to come down to take a look as he knows quite alot about morris minors and owns a morris traveller so he is prob quite up on all this?
But mainly do u think about £300 for an overhaul of the engine, I guess it all depends ay?

[alex_holden]

I think BMC's £300 figure is the cost of a set of new tyres, new battery, new exhaust (though it may not need one), parts to overhaul the brakes, and the oil etc. to service the engine. If you're not up to doing the work yourself there's the cost of labour to consider too.

Any welding that needs doing to make it roadworthy would be extra.

[luflorence]

Thank you all so much for your help. The car is stored in a brick garage next to his house with a cover over it so i am hoping it isn't as bad condition as my mechanic is making out, the car is based in Loughton so do you think there are many Morris Minor mechanics that maybe able to help. I have no idea where to even look for something like this? And if I did want to go elsewhere for quotes who would i contact?

[alex_holden]

It appears this is your nearest branch:

6. NORTH LONDON & MIDDLESEX
Meeting Day/Time: 2nd Thursday, 7.30 pm.
Location: Whitewebbs Motor Museum, Whitewebbs Road, Enfield.

Area Liaison Officers : Mark Saunders markmarksaunders@ntlworld.com (01582 515251) and Pete Bell pjbell2@aol.com (01582 482898)

They should be able to help you with details of local traders, and may well have somebody who can come and look at the car and advise you on what needs doing.

[luflorence]

Thank you very much for that.

Lucy

[bmcecosse]

Yes - the £300 is just to purchase the simple bits that will NEED to be renewed after 15 years of rest. Not including an 'engine overhaul' !! Friend's Dad with traveller is far and away your best bet - and then introduce him to this web site! Take some pics and put them up here for us to share the fun !

[bigginger]

the last ones were all Travellers.

Or LCVs

[dp]

Lucy,

If you get stuck for someone to look over it, PM me. I live near Loughton.

As has already been said, there will be a significant difference in cost if you are prepared to learn and do the maintenance yourselves compared to paying someone. In contrast to a modern car it will need regular care and maintenance anyway - not because it's worn out but because it was designed that way. I.e. it was not designed to have a finite life and be thrown away but to be maintained and repaired indefinately.

The good new is that most of this maintenance is easy, relatively cheap and (some might argue) satisfying to do. There's probably a basic car maintenance course near you and between them the people on this site have probably encountered and dealt with everything that you might come across.

[bmcecosse]

There you go - willing 'volunteer' to eyeball the car for you! Let us all know how it goes.

I thought the LCVs were finished before the Travellers ?

[bigginger]

"Production of the last LCV ended in February 1972, nearly a year after the last Traveller had left the lines" - Morris Minor, Pressnell

[Rasputin]

Yes they left the best `til last!!!!!!!!

[bmcecosse]

Well well well ! Learn something new every day - many thanks.

[salty_monk]

If it really is 1974?? you won't get the tax exemption benefits as that cuts off in 72...

I didn't think any were made that were'nt exempt??

Dan

[bigginger]

AFAIK only one was made after production had ended, from parts. If it's that one, hold on to it - it's a very valuable rarity

[bmcecosse]

It could have lain in dealer's showroom for a while before being registered - but it's the manufactured date that matters for the free tax.