Mods as a 17 year old...?

[Will_van_Es]

Ever since my dad got his K-Series Traveller i've always wanted something similar for myself as my first car.

I think i've settled on the basic details, late 2 dr Saloon (sorta '67 onwards) in Snowberry White or Trafalgar Blue, but now i'm starting to wonder what mods i'll be able to install without raising the Insurance Premium too much, or maybe even making the car uninsurable for me!

I'm thinking 1275 with Sierra 5-speed will be the route to go, but i'm not sure whether a 1360 or 1380 would be better or whether they'd raise the Premium too much...

I'd obviously uprate the suspension front and rear to Spax or something similar, fit discs to the front and a different rear axle at the back.

I want the car to handle nicely though; are there any LSD set-ups that are not stupidly expensive that i could install? Also fitting torsions bars might be a plan.

I'd kinda like to hear from anyone who has a modified A series, and what mods they have, and what mods they'd like if the had the choice, and also how much the Insurance is if you're 17.

I don't have an unlimited pile of money, but i am willing to spend a reasonable amount on the car, and i want to get it right first time.

Johnathan, could you PM me with anything you'd suggest, as i'd most likely buy some parts off you if i needed to.

Regards Will. (and by the way, i'm only 15 and a half at the moment, so i have a little while to build it yet.)

[bmcecosse]

Unlikely you will get insurance with just about ANY of the mods you suggest! Start with a standard 1098 car - and build up a bit of No Claims Bonus!

[hotrodder13]

im 17 got a standard moggy and my insurance is 600 third party fire and theft. could of payed 900 for fully comp. it didnt change when i told them i had disk brakes but they said it would go up a lot if i put my 1340 cc in it. make sure you join the club and use footman james
before that my cheapest quote was £2500 from lv which is a bit expensive

[Will_van_Es]

Bmc - Considering PSL uprated one of his cars to a 1275 with no insurance increase, i was hoping it'd be the same for a teenager.

I love the character the Morris has, but i wouldn't be able to cope with the slow and old fashionedness.

I'm a racing driver you see? ;)

[PSL184]

As above - NO MODS untill you are 25 and still have a clean licence ;-) By the way - even a mildly tuned 1275 won't warrant thousands spent on chassis mods - I'd save that for the time you fit a 200 bhp monster !!!

[MColes]

I'm sure that Andy (Sidney61) has a 1275 engine with a 5 speed box in his car. Might be worth sending him a PM and asking how much he pays as he is 17/18 I think ;)

[Will_van_Es]

Thing is, i want the car to be ready to take a more powerful engine later on in life when i'll be able to insure the damn thing!

And doing the chassis mods in the first place seems like the right thing to do to me, even if i keep the 1098 in it. I want the car to be ready to drive for when i'm 17 really, and i don't really want to be driving a standard car...

I don't really see the problem with the 1275, as most moderns are 1.3+, and have more BHP anyways.

I suppose the answer is to call the Insurance company and ask, eh?

[PSL184]

As you say, my insurance didn't go up, but then I am over the "40" hill and insurance is cheap for me on most cars. A call to the insurance will confirm it for sure and as suggested, send Andy a pm and see what he is paying....

[MColes]

I had a quote the other week for a Peugeot 106, 1.2 engine. I'm 20 with 1 years no claims and no one could give me a quote less than £2000!!!

I'd stick with the standard car personally. I have a 948cc engine in mine and (when it's working ) I have no problems keeping up with traffic around town, yes on motorways it takes a bit longer to get upto speed but why rush? Enjoy the drive

[PSL184]

Don't forget we are talking to the next Lewis Hamilton here ;-)

[MColes]

Who needs an F1 car?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooBJ2Z2sZvo

[jonathon]

Hi Will, cart looks great , how's your season gone.
Hope NNA is behaving itself.
I'd be tempted as others have said , to contact a selection of insurers and ask them if the premium would escalate if you just fit safety modifications, ie better brakes and suspension, maybe wheels.
I'd stay std spec engine wise for a year or two once you are legally on the road. I'm sure that your driving skills will make the best of the uprated items listed above, then move up a notch, insurance and wallet permitting to the engine of your choice.

[charlie_morris_minor]

when i was modifying my saloon ok i was 25 at the time.. doing suspension and brakes mods were fine and did not increase my insurance premiums. However when i fitted metro seats my premium went up! When i asked about all the other mods and why they had not increased my premium the line was that they improved handling / safety where as the seats made people aware that the car was modified.. I remeber think that average scum bag would not realise they were not moggy seats and if they did, they would probably still go onto the next car..

so yes some mods can be done without affecting your premium whilst others will.. or at least that was the case 15+ years ago

[Will_van_Es]

Hi Jonathan, season didn't go too badly thanks! It was my first seson racing at national level, and we finished 4th in the championship (1st of the 'newbies' (in the same class Jenson Button, David Coulthard etc used to race!) which wasn't too bad for our first year. ;)

NNA is going great, it's recently had the clutch replaced as it started slipping, and you cannot beat the feeling of accelerating from low revs to the rev limiter in 2nd gear, it's just wicked

I think i'll contact some insurers soon to find out what the score really is, and if the Premium seriously increases or they won't even think about insuring me on a 1275 i'll just have to stick with the 1098 for a few years, then have a think about what engine to install next.

On a 1098 what carb, head, manifold etc would be best to use to utilise as much performance as possible?

Cheers again guys.

[bmcecosse]

Hate to say it (on here) - but you may do better to look at a Mini - since all the later ones came with a 1275 engine - young drivers are rather better tolerated with that engine by the Insurance Cos!
It also handles more like a kart!

[hotrodder13]

a moggy with a 1098cc is good at 0-30. sounds the part standard and does well round corners with good suspension and new tyres. just not that good on motorway

[Sidney'61]

Hi Will,
I was 17 when I started driving my 1275, it has a 5-speed type 9 box, spax suspension, metro seats, minilite alloys, the insurance company know about all of it.
I'm with Footman James paying £960 fully comp as main driver (still a lot cheaper than most 17 year olds pay for modern cars 3rd party)

There is a 4500 mile limit on mine but as I'm away from home without the car for half of the year it doesn't matter too much to me!

Of course where you live and where the car is parked will affect the cost quite a lot, my car is parked on a driveway in a fairly good area so I'm ok but if you're parking on the road in an area with a dodgy postcode that can seen as a good excuse for the price to rocket!

As others have said though a standard minor will still work fine for daily use, a 1098 engine is perfectly adequate around town.

[Will_van_Es]

Cheers Andy, that's nice information to have. Thank you

Bmc, i've thought about plenty of other cars (Mini, Escort MK2, VW Lupo etc) but i've always come back to the idea of the Minor. I don't know what it is, but I just find the idea of owning one a lot more attractive than any of the other suggested cars.

Besides, i'm already over 6ft, so fitting in an original Mini might be a bit of a squeeze! ;)

Thanks for all the help, i'm sure i'll be back sometime in the future to ask some more in-depth questions.

[bmcecosse]

Plenty room in a Mini - I too am over 6ft! Just fit a decent seat. But Minors are fine - I rallied one for quite a while - until it finally sunk in that is was just TOO heavy to compete against Minis - and so I went in that direction, having one for Off Road events, one for Rallies - and one for a road/tow car!

[lukedauvergne]

my morris was my first car when i turned 17 948cc 950poundas my everyday car doin 3000 miles limited miles but still rear wheel drive and crossply tyres it still went sideways and you look like a bad boy rockin up infront of a load of boy racers in a 50 year old car driftin around a car park.