New member

[rrbenn]

Hello, I am new to the site.
I am hoping to buy a 1950's split screen Morris Minor but my husband says its not a practical everyday car. I have a 10 minute each way commute each day so not too far.
Would appreciate any thoughts from folks who use their Morris Minors every day,
Thanks Ruth

[chesney]

As long as you're committed to servicing them as regularly as they need it, there's no reason you can't use one as a 'commuter car'.
Depending on your commute, you may want to consider a bigger engine from a later car, as 48-53 cars had a 918 side valve, and 53-56 models had the 803 ohv engine which aren't as practical for motorway journeys as the 948/1098 (and 1275) later fitted engines.
I used to drive my 1098 engined Minor 80 miles a day for a commute, which it did admirably. As I say, so long as you factor in the regular servicing, you should have no problems.

[ASL642]

Welcome. A splitscreen Minor will be ok for a short commute to work each day, so long as it is properly maintained, although the origin 803cc engine may be a bit slow in today's traffic. There are many around that have been fitted with the later 1098cc engine which may suit your needs better.

My Husband drives into the centre of Birmingham every day in a 1961 2 dr without any problems. That's an 18 mile round trip.

[ManyMinors]

I would tend to agree with all that has been said before. A 1950s split screen Minor is probably not the best introduction to classic car motoring on a daily basis - certainly if the original type engine is still fitted. A Minor 1000 in my opinion is a completely different animal and will do the job fine. The split screen cars are older in every way and the engine, gearbox, wipers, heater, lighting etc are inadequate really without modification. Also there are no built-in mountings for seatbelts although these can be fitted. Of course the particular car you're interested in might have all these upgrades already?
Have you driven the car? A reasonable distance? On a cold, wet day??
I'm certainly not trying to put you off Morris Minors and all will require regular maintenance but personally I would look for a later model which will be no more expensive, easier to maintain/get parts for and have a more convenient specification. That's what we have done and have 2 Minor 1000s dating from 1958 and 1970 in regular reliable use .

[The Issigonis Kid]

Just bide your time, there's plenty of split screens with later 948 or 1098 cc engines. Or you could get an original and do the conversion yourself with a £500 1000 off ebay. I recon you'll need £4500 for which ever route you take for a nice clean car. For a start, theres a lowlight in the classfields at the moment.

[TFM150K]

Hi. I used Minors for 45 years for my commutes and for work and I'm still doing 4000+ miles a year in retirement. There is no earthly reason why you should not get good service out of a good split-screen as long as it is looked after. If you go for an earlier one, as you suggest you probably will, put a set of "winkers" on it as well as the original trafficator arms - I am afraid that the average modern motorist is totally blind when it comes to any form of a direction-change indicator other than one that winks at him/her. There are wiring diagrams in the technical section of this forum that would allow for the conversion to be done so that you have both working at the same time - not expensive! if your commute involves a town, life will be a lot safer and the idiots will be less stressed!

[mike.perry]

My 1952 side valve takes me wherever I wish to go at a reasonable speed on the highways and byways and the heater works too.

[rrbenn]

Thanks very much everyone for your comprehensive and honest replies. It looks like I may be ok with the series II I'm currently looking at as it has a 1098 engine.

Very excited!!

[dalebrignall]

there is no reason why you carnt use a moggy every day they are good reliable cars .

[moggiethouable]

I suppose a lot depends on who the grease monkey will be.
You will have a local garage that specialises in older vehicles and can take some of the load off hubby for when it comes to maintenance.
That way all parties are happy.

[panky]

I use mine as my daily driver, trouble is I cant stop fiddling and improving things. Never bothered even washing my modern but the minor just begs to be loved