New Owner, Any help much appreciated

[Jenkem]

Hi all,

2 days ago i decided to look on ebay for a new hobby...after loving the look of Morris Minors since a kid I found myself looking at beaten and battered wreckers for restoration on the site...My finger slipped and I purchased a car
This morning I received my 1955 Morris Minor 1000 split Screen...Most people i know have called me an idiot but i prefer adventurous
I know nothing about cars mechanically nor do i know anyone that has a Morris Minor ... She needs quite abit of attention but on the flip side she is in alot better nick than i expected.
If anyone has any advice on how to make her pur and show her off in all her glory then i would much appreciate it...also im not sure how people on here feel about ''modding'' such an amazing bit of history but thats what im planning on doing after i get it to a standard that will pass an mot..again any advice on that would be great too..

Hope to hear from of you soon

Chris

p.s how do i join the owners club?

[beero]

Welcome to the forum. My advice would be to get it MOT'd first and then modify it, but try and do it in such a way that it can be put back easily, and keep all the standard bits. When you come to sell her it helps if you can still offer the original bits to the new owner. Any problems just ask, we are all here to help.

[welshrat]

Hi, most of us bought our cars because we liked them and had no skills or experience of working on them, the good news is that they are fairly easy to work on and there are loads of people on here who will offer advice. As above the first thing to get sorted is a car that is safe, ready for an MOT and that will be usable in the future, consider the structual bits, replace the rot and use plenty of anti rust products to avoid future rot and expense. The standard morris is reliable, fun to drive and a cheap to run classic, do the mods as time and money is available.

[simmitc]

Hi and welcome. Joining the club is easy. If you're viewing this thread, look in the top left hand corner of the screen, and you'll see a link to join

Not only will you have the collective wisdom and experience of this board, but you can also join your local branch where you can meet people and talk problems through face to face (they'll probably even look at the car as well!). There's also a great social side to the club and you'll make many friends.

Back to the car, make sure that you sort out any structural problems before getting carried away with cosmetics and mods. Which mods to do are a matter of personal taste and how you intend to use the car. Purists will go for 100% original (hence keep old bits to put back) right through to the chopped custom jobs. Room for all. Many of us use the cars for daily drivers, and so heated screens, halogen headlamps, uprated heaters, and even heated seats can feature without affecting the look of the car too much. Disc brakes are quite common, but you'll find a whole can of worms on discs versus drums. Above all, enjoy your new hobby.

[LouiseM]

Hi Chris, welcome to the messageboard. I think the Mansfield & District branch (MADMOG) is the closest to you. Quite a few of their members post on here and they also have their own website: http://www.madmog.mmoc.org.uk/

In addition to what everyone else has already said, it's a good idea to get a workshop manual so that you can start to find out what everything looks like and where everything is. Like you, I didn't know anything about mechanics or know anyone else with a Minor when I got my first one but the Minor is a simple car to work on so it doesn't take long to learn the basics (I'm now on my 4th Minor so you might find your hobby gets a bit addictive!). This website is a mine of useful information so any questions just ask

[Jenkem]

Thank you all very much for your warm welcome..and thank you for the advise...I can see myself coming here quite alot to pick peoples brains but from what ive seen that precisely the reason this forum is here...i will try getting some pics up soon

Thanks again