Morris Minor Owners Club

But surely your Minor is nicely tucked away at the moment Kevin, afterall it is winter

Drive it about first before heading on a main road where you cant stop

Make sure that you have breakdown recovery!

And dont do it on the hottest day of the year (like I did when I collected my Minor!) ... not much chance of that just now!!

ive only drove my minor once so no expert but i had to stick notes everywhere in the car cause the indicators confused me, i think its up for left and down for right i cant remember now, and also cause im used to a modern car with the spring in the gear box that always takes you back to the middle well the moggy stays still so instead of just going up from 2nd to 3rd you've gotta remember to move it over if that makes any sense. i kept trying to go into 1st and it made the worst noise ever, but then i got used to it and went in my modern car and went from 2nd to 5th.

200 miles in a well serviced Minor is a walk in the park.

However, as the car is new to you, then 50 is a good idea - 60 uses a lot more energy so if the cooling system is poor condition it will overheat much more quickly.

I have done this kind of trip to buy a Minor a lot of times and I thoroughly recommend to take a gallon of oil and a large water container. Check the oil and water regularly and if you don't have any issues then check less frequently.

Tools and service items may help if the car is poorly maintained (hoses, points, plugs etc...) but it's easier to carry a phone and an AA card.

Judge wrote:But surely your Minor is nicely tucked away at the moment Kevin, afterall it is winter

Well it is this week as its a slope down to my garage and its not a straight exit so with the ice on the drive I am not risking it as I dont have anice flat driveway at the side of the house like some.
And here is a photo of last boxing day and it was freezing
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Dale was also there
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Don't forget to put the choke in after a few minutes! If you're not used to using a choke, and not yet familiar with the noise of the engine, it can slip your mind when you're first getting to know the car.

Also, the steering is lovely in a Morris - very responsive and fluent - but it does feel different to modern power steering. I had a scary accident last year in my newly acquired Morris: I over-steered on a sharp, blind bend, then over-corrected the oversteer and fish-tailed off the road and down into a bank of trees. (No-one hurt, but I was more all-shook-up than Elvis...) The fault was entirely mine, not the car's: I was new to driving, not just to moggies. Still, my advice would be to take it a little slower than you might normally, and drop a gear when necessary (even at the risk of annoying the car behind), whenever those sharp bend signs or chevrons beckon - especially if it's not a familar route. And never snatch at the steering wheel.

But once you have the feel for the steer you'll simply love it. It feels like REAL driving!

Enjoy!

Jamesy (an Aylesbury boy...)

Choke reminds me of a story a creditable person once told me.
Back in the day a new owner of a Moggy continued to return her car to the dealer complaining of poor running after a few minutes everyday. Every time the car was returned and it was reported that everything was fine. After several visits the service manager asked her to take him for a test drive so that he could experience it. Here it comes. They get in, the owner pulled out the choke and hanged her handbag on it, and then proceeded to start it. Now you know the rest of the story. By the late 50's and early 60's manual chokes were no longer a common thing here in the States so she really did not know how to use one.

I have a tip for you, due to the non-snychro first gear. Before engaging first or reverse (when the car is not moving), momentarily move the gear selector towards another gear. You don't need to totally engage this gear and with practice you will get it down well. By doing this step you are borrowing the snychro from another gear to stop the input and laygear from spinning. Now proceed directly to engage first or reverse. I used to use second for this operation but have decided to use third now because the snychro for second usually get alot more wear, mostly due to second gear starts when there is a slight forward motion of the vehicle.

whenever those sharp bend signs or chevrons beckon - especially if it's not a familar route. And never snatch at the steering wheel.

That reminds me of when I was 18 and borrowed a big powerful car (Omega) from work. I was used to FWD's but not with power steering. I braked heavily for a bend (it was a quick car) and then steered too hard - on my own car, braking made the steering hard. With power steeering it didn't and I nearly lost control.

With a Minor the steering is always light - I agree with the above comments especially the one about not steering too hard!

Take a cushion with you if you are on the short side and want to see over the steering wheel! You will be addicted to the car before you get into 4th gear- but as said previously, take speed bumps slowww! And those brakes...

Kevin wrote:

Judge wrote:But surely your Minor is nicely tucked away at the moment Kevin, afterall it is winter

And here is a photo of last boxing day and it was freezing

Yes but it was dry Bet the only water it sees is when it's washed

The most important thing to do first is give it a name!

Steve&William wrote:The most important thing to do first is give it a name!

Definately - mine was already named and i love it. When i took her to see a mechanic it was the first thing he asked !!

Until then my husband thought i was mad!!

Snow stops play! Cancellation of my coach thanks to The Big Freeze has put my plans on ice (ho ho) and I have had to postpone until next week...means I get another week's worth of great tips though

Steve&William wrote:The most important thing to do first is give it a name!

"IT"- what do you mean "IT"!! Surely all moggys are "she's". Couldn't be "he's" with big eyes and curves like those

linearaudio wrote:

Steve&William wrote:The most important thing to do first is give it a name!

"IT"- what do you mean "IT"!! Surely all moggys are "she's". Couldn't be "he's" with big eyes and curves like those

You're saying that to a man who's minor is called William..
they can still be a he, but I have one of each they make a perfect couple..

Yes, and my previous one was called Desmond. Why are mine always men?

linearaudio wrote:

Steve&William wrote:The most important thing to do first is give it a name!

"IT"- what do you mean "IT"!! Surely all moggys are "she's". Couldn't be "he's" with big eyes and curves like those

Well Lovejoy is definately Male but I take your point

Hi,

Just a quick update, I made my epic voyage yesterday without major incident!

Thanks to everybody who gave tips, all were very useful, especially the one about bringing some oil (my new baby seems to have a bit of a drink problem )!

No major mishaps, drove most the 200 or so miles with the window open due to the distinctive waft of petrol fumes (not sure what is causing this, but she seems to have a petrol leak as well), I was up to 6 layers of clothes, a scarf and gloves for the home stretch!

Next steps are for me to get some rear seat belts fitted and somehow get the brakes uprated (servo vs discs decision needs to be contemplated), but my wife tells me I had a massive grin when I got home - and I am pretty sure this is down to the fun of my first lengthy encounter with a Moggie rather than the petrol fumes doing funny things to me !

Thanks again,

Cheers,

Paul.

i did warn you about the smile i am so pleased you had a good journey and am sure you will have many more. The smell of petrol is likely to be a perished or worn pipe, easily replaced. I would highly recommend that you refurbish the brakes (master cylinder. Wheel cylinders. Shoes etc.) before making any decisions about servo or discs. Good luck and happy morrising.

And do double check that leak, I had a pipe go in such a way as it was sprinkling a neat little fountain of petