Minor or Beetle?

Post by **stuart_k** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 9:36 am

They both have appeal. I think it is the curves of the bodywork that I like. The Beetle especially when lowered and with a 1600 engine is a blast to drive. We had great fun in ours and there is no shortage of shows and meets. There are some superb examples on the circuit including Rich's. But I prefer my slippers these days and we don't really fit into the VW scene as such which seems to thrive on booze and loud music so we have drifted towards Moggies and the quieter life.

Now where did I put my flat cap and pipe?

Post by **Blaketon** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 9:51 am

stuart_k wrote:But I prefer my slippers these days and we don't really fit into the VW scene as such which seems to thrive on booze and loud music so we have drifted towards Moggies and the quieter life.

Not forgetting the Midget scene by the looks of it (Snap). I don't know why the VW scene should be that way. Beetles usually appealed to "Steady" types, who wanted a well built, durable and reliable car. It was never an exhibitionists car.

Post by **Kevin** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 12:17 pm

[quote="Blaketon Beetles usually appealed to "Steady" types, who wanted a well built, durable and reliable car. It was never an exhibitionists car.[/quote]

Until the Surfers discovered them, and the creation of the Beach Buggy

Post by **bigjohn** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 2:52 pm

hi hope santa brings me a belated mot for myrtle

Post by **jlc** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 9:51 pm

I am glad to see this thread. I am a current beetle owner 72 (standard beetle) and just traded a friend of mine for his 1959 Minor 1000. Both cars are in great shape. I use the 72 as a daily driver and plan to do the same with the Minor. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.. I will post pics as soon as I get it....

I can agree that working on the VW can be interesting. I built a new 1600cc motor this summer for my VW. I am hoping that I will be able to handle twisting the spanners on the 948. Again I hope that I will concur with all the folks here that I made the better trade.... guess time will tell...

Post by **rsawatson** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 10:30 pm

My friend owns a Beetle and they're great fun to drive, in a similar way to the Minor. However, the biggest problem in my view is the air cooled system - you run the serious risk of overheating in a traffic jam!

What's more, the floor pedals are not in line with driver's seat - and the clutch and brake pedals come out so far it practically stops you from driving with your foot covering the clutch/brake pedal.

However, I suppose it's all part of the fun. Of course though, I would vote in favour of a Minor - conventional drive, all British, national icon, easy to work on, fantastic noise from gearbox - all of which are not present in the Beetle!

Post by **timmo** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 8:45 am

[quote="rsawatson"]My friend owns a Beetle and they're great fun to drive, in a similar way to the Minor. However, the biggest problem in my view is the air cooled system - you run the serious risk of overheating in a traffic jam!quote]

They dont overheat when in a trafficjam as they run cooler!

You cant let a aircooled vw engine warm up when you 1st start it in the morning by just sitting there with the engine running, you have to start and drive away

Post by **RogerRust** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:22 am

I hope to get my son a Beetle to rebuild in the spring. I'll do the mechanicals he can do the paint. Can you cut the roof off a Beetle to make it convertible?

I'm going to teach myself to weld on it!!

And my daughter wants a classic when see moves to Manchester later this year. - At the moment she wants a Spitfire but hey ho never mind.

Post by **carlosramalho** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:33 am

Hi Roger
I loved your foot message " This message board is like a family-you can't choose the other members!! But remeber engine oil is thicker than water."
This really true!!
Merry Xmas to you and family!!
Cheers
carlos

Post by **Dean** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 11:45 am

I'm encouraged by the mutual respect towards a fellow popular classic motor.

After seeing Mini's burnt out at beetle bashes in the late eighties and vice versa... I wonder if they have made amends!

Post by **StaffsMoggie** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 1:34 pm

RogerRust wrote:I hope to get my son a Beetle to rebuild in the spring. I'll do the mechanicals he can do the paint. Can you cut the roof off a Beetle to make it convertible?

I'm going to teach myself to weld on it!!

And my daughter wants a classic when see moves to Manchester later this year. - At the moment she wants a Spitfire but hey ho never mind.

Spitfires are great! In good condition they are just as cheap to run as a Moggie, plus they are good fun and the best of the Triumphs. My mates daughter has just swapped hers for a GT6 and shes only 19....

MG Midgets are just as good, its just a shame they never got the overdrive.

As for learning to weld, you will get plenty of practice on a rough Beetle! Those heater channels and roof gutters are a sod to get right...

Post by **Blaketon** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 1:55 pm

StaffsMoggie wrote: MG Midgets are just as good, its just a shame they never got the overdrive.

The 1500 can be converted to take the overdrive box (I did mine) and there was even a kit. A Series Midgets can now have Ford 5 speeds and they have shorted the remote, so you don't need to sit in the boot to change gear.

Post by **StaffsMoggie** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 2:04 pm

Yes Ive seen a couple of Midgets with the Spitfire O/D box conversion, It must make quite a difference to the car. Ford T9 boxes are becoming very popular in MGBs too, but I prefer overdrives.

Post by **Blaketon** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 2:43 pm

It makes a big difference. I remember thinking, when I first had the car, that fitting a Spitfire box (To the Spitfire engine) must be possible. I can also remember going to change up when I was already in top (I was somewhere near Tewkesbury). By this time, I knew that the job was going to involve a lot of work but I remember thinking "I've got to to do it". The standard car will pull 6000 in top, so my modified engine cries out for overdrive. My car has an earlier 3.9 CWP, which I fitted when I was hillclimbing it but I still have the original 3.7 CWP, which I have half a mind to refit (Its loose however and would need assembling to my diff).

