Hi Gang --whats your fav ugrade,My latest one is the four Mudflaps that Iput on my Traveller ,They look and work very well keeping the mud and water splashes from under the car.The rear flaps I hung on modified one inch pipe. I Saw a traveller in an old Minor Matters treated in such a way and the final result is fantastic.As to the flaps well--I purchased all four at a car boot last year,They were boxed and in 100% Condition- I think I payed about £5 for the lot.Well no one fits mudflaps these days do they-or do they?Best Regards Bill & Twinkle the Traveller.
I fitted a antiroll bar some two years ago,I purchased it from Mr Grumpy,I had to many close shaves with the old girl on tight bends,Its the best mod I have done-Well worth the money & only two hours to fit-it bolts straight on so no welding & looks pretty good,The car handles much better and YOU feel in control and not the car. BILL & TWINKLE The Traveller
I second that, fitted the same roll bar, a much more noticeable
improvement that fitting front telescopic dampers! I've now
got the Newton reclining front seats.........bliss
Must agree with Willie re Newton front seats, although the original seats are "adequate" longer journeys are much more relaxing.
I've also been toying with the idea of bolt on anti roll bar.
The ends of the anti-roll bar normally sit in bushes fixed in a bolt on housing which replaces the pin that attaches the front tie-bars to the front wishbone leg. The body of the bar is then attached to the car using brackets welded (or bolted) to the bottoms of the chassis legs.
Some designs may have slightly different mounting points but that is basically the idea.
It does affect the handling characteristics of the car. If you are driving in a straight line with no-side winds then you won't notice it, but if you are going around a tight bend or being blown about on the motorway then it does make a difference.
Actually, I suppose all modifications affect the 'character' of the car by varying amounts, but an anti-roll bar does not affect it that much (unless you like body roll and sway at high speeds and round bends!).
One thing I don't like about them is that they are visable from the front of the car.
electronic ignition - you can keep your 1275 engines, your adjustable dampers and your 5 speed boxes - give something where you dont have adjust the points every 3000 miles.
Hmm... Halogen headlights, I reckon. Those are pretty important, but then there's nothing I have done to Phyllis that I could live without.
Well, I'm sure I could live without them, if I had to, but I wouldn't want to, if that makes sense....
Halogen lights are an easy mod, too - a doddle to fit.
I'm thinking about leccy ignition, but then I'd want someone to come around and adjust my tappets, too...
Happy Minoring!
Phyllis ~ 1962 Morris Minor 4 Door Deluxe
Black coachwork with Red Duo-Tone Upholstery
Most roll bar kits require either some welding or drilling holes
in chassis legs etc. The Mr Grumpy kit bolts to the existing
engine mount points so alters nothing. The roll bar even
has an effect when going in a straight line because should
one wheel hit a bad bump or pothole the bar dampens down
the reaction. I agree that you can see it from the front but
painting it matt black makes it unobtrusive.
Yes, good point Willie. Although the pothole 'bounce' at the front is not that bad compared to the rear!. We could do with better damping at the rear as the standard shockers are painfully under-effective if you go over a pothole with your rear wheels, which is where the rear telescopics come in!
Decent tires. Having just changed from cross ply to radial tires the handing has been transformed. The car is more sure footed a lot of the skip and bounce has disappeared and the car now breaks with a lot more grip.
Where have you been James?? it is repeatedly stated on this
site that the most effective single upgrade for the Minor is to
fit radial ply tyres. As you have discovered it transforms the
car.
Yes I know it's been stated before that radial tyres offer advantages over cross plys. But for me it's the one that has made all the difference. Before fitting radials I was convinced that one of the back shocks was going to need replacing. The car would regularly brake away at the back especially when it was wet. The car is now more sure footed and hold the road far better and braking efficence has improved.
As with all upgrades it does matter how many time someone tell you how good it is, its not till you try it yourself do you discover how right they where.
Back in the 80's my mums Minor had a replacement tyre fitted by a garage who assumed it was driving around on a set of crossplys. The combination of 3 radials and one crossply on the back made for some very interesting handling - especially on roundabouts as you swapped from left to right lock.
Older and more confused than I could ever imagine possible.