New to Minors

[PaddyD]

Hey everyone!
I'll begin by being honest and admitting, my first and true love lies with Volkswagen. I'm 19 and since my dad mentioned he loved them 10 years ago, I've wanted one. Bay's, Splits, Bugs, they're my thing.
However, a few months ago we had family round and after a few drinks, we got onto a conversation about their favourite cars (my dad and uncles). Morris Minor kept being mentioned along with Morris Oxford and some others.
I'd never heard of them before that point but hit Google and had a look. I was struck by how gorgeous they are.
Long story short, I'm hooked and plan to get one within the coming months as my first car (just passed my test).
A lot of the knowledge from looking at VW's can be used with Minor's, namely Rust, looking at the underside and structure etc.

The main point of this post was to introduce myself, I'm Paddy from Manchester and also to ask a few questions;
Other than a structural aspect, how difficult is it to work on a Minor? Engine/Interior etc. I have no mechanical or even vehicle knowledge but think it's one of those things I should know. I'm tempted in getting a £1/2k minor with a bit of work to do, improve my skills.
Also, I'm tempted in a Convertible, how good are the hoods (leaking etc) and how difficult are they to come by.

Cheers for reading, looking forward to joining the club and speaking with you all soon.
Paddy

[moggyadventurer]

Hi and welcome.

First things first, both moggies and bugs are both excellent classics, though i am sure some will argue to differ on the bug! Anyone who is over 45 and lived in the uk all there life will have a moggy tale to tell. As you have said rust is the main problem, it tends to gather in the four corners of the floor especially, but most repair section are available. Mechanically it is pretty simple to work on. The engine bay could quite easily take an engine twice the size. Parts are mostly cheap when compared to modern stuff and similar to bug costs (see esm or bull motif websites amongst many others of course). If you are happy to spend around 1500, you should get a usable moggy with a good MOT. Its up to you how good you want to make it, I do about 15k a year in mine without very little issues (SPEND ABOUT 150 A YEAR) very reliable, and good fun to drive. I got into moggies through my parents in my teens and have never looked back. Plus as an added bonus they are it the top three greenest cars on the planet.

[PaddyD]

Thanks for the reply.
I'm still contemplating how to go about buying one, getting one with a bit of work as I think if you work on something, you value it more.
Or, given it's my first car and have very limited knowledge of the techie stuff, just spending extra to drive away.
Another plus is I hear the insurance is cheap when you're a member of this club.

All round cool car.

[moggyadventurer]

Hi
Insurance group two in todays terms, hence very cheap. Try to avoid ebay if you can, more cons than pros. The morris minor owners club have advertisements of private cars for sale. Classis car weekly isn't to bad either. I would say stay local if you can - bargain pages, local press etc. My advice is buy the best you can afford. But be aware 2k would buy a very good saloon (not concourse but structure and mechanically sound with good paint), but not so on a convertible of traveller. 1500 should be a drive away, if not its worth 450 tops. The market is flooded with saloons between 1500-2500 so you can be picky, even to colour. Convertibles tend to cost 3k plus for an okay one. However there are convertibles and convertible that have been modified from two door saloons. be careful if a convertible is what you want. My experience of moggies is that the convertible is great in summer but pretty cool in the winters, hence saloon is probably best if you intend to use it regularly all year round. As for the techy stuff, you will learn it very quickly, its pretty simple after a while, and I am no mechanic.

[jonathon]

I'd be tempted to buy the best one that you can afford in excellent roadworthy condition. ( £3-4K).
If you can do this you should be ableto drive it for several years without the need for structural or mechanical work.
A lot of Minor owners buy cheap, (if lucky )this is fine but a large percentage seem to then have their cars off the road for ages due to the anticipated work being beyond their capabilities or wallet.
So I'd buy well and give yourself the best possible chance to see just how good these cars are.
Good luck

[pjh56]

Welcome Paddy
I am a complete novice to any thing mechanical and have always sent my cars to the garage when I have a problem, so I bought myself a minor last September. At the age of 53 armed with all the manuals and help from everybody on here I am restoring it back to tip top condition. Anythings possible.

Good luck and thoroughly enjoy your new classic car experience, as I am.

Peter

[mike.perry]

Buy yourself a genuine BMC Workshop Manual and a selection of Whitworth and A/F spanners and sockets, your metric Beetle tools will not be much use to you.
Start off on the simple servicing and greasing and progress from there. Keep asking questions when you get problems.

[andrew.searston]

ive learnt as ive gone along realy, the only thing that we will take it to a garage for is welding, mot and tyres all the rest you can do your self. so simple. i must admit i do like the beetles.
germany had their beetle
france had their 2cv
and we have our minors
if you think about it their all (the peoples car) but for different countrys

[Kevin]

Welcome Paddy, a good starting point for you may be the local branch who may even know of a suitable car.
MANCHESTER
Meeting Day/Time: 4th Tuesday, 8.00 pm.
Location: The Old Ship Inn, Altrincham Road, Styal, Cheshire.

[patricklambert]

Welcome to the forum! You will find that everyone is so friendly and very willing to help

[PaddyD]

Cheers for all the replies, and Kevin, I may pop along next week. I'm actually in Lancaster the week after as I'm there for Uni, so I'll see if there is closer branch too.

It's good to see that I'm not the only novice attempting to fix up a car, and nice to see there is plenty of support.
Can't wait to get stuck in.

[Kevin]

Just look in the branches list in the menu on the l/hand side, its also useful to put in your whereabouts in your profile so posters know where you are

[PaddyD]

Information added.
Had a look at the list and it says for the Cumbria branch to contact the MMOC, so I'll give them a ring in the morning.

Possibly a silly question but do I need to own a Minor before joining the club or can I join immediately?

[moggyadventurer]

Hi,

you don't need to own a moggy to be a member.

[Kevin]

No need to own a car just an interest in the cars is enough and the branch you pop along to will give you any info you need.

[Blaketon]

There is a thread much along the lines of what you are asking - http://www.morrisminoroc.co.uk/index.ph ... ic&t=29727.

Rather than type out my thoughts again, here they are pasted.

I assume you mean the rear engined Beetle (There is very little, being made today, I would touch).

I'll probably get shot down in flames for saying this but the Beetle was better built and better finished than the Minor (FACT!!) and most other cars for that matter! That said, unless you’re buying an original little used/unused car, the build quality is only as good as the restoration work carried out. The bombproof Beetle was also capable of being driven flat out, for hour after hour, with no ill effects, whereas I would not feel happy driving a standard Minor 1000 endlessly at 75mph.

That’s about it in favour of the Beetle. The layout of the car does not lend itself to good road holding (Where the Minor scores so well) and engine access is dire. You can drop the motor by undoing 4 bolts, plus various connections, though I would say this is a little over the top for routine servicing (This was standard practice in main dealerships) by owner drivers. Again the Minor is an extremely easy car to work on and the inline four OHV engine is (In my opinion) simpler than the twin headed, split crankcase flat four (I can’t speak for the side valve).

Some Beetles had 1600cc engines and front disc brakes (Even strut front suspension) but there are now plenty of Minors with 1275 engines (Equally as powerful at the 1600 VW engine) and front disc brakes.

The Minor is more economical than the Beetle.

The Minor has the advantage of being available as an estate and a van/pick up. The Beetle had a front boot and space behind the back seat (Which could be folded flat to make more luggage room. However the access was not so good via the car doors. On balance, I’d say the Minor saloon has it on useful easy luggage space.

I think both are well catered for in terms of spares back up and clubs (There does seem to be more of a boy racer element in VW circles), though the latter may not be important to all.

Issigonis made some comparative notes on the subject, which are written in his biography. I think both cars have gone down in history as milestone cars (The Beetle was made in mind boggling numbers and was the car which knocked the Model T Ford off its pedestal). I have some experience of both cars. Maybe if I had been buying new in the 1960s, I might have swayed to the Beetle (Because it was so so so well built) but nowadays, I have a Minor Traveller.

[PaddyD]

Interesting read. Beetles aren't my favourite VW's by any means, I'm a camper fan. Bays and Splits are so iconic and retro.

However, I think having a Minor first, with a camper to accompany it will be the best option. Plus the fact that Moggies are gorgeous.

[timmo]

The prices of Bays and Splits over the last 5 years have gone stupid! and theres so much more on a bus to rot!!...Been there done it LOL Get yourself a good Traveller for half the price of a rough bay and you'll soon forget about buying a camper...I have

[Blaketon]

Interesting read. Beetles aren't my favourite VW's by any means, I'm a camper fan. Bays and Splits are so iconic and retro.

However, I think having a Minor first, with a camper to accompany it will be the best option. Plus the fact that Moggies are gorgeous.

I remember seeing a very nice Devon Moonraker for sale for £2800 in 1992 (My father had a 4/11 version in 1972) and if I'd had room to store it indoors (Plus spare money to buy it), I'd have bought it.

It dismays me when I see vehicles becoming collectable for what I consider the "Wrong reasons" - the split screens on the back of the hippy thing (Or Aston DB5s even more than others because of the James Bond thing). Still when you look at modern car adverts, they say nothing tangible about the cars, so maybe whymsical claptrap is what matters .