First time Morris owner, reflections after the first drive

[oliverlane89]

Hallo all

Already introduced myself over at General, but just thought I'd ask a couple of questions regarding my first drive, bringing my Morris cabriolet from the garage back home - a journey of some 170 miles in one go.

My first note is on fuel efficiency. A quick on-the-back-of-a-fag-packet calculation indicates that the journey averaged on about 55 MPG. How can this be possible? I thought they only did about 45 when new!

Secondly power. It was raining and dark yesterday across most of England - and very quickly the battery started to give out (very sluggish windscreen wipers, so I turned them off). I know the original dynamos on these aren't great - my father in law tells me it was a problem he had with his mini back in the 70's - run the headlights and the wipers at the same time for long enough and you'll kill the battery.

So I'm thinking, do I need to replace the battery itself (seems relatively new, but could still be five years old at least, I suppose) or should I invest right away in getting a modern alternator fitted? I see Charles Ware provide that service and we don't live so far away.

I also note that when one is driving dead ahead, the steering wheel isn't 'straight'. It's ofset by about ten degrees. Is this because the wheel just hasn't been set back on properly after being removed at some point, or is this indicative of a problem with the rack? The tracking isn't perfect either - I wonder whether these are related.

I also wonder whether the boot lid has been replaced. It really doesn't seem to match the aperture so well, and there are gaps. Is it just it's missing gaskets? They are certainly big enough for the rain to get in...

Anyway.

Hope I'm not overloading with stuff, but as said elsewhere this is my first introduction to the Morris Minor, as well as classic car ownership so I'm learning as I go along.

Any advice, ideas, warnings, etc, welcome!

Oliver

[bmcecosse]

The dynamo can EASILY cope with headlights + wipers + heater if it's in good working order. Check that the fan belt is tight enough. Probably a good idea to fit a new one - because tightening a well worn belt often results in it snapping shortly after. there is NO need for an alternator - and I hate to think what CW charge to fit one anyway.... Your fuel economy is impossible - more likely 35 mpg unless you are really crawling. Can't comment on boot fit - surely you checked it before buying. Maybe it's fibreglass??

[ianmack]

You aren't likely to get a accurate fuel consumption figure on one journey, calculate it again when you've used several tankfulls.

The Dynamo system should be fine if everything is in good condition. If the car had been standing awaiting sale maybe the battery was already low when you started off. Your battery can be checked for condition so there is no point replacing it on the off chance.

Minor boot lids often aren't a very good fit. There should be a thick rubber seal.

If the tracking is out get that sorted first and the if the steering wheel is still off centre you can remove and refit it as it is on splines, held by a big nut under the horn button.

[bmcecosse]

Oh yes - I forgot about the tracking.. how do you know it's not right? But as above - fix that first, and make sure the track rods both sides are the exact same length. Then if need be - move the wheel round, but take care when removing the horn push - and disconnect the battery first.....

[oliverlane89]

Okie dokie. Will fit a new fan belt and see how we go.

Will think again about fuel consumption when I've got through a few tanks of petrol.

Thanks for the help so far, I really appreciate it.

[IslipMinor]

Hi Oliver,

There are a number of views about dynamos and alternators on this forum!

If you have the early dynamo (C39) the output is 19A, which was fine with the early headlights and the pre-focus bulbs with 42/36w filaments (modern non-halogen replacements are 50/40w), so 19A will cover the dip beam + wipers + heater with a couple of amps to spare. Main beam is a bit marginal.

The later C40 dynamo has an output of 22A so will just about cover the later sealed beams on main beam (also any 'standard' halogen conversion as well).

So all fine, so long as you don't slow down too much or get caught in traffic, then an alternator has the clear advantage.

On batteries, the standard seems to be an 038 these days, but this has a 35Ah capacity, which is quite a bit less than the 43Ah that was specified at the time the Minor was in production. Worth looking at something bigger than an 038, especially if keeping a dynamo.

Assuming that the terminals are at the rear of the battery compartment (away from the clamping strip), suitable batteries for positive earth are an 049 45Ah, 004 50Ah and 069 or 072 are 70Ah, so plenty of capacity for dynamos in slow moving traffic!

For negative earth the rough equivalents are 037 for 35Ah, 063 45Ah, 075 60Ah and 096 75Ah.

We have an alternator and the 075 battery - spins over very easily no matter what the conditions are and is the same after not being used for a few weeks in the winter time - the most one year was 4 months and still had plenty of capacity to start easily. The battery is around 8 years old and the second to be fitted in the last 17 years since the restoration was completed - oh, and they came from Halfords!