I prefer the (More positive) Spitfire box to the Ford box in my Traveller and if I had more time to fiddle with it, I think I'd try to fit my spare Spitfire box to the Traveller (And then seek out another spare Spitfire box

). Suffice to say, I wouldn't swap the overdrive box in an MGB for a Ford 5 Speed. Indeed my MGV8 only has a Rover SD1 5 speed because the standard MGC derived box is too weak (Shame as it was a nice box to use).

Post by **StaffsMoggie** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 3:13 pm

Even the MG owners club are selling Ford box conversions for MGAs and Bs, surprising really as the original boxes are much nicer to use. The gearchange in a B is superb. I have seen a Minor with the Triumph overdrive box, it also had a Marina 1275 engine and went very well, the owner told me he had to modify the gearbox cover to clear the overdrive and the box came out of a 1500 Dolomite.

A BGT V8 eh? My dream car that! Enjoy....

Post by **Blaketon** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 2:06 pm

It's funny how these topics can develop (From Minors and Beetles to MGs…..still MG stands for Morris Garages

).

A friend of mine has a Spitfire box and bell housing and a 1275 Midget (That has now been in bits for many years) and we have surmised that since the Spitfire box is very similar to the BL single rail box (My original bell housing fitted the new box), found in the Marina and the Midget 1500, that fitting a Marina backplate to his Midget engine would enable the overdrive conversion to be fitted to his (Or more accurately his wife’s) 1275 Midget. The starter motor would end up on the left, as found in the 1500 but the project is still some way off, so I don’t know how it will work out.

My concern, with the Minor, was the proximity of the steering rack (The Spitfire bell housing is bulkier), plus there was the fact that the five speed conversion was available. Modifying the Minor gearbox cover would be easier than modifying the tunnel and cross member in the Midget, so if the bell housing can be made to fit, the conversion sounds very doable. Whether I’ll ever make the effort, now that I have the five speed box (Plus numerous other irons in the fire and too little time to see to them), remains to be seen but I have to say I prefer the box in my Midget to the Ford box. If the owner of the Minor in question is reading this, why not send details into Minor Matters; it would make a great article.

The MGB GT V8 is a very good car. It was rushed into production, so there were one of two weaknesses but these can be overcome (Mine has had these ironed out and also benefits from another 30 bhp, courtesy of a Holley 4 barrel carb, though there is potential for more). It’s certainly a cheap way into Rover V8 sports car motoring, though prices have gone up of late. My car was my father’s (He decided he wanted something smaller and now has a 1275 Midget) and he bought it from the original owner in 1985, with 32000 on the clock (He had bought a new one in 1974 but it was sold because I outgrew the back seat, although I didn’t mind crouching). At the time V8s were worth more than MGCs but that seemed to change and for a long time MGCs have been worth more than V8s. Whilst the C has the advantage of being available (Ex works) as an open car, I must say I cannot see any reason for the C to be worth more. The Austin 3 Litre engine wasn’t one of BMC’s best efforts and the C does have handling problems. Perhaps to the traditionalist C driver of 2009, a tendency to understeer and inferior performance is a price worth paying for an inline six. Perhaps it has been helped up in value by it predecessor, the Austin Healey 3000.

What would be my dream car right now? Barring things like T35 Bugattis (Just seem one auctioned for £2.5 Million

), something VSCC eligible; something like a pre war MG Midget (I very much like the M Type), pre war Morgan 4/4 or an Austin 7 Ulster. However, since time, money and space are not available for such a dream to materialise (And I don't wish to sell what I have), it'll have to remain a dream, at least in the short term.

Post by **Cam** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 1:24 pm

Well, we watched a few 'Herbie' films back to back over Christmas (sad to admit but I do like them) and I got very nostalgic towards the Beetle.

Which...

Lasted all of about 5 seconds until I looked through the kitchen window at Gracie!

I do like Beetles but much prefer Minors.

I totally agree about the 'scene' though. Sometimes difficult to find a club to fit in with. Which is why I left the Mini club as it seemed to involve copius amounts of alcohol, loud music and churning up fields.

Post by **rich-legg** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 6:15 pm

rsawatson wrote:My friend owns a Beetle and they're great fun to drive, in a similar way to the Minor. However, the biggest problem in my view is the air cooled system - you run the serious risk of overheating in a traffic jam!

What's more, the floor pedals are not in line with driver's seat - and the clutch and brake pedals come out so far it practically stops you from driving with your foot covering the clutch/brake pedal.

However, I suppose it's all part of the fun. Of course though, I would vote in favour of a Minor - conventional drive, all British, national icon, easy to work on, fantastic noise from gearbox - all of which are not present in the Beetle!

I've never heared of a beetle overheating in a traffic jam, and I've sat in plenty in a VW.

The issue you mention about the pedals are because they were originaly designed as LHD - which are more comftable to drive than RHD. But the brake & clutch pedal coming out so far sounds like an adustemnt issue to me.

The other things are all dependent on what year/model you compair.

RogerRust wrote:Can you cut the roof off a Beetle to make it convertible?

No, the windscreen surround is compleetle different, as well as the rear scuttle, and you will have to fit in loads of stenghening panels. Best to buy a convertable in the first place

Post by **britany** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 9:45 pm

Hello all
A beetle overheating in a traffic jam ? never seen

I do like "coccinelle" (beetle's name in France)
I do like moggies
So we own both<br>

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Post by **timmo** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 8:48 am

I miss my Eriba Puck!!

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