1965 british racing green minor 1000 resto begins ..

[chanyboi]

Brief: The car has been sitting on my uncles drives for 10 years now, and it was given to me last year. I never had the chance to get my hands on it due to building up a crazy jap car.

The time has come!

Progress:
I went down to see PSL, from this forum, to collect some new wheels just this friday, and after having a good chat with Rich for a few hours, i just wanted to start official work on the car to get it running again ASAP.

This will be my official log for work i've done on the moggy. Which i hope will help other too.

I will update the parts bought, and if you guys want me to put an approx price i paid for it, i can do to help others if they are in the same situation.

PART BOUGHT:
Wheels and tyres
Service kit (filters spark plugs etc. )

Today after checking the cars throttle links and bascially everything that moves, i managed to not only get the engine to tick over but the starter motor working too.
So now after 3 hours work i have:

-put new wheels and tyres all road,
-checked the majority of the moving parts in the engine bay,
-check the carb (which the dip stick at the top is slightly bent, therefore showing its a bit messed up and needs stripping down or replacing. )
-checked the headlights all work, which they do
- had a brief look around the chassis, noting down anything that need looking at or replacing.

Pics to come, as pics tell a thousand words.

[bmcecosse]

Well - you now have a Workshop Manual to guide you! Contact MOSS for a free copy of their parts book - it's very useful to show how assemblies go together! But you may buy the parts cheaper elsewhere - always worth comparing before buying.

[alanworland]

Mine was given to me by my uncle! Good luck! You will get plenty of comments once the photos start coming!

[chanyboi]

Well - you now have a Workshop Manual to guide you! Contact MOSS for a free copy of their parts book - it's very useful to show how assemblies go together! But you may buy the parts cheaper elsewhere - always worth comparing before buying.

thanks.. moss is indeed a very useful guide thanks again for all your help.

the pictures crashed on me the other night. so will try again tonight to upload some pics of my moggie.

[chanyboi]

Mine was given to me by my uncle! Good luck! You will get plenty of comments once the photos start coming!

I hope mine will look as good as yours once its done.. give it 6 months -1 year =D

[chanyboi]

'When i first looked at it'.. check the silver cover... guess it cudnt handle 10 years easily LOL
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Some rust here and there
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Check the engine bay out. Its got a nest of dried snails by the battery .. yum
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[chanyboi]

more. haha.. at night with new wheels on.. thanks PSL.. <br><br>

[chanyboi]

with some magic from my other car.. haha.. its got light ... LOL.. <br><br>

[PSL184]

Well good luck mate - looks like you have some fun ahead

[ssnjimb]

looks good chanyboi that original cover did its job and protected the car the best it could. Does not look too bad after 10 years.

How many miles has it covered and what are your plans for it

Jamie

[chanyboi]

looks good chanyboi that original cover did its job and protected the car the best it could. Does not look too bad after 10 years.

How many miles has it covered and what are your plans for it

Jamie

its dont 50,000 miles on the clock with the original engine.
im going to try and keep that engine as it still has compression and its a 1098cc.
So 1st thing to do is get it running on the engine with new carbs etc. while stripping down the sills to see how bad they are.
then once it runs etc.. I can move it around easier as i dont have a trailer, and toe it to my friends garage where i can tip it and sort out the rust on the floor (which doesn't seem to be that bad after looking at it closely).

but then we go on from there.

full respray
2.0l engine ?

we'll see. =P

[chanyboi]

its been a long time since ive worked on the moggy , but bought the second service kit, fan belt and springs and yeserday after 5 hours working on the engine straight i have the engine running,

However, theres white powder in the thermostat area, so im guessing its was one coolant.

Can anyone give me any advice upon getting the thermostat housing off without making a hidious mess??


Anyways, the throttle response of the car is pretty ...errrmm.... special (lagged) .. ah well.. wasnt expecting too much anyways.

Time to get the welding started. =D

[chickenjohn]

You might have to pry the thermostat housing off if the studs are siezed in- and it may be corroded to the studs- this will likely damage the housing. New thermostat housings are available- they are made of alloy so if the car has been standing for a while it may be too corroded to use again. But first try heat and lots of penetrating fluid.

On my Traveller, the studs were replaced with bolts and the housing came off easily when I recently changed the gasket.

The throttle response of a Minor should be good. I would take the SU carb off, strip it down and clean it. The piston may be sticking, ensure there is 20 weight oil in the carb dashpot as well.

[alex_holden]

You might have to pry the thermostat housing off if the studs are siezed in- and it may be corroded to the studs- this will likely damage the housing.

Be very careful if you try this because it's very easy to snap off one of the studs, leaving the end stuck in the cylinder head.

[chanyboi]

i did think about heating the housing but i dont want to 'harden' the head stud and cause it to become more brittle than it is at the moment.

assuming i manage to get the themostat housing off, whats the best way to flush the coolant path through the engine?

[Pyoor_Kate]

The studs on the thermostat housing are often stuck with limescale (yes, really) - and throwing strong limescale remover (we got toilet cleaner) on there for a while will help loosen it more than just penetrating oil.

We found that a few goes with: toilet cleaner, rinse, repeat (a few times), soak in penentrating oil, and we actually got the thermostat cover off in one go - in a condition which meant it could be reused (it'd likely never been taken off the engine in 40 years). Took a lot of patience though...

[swithland]

problem with engines that have been standing a long time is the limescale that builds up in the little holes leading from the block of the engine up through to the head. When I took the head off my moggy, most of the holes were completely blocked. I would recommend taking the head off ( a half hour exercise at most ), clean out all those little holes thoroughly, and then drop the head back on with a new gasket set. That way you know the circulation will be OK and it wont overheat.

If you have trouble with the studs on the thermostat housing, you can drill them out and use a reverse tappet ( quite cheap to buy on ebay ). Then screw in a new stud. The studs are only a couple of quid from ESM. I did something really stupid and overtightened the rear left head nut a few weeks ago when fitting the head. I had just bought a new torque wrench and was not using it properly. Chelsea Supporter like mad and cursed myself for being such an idiot. Fortunately I managed to drill out the stud in the block and use a reverse type tappet to remove it. The new stud went in like a dream. I wont make that mistake again ( famous last words )... but will make plenty of other mistakes !!