I would agree that the original post problem appears to be under adjusted front brakes. I have drums all round and under heavy braking my front wheels lock.
now onto the hijack
A personal point of view
its just that some folk on here seem to think that because the car is old you should drive it like a museum piece.
Minor production ceased in 1971. At that point the development of the car was frozen in time. While it was already being out-handled and out-paced by some of its competitors, eg the 105E Anglia, its originally advanced configuration enabled it to keep its head reasonably high when mixing it with its competitors. However NO family car produced in the late 60s / early 70's can really keep up with or brake with modern cars, and ALL of them need to be driven with a degree of circumspection on modern roads. In my view this circumspection produces a new set of skills, e.g. keeping an eye on braking distances and trying to 'out-think' the modern driver while trying to return a good journey time. Furthermore while by 1971 there were a few Motorways the Moggie was predominantly driven on 'A' roads. The Moggie was, and in my view still is, happiest on 'A' roads. Although like most drivers I only use them if I am under no time pressure. Strictly speaking the car is a 'Museum Piece' and should be driven within the limits of its design, and I guess that's what a lot of us like about driving the Minor. We are driving a historic vehicle, to a degree like those who drive Austin 7s or vehicles of the 40's and 50's.
Now I know, as I've said above, that it won't keep up with modern traffic. You've bought the car, it's yours to do what you want with so put disks brakes on it. Put in a bigger engine and gearbox. Change the suspension along with comfier seats, and drive a car that looks like a Minor that is able to keep up with modern traffic. At times I think I'd like to do that myself, but I also know that I wouldn't be driving a Minor any more. Its charm, its idiosyncracies and its peculiar driving characteristics would have been engineered out. Even if, after upgrading you managed to keep the feel of the old car, it would be just that, the Feel...
So can I summarise by saying that in my view if you want to drive an original Morris Minor you obviously have to drive it within it's limits. That doesn't mean slow or like a museum piece, I average 50 mph on a run i.e. 300 miles in 6 hours driving. If you want to drive faster you can change all the running gear and other bits and pieces and drive a car with a Morris Minor body. There are loads of companies out there catering for this.
