Brand New Member!

[GatorZilla]

Hey Y'all!

I am a brand new member and a brand new owner of a GORGEOUS 1959 Morris Minor 2 Door Saloon that I call "Precious" (I know...it sounds a little bit cheesy, doesn't it, but the first time I saw her, I thought "Oh, how PRECIOUS!" so the name has stuck!)

I am posting the very first picture I ever saw of her, before I got her...it is from the car lot where I bought her...the picture attached to my signature is at my house, in my yard, with a few of my chickens checking her out... Isn't she a Peach?

I got her, literally, just yesterday and, while she DOES need a good bit of work, I couldn't love her anymore than I do now if she were perfect!

She has a little bit of rust in the floorboard, needs a little attention paid to her charging system, needs a paint-job, the seats repaired (passenger's seat just came un-stitched, driver's, too...rear seat is fine...if you don't count the fact that the sun has rotted out the whole top of the seat) new carpet...several other small things that I can't remember right this second...but she is a beauty!

She even came with her hand crank!

How awesome is THAT?

It took me a few seconds to get used to driving on, what to us here in America, is the wrong side of the car but I LOVE it!...I think it just adds to her overall charm!

Oh, I am from The U.S.A....if you google "What is the World's busiest airport?" you should come up with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia... I am FROM about 45 miles South of there but LIVE about 30 miles West of there now...

I hope y'all don't mind having me on here when I am not actually IN England, but so many people over here don't even know what a Morris Minor IS, so I just figured the best possible way to get information on my Precious would be to go straight to the "source"....

I am so happy to've found what looks to me like a group of very knowledgeable folk that I am sure I will drive crazy with my questions while we are restoring Precious!

Thanks in advance for allowing me to pick y'all's brains!

Ok, well, it is after 1:00 in the morning for me, so I need to go to sleep. I will be posting more pictures as I take them...
Goodnight y'all!

[frame][/frame]

[Daddybear1984]

Hello and welcome, Great to have you on here and we're all a friendly bunch with more information than you can imagine from some members all your "things to do" will have plenty of support. Lovely car by the way

Kind Regards

Scott

[LouiseM]

Welcome to the messageboard - Precious looks lovely

I hope y'all don't mind having me on here when I am not actually IN England

We've got several members here on the messageboard who are in the USA (the club & the messageboard has members worldwide) so distance is no problem

[brucek]

Hello - welcome aboard great to have another US car in the crowd Looks like a super car and, as others will no doubt mention, it's not that hard to have the car converted to LHD if you wish. Most British cars of this era were built with an eye on the export market so when you look at the dashboard and the pedal layout, gearbox etc, they are all set up with the LHD mountings already there to use. There are quite a few suppliers over here who stock LHD parts too so it could be done fairly easily if you wanted to.

Keep us all posted on how you get on and don't be afraid to ask if you get stuck with anything

[Robbiet9999]

Hello and Welcome to the board. you name it there will be some one on here with a suggestion how to fix any little problems that you will encounter. nice morris by the way.

[carlosramalho]

Hello wellcome!
I' m from Portugal! As you can see the distancie is not a problem!
Cheers
Carlos

PS- your Precious is really Precious !

[GatorZilla]

Thank y'all SO MUCH for the warm welcome! I am so happy that everybody is being so nice to the newest yank! I love that I will be talking on here to folks from all over the world! I am making friends here in the US, and in England and Portugal already! Wow!

Thanks for the kind words about my Precious! I think she's pretty special! I am just giddy with excitement and happiness at the thought of getting my girl back in top form..she hasn't been abused, just neglected....that is NOT going to be an issue for her now

I am about to go and get a new valve stem put in the driver's side front tire...the tires LOOK good but are kinda dry-rotted, but I am not going to get new tires for her just yet...I am only going to be running her around within a few miles of here anyway until I get a new voltage regulator sent over from y'all's neck of the woods

it's not that hard to have the car converted to LHD if you wish. There are quite a few suppliers over here who stock LHD parts too so it could be done fairly easily if you wanted to.

A big part of her charm is the fact that she IS still so British...I love the right side drive! I won't be changing the steering side on my girl, but thanks for the info!

Gotta run to town and get the valve stem replaced now....

Have a GREAT day, y'all!

[GatorZilla]

Ok Y'all, I need help ALREADY! After taking a real good look at the state of my tires (B. A. D.!) my husband, Keith, tells me we need to go ahead and just get a new set of tires to put on Precious...that he doesn't feel comfortable with me driving it anywhere with them in that condition...BUT...I can't find a 145R14 anywhere around here... What size is the tires y'all put on yours? I found some Firestones F560 155R14...but I don't know if that will work or not....and they are 2 hrs away in Chattanooga, TN...which is no big deal, I can run up there and get them...but I don't want to buy them only to find out that they are totally wrong for my girl...Oh, and the liftpoint on the driver's side of the car fell off...

[customjob]

155x14 will fit just as a good as a 145. 145 or 155 is the size of the tread width/tyre width in milimeters 14.5 15.5 cms or 5 3/4 or 6 1/4 inches. 14 is the wheel size in inches.

[dp]

Thank y'all SO MUCH for the warm welcome! I am so happy that everybody is being so nice to the newest yank! I love that I will be talking on here to folks from all over the world! I am making friends here in the US, and in England and Portugal already! Wow!

