FITTING ENGINE

[pbottomley]

HELP !
I needed to fit a new engine,(bought from Tuning72 Ta chap), easy you would think!

NO

1/. Asked a few local garages. NO not at any price ! seems new mechanics only know how to plug a laptop in, to fix a car.

2/. Asked a few back street indipendent boys, NO not at any price again, seems they dont want to get rid of the old engine, dont do engines, aint worked on one before, car will fall apart etc etc any thing to say no.

Anyone got any ideas in the LUTON area, my car is dead, i have a new engine and no one seems to want to earn money !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[les]

I don't know your circumstances Pb, but it's not too bad a job, why not have a go, half the beauty of owning a moggy is you don't need to pay a garage!
les

[pbottomley]

Aye, done it before (years ago), but as i dont own any tools, could be difficult thats why i looked at the garage route. To be honest if i had the use of a garage and the tools id do it in a day and enjoy it.

[Chris Morley]

Well, at a minimum you'll need to buy a good socket set, ramps, a jack and axle stands - all these are needed anyway if you intend to work on the car in future. Hiring an engine crane will also be essential. I would take the old engine and gearbox out together before separating them.

I assume you're not ( yet ) a member of the MMOC, because Minor Matters carries many adverts from specialists who can help. Because they know the cars so well it will end up being cheaper than paying a young mechanic to learn how to pull a Minor apart. Most specialists will pick up your car, so don't assume they HAVE to be in the Luton area. I'll send nearby contact details if you want them.[ This Message was edited by: Chris Morley on 19-03-2002 00:20 ]

[pbottomley]

not yet got my mebership ites back (been waiting a few weeks, but not the issue here ) good ideas, i just dont have anywhere to store these toold apart from the boot of the car! thats why i wanted to get someone to do it , even today i have had three knock backs, 1/. to busy, 2/. not intrested, and 3/. to difficult !!!! jesus these luton mechanics want £200 JUST TO CHANGE A SPARK PLUG!

Chris i would like the list your mentioned, wanted to do it local as this is my every day car, and i wanted to get this doen ASAP local so i could lessen the loss of my transport.

[Kevin]

Hi Paul some options are:
Minor Medics who are based at Castlethorpe, Milton Keynes. 01908-510736
Minor Mania who are based in Mill Hill, London NW7 0800-074-5852 or 020-8959-0818
they are a member of our Herts branch
Where I live in Watford there is L.H. auto`s
who work on anything and they also do recovery services so if your car needs bringing in its not a problem
Also a guy I work with has a brother who does similar work to the above, who although he works in Willesden, London NW10, actually lives in Luton so might be a better option, his name is Tony Maltby on 202-8459-2586 his garage is called Slocombes.
I hope one of these is the solution you require

[Chris Morley]

Thanks Kevin, you've beaten me to it. Those are the two nearest specialists I know of.

Incidently, a few weeks ago I was travelling on the West Coast railway line. A few miles North of Milton Keynes I noticed a neatly parked row of scruffy Minors. Does anyone know if this is the location of Minor Medics ?

Update for Kevin - yes , it seemed to be a set of farm buildings on the East side of the railway.[ This Message was edited by: Chris Morley on 21-03-2002 01:22 ]

[Kevin]

Yes Chris I think it was the location of Minor Medics that you saw, I went there once a few years ago and they work from a couple of large units on a farm that is a few miles north of Milton Keynes.

[pbottomley]

Ta Kevin and Chris, as always a wealth of knowledge. Have got the Girlfriend to call around the same garages, and she gets loads of offers to do the work, Now either shes spoken to the right man, or they see her as an easy buck!

However at the end of today i now have two possible leads ofr LUTON local engine changes.

Thanks again for all those ppl who emailed me and or replied here.

[picky]

If you dont own any tools then keeping a morris minor on the road is going to prove tricky.
Tim

[doobry]

once you get the bumper off (big mole grips on the 2 nuts) and get the grill panel off (nasty nuts inside the wing on the hockey stick studs), then the rest of the job only need 2 scissor jacks and 3 spanners (7/16", 1/2" and 5/16"). A pair of wheel ramps make it easier to get at the nuts/bolts around the bottom of the gearbox, but if you are desperate, you can push the car to have 2 wheels up on the kerb and 2 on the road and that gives enough room for the average person to get under the front of a mog.
The engine can be lifted with 2 strong people (i've done it singlehandedly before but I couldn't do that anymore!).
with the front panel removed access is very easy and the engine doesn't need to be lifted further than a jack will take it . If you unbolt one of the front mounting turrets the engine lifts away from the mountings with ease.

I would expect that the backstreet garage would be the best bet - find one which will charge by the hour and it is likely to be 6 to 8 hours (a lot quicker if you've done it before).

[ColinP]

Pb,

Pm on it's way

Colin

[Chris Morley]

Not sure what's happening here, but this thread is very old (my post was almost 3 years ago). I don't think PBottomley is still looking for an answer?