Introductory post from a new forum member, so you might want to make a brew and get the digestives out as it'll take a while.
I'm Joe, I've been driving for nearly 40 years during which time I've owned lots of different cars. Some of the more recent cars I've owned are considered 'classic cars', while others such as the Cortina 1600E, Vauxhall Victor VX-4/90, or the Mk1 Ford Consul and Granada Ghias I used to own weren't considered classics back when I had them as they were recent models!
So, on to why I'm here, and of course the Morris Minor which is a car I have never owned - my Dad had one in the early 1970's though, the relevance of which I'll come to later. Right, well I'll start by saying that I've always loved old cars... even when they weren't thought of as 'old' at the time. Growing up in the early 1960's, the roads filled with Singers and Sunbeams, pastel coloured Zephyrs and Zodiacs, or the rakishly designed new Anglia's and Cortinas' somehow coloured my judgement. Amidst this post austerity explosion of automotive glitz and glamour the Morris Minor, though omnipresent, never caught my eye. To me it still represented the austerity of the previous decade, often in muted colours it was the sensible car choice of my school masters - they of the leather elbow patches.
The one my dad had was a 1966 Trafalgar blue two door which was (we thought) in superb condition. Faultlessly reliable, it drove very well indeed I'm told. Back then I never really considered it to be a classic as, like the VW Beetle,there were just so many of them about they seemed commonplace. Those same sentiments were to seal the fate of dad's minor, as despite looking superb it failed an MOT for want of welding underneath, and the mechanic told my old man it would be cheaper to scrap it and buy another. Today we know these things are fixable, but in 1975 they weren't considered worth fixing, and the poor little blue 2 door went along to the scrapyard at just 9 years old. Incidentally, a couple of years later my Aunt's 1972 VW Beetle with pristine bodywork suffered the same fate following the advice of another MOT mechanic!
During the 1970's and 80's I drove a string of cars that are considered to be classics today but to me were just 'cars'. My idea of a classic car back then was something from the 1940's or 50's, preferably with a separate chassis, like a Ford Pilot. Again no journey was complete however, without noting the Morris Minor was in evidence, dotted as they were in many side streets and driveways.
By the 1990's my increasing exasperation at such fitments to modern cars as black box ignition, entire moulded headlamp/flasher units that need to be replaced instead of just the bulb, and other such idiocies that made owning a modern vehicle no more involving than owning a new fridge saw me rebel. I noted that one of the most unpopular and unappreciated cars of the time was the Citroen 2cv, a car which typically raised hoots of derision from the general populace. People actually gave those things away for free - a tendency that had me accumulate several!
Ignoring the fact that friends and family thought I'd lost the plot, I spent a decade or so driving the little French marvels which asked for nothing in return but a little TLC now and again.Today the 2cv's are long gone, and once again I drive a modern-ish car. A Honda Accord. Clinical, comfortable, efficient, and totally un-involving - I can't even bring myself to wash it.
Now age does a funny thing to a person. In my youth I was compliant, wanting to be accepted by my peers, in my 30's I was competitive, and in my 40's combatative. Today I care less for the impression people have of me and more about what makes me happy, hence the recent decision to buy a Morris Minor to replace the Honda as my sole form of transport. You see I've realized that after a lifetime of distractions the answer has been staring me in the face all along. Those little cars I had cast nary a glance at all my life are still around, while their replacements have long been consigned to the dustbin. Spares (I am led to believe) are plentiful, and there is a genuine satisfaction and pride of ownership to be had - Count me in!
So now I'm on a steep learning curve. I'm trying to build up my knowledge of the Minor so I'll know my MM from my elbow by summer. I've been quietly reading through some of your restoration threads as well as looking at many of the cars shown in various posts. In addition to building up my knowledge I'm slowly identifying the sort of car I would like to buy, and so far I'm leaning toward an older two door, if possible in clipper blue. There's a car in the thread below that would have been just the job for me.http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=40071 I don't know what model designation that car has but with a 1098 installed I'd call it a car for life.
That said I realize there are so many nice cars out there that it would be silly to put restraints of colour/spec on a potential purchase. When the time comes my budget will only stretch to around 3k max however, and I'm in no hurry to buy as I've yet to build a garage on the side of the house to house it. So there you are, that's me and my plans to buy a car that will hopefully remain with me for many years. I'll no doubt get to know some of you better over the coming months, and look forward to shedding my modern vehicle in due time in favour of an old Moggie that I can have some fun with. In today's world which to me increasingly makes little sense, how apt that I may end up driving the car I once considered 'too sensible'!
) and I have never had a problem with the driving position in a minor. If you do have a problem there is nothing stopping you fitting more modern, more adjustable seating!