Thanks for the kind words about my Precious! I think she's pretty special! I am just giddy with excitement and happiness at the thought of getting my girl back in top form..she hasn't been abused, just neglected....that is NOT going to be an issue for her now

I am about to go and get a new valve stem put in the driver's side front tire...the tires LOOK good but are kinda dry-rotted, but I am not going to get new tires for her just yet...I am only going to be running her around within a few miles of here anyway until I get a new voltage regulator sent over from y'all's neck of the woods

it's not that hard to have the car converted to LHD if you wish. There are quite a few suppliers over here who stock LHD parts too so it could be done fairly easily if you wanted to.

A big part of her charm is the fact that she IS still so British...I love the right side drive! I won't be changing the steering side on my girl, but thanks for the info!

Gotta run to town and get the valve stem replaced now....

Have a GREAT day, y'all!

What a nice post

[NOEL]

Hi and Welcome
Lovely looking car,I hope you have lots of fun with it.
The 155`s should be fine, couple of points that may help, if you have an orginal handbook the tyre pressure quoted will be for the older type crossplys, many threads have been on here debating the tyre pressure you need with radials, personally I use 30 PSI, the second tip is regarding garages fitting the wheels back on the car once you have your new tyre, dont let them torque them too tight with an airgun, remember your car (like many of us) is over 50 years old. try to get them to tighten the lug nuts using a brace or socket set

[JPX877J]

155's are fine! 145's on this side of the pond are quite a bit more than 155's so we use 155's on our car and no issues with them yet!

[GatorZilla]

Thanks y'all!

I can already tell that I am going to LOVE having a bunch of folks that I can run to for good, solid information when I am floundering...a condition that I am SURE I am going to be a good bit

I found some 145R14s at the place in Chattanooga...I figure $300.00 is not too bad for a set... Keith paid more than that for the set he put on my everyday car.....

I have fallen in love with all y'all's cars, too...this could be a problem... I would hate for my beautiful Precious to go and get jealous There are some beauties on here, though...that's for sure!

I am loving taking her out here and there for little spins... I have people doing double or triple takes all the time... They have no idea about what I am driving.... I reckon after a few hundred times you stop being surprised when someone gets surly with you because you told them they were wrong when they announced (with great authority) that you sure did have a cute beetle!

Oh well....... I kinda like driving something that the average person doesn't have a clue about....

Hope y'all have a great Sunday afternoon!

[GatorZilla]

I'm SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!

I have a Generator (I think y'all call it a "Dynamo") on it's way from Oregon and a Voltage Regulator on it way from y'all's neck of the woods....

Once I get a new exhaust system under her and new rubber on the ground I am going to be driving her all over the place...

We will just be doing the restoration as we go... We just couldn't afford to do it all at once The cost is WAY too prohibitively expensive But, this way we get to enjoy driving her as well as being able to enjoy seeing her getting into shape again!

It's a win-win situation!

[mike.perry]

...Oh, and the liftpoint on the driver's side of the car fell off...

Good!!! The jacking point puts too much strain on the car body. Always jack up on the front corner of the chassis with a block of wood to spread the load or under the back axle. Make sure that the tyre dealer does as well. Check the hub caps are secure afterwards, you do not want to hear one rattling down the road

[Audrey1955]

I think the OP (GatorZilla) must be THE happiest Morris Minor owner ever! I wish I was as happy as you Darlene

[ASL642]

Might be that she isn't suffering this interminable snow and temperatures barely above 0 degrees - oh and she's probably got blue sky and sun!

[Matt]

I love the snow...

Even though I got stuck in a 4ft drift on Sunday night and it took about 2 hours to reverse out of it

[GatorZilla]

Good!!! The jacking point puts too much strain on the car body. Always jack up on the front corner of the chassis with a block of wood to spread the load or under the back axle. Make sure that the tyre dealer does as well. Check the hub caps are secure afterwards, you do not want to hear one rattling down the road

Wow! That's good to know...I was actually considering the possibility of being forced to feel a little bit depressed about it, but now I can see it as a positive thing and just stay happy instead! We just used a floor jack with a block of wood...

I think the OP (GatorZilla) must be THE happiest Morris Minor owner ever! I wish I was as happy as you Darlene

What is an "OP"? I probably AM one of the happiest people you will ever be exposed to I feel so incredibly BLESSED to have such a wonderful husband and my babies and grandbabies are just amazing...AND my Hunny Bear got me Precious...ajust because he knew that I have wanted a Morris Minor for so long... Yes, I have TONS to be happy about...
My sweet (but gruff) husband says that where my glass is always half full, HIS is always half empty, but at least between the two of us we've always got a full glass I always tell everybody, though, that you can CHOOSE to be happy or you can CHOOSE to be sad... Smiling just comes much more naturally to me than frowning.....

Might be that she isn't suffering this interminable snow and temperatures barely above 0 degrees - oh and she's probably got blue sky and sun!

We had snow flurries this past week, but we rarely have snows that really amount to anything here in Georgia... It is probably in the high 50's-low 60's right now... and yes...the sun is shining and the skies are blue! Spring is starting to show up around here...everything is starting to bloom....

I love the snow...

Even though I got stuck in a 4ft drift on Sunday night and it took about 2 hours to reverse out of it

Well, Bless your heart! I can't imagine that THAT was a whole passel of fun...but you're gonna have that, right? At least you DID get out!

Y'all have a GREAT day!!!!!!

[Audrey1955]

Gatorzilla, the OP means the 'original poster', in this case, that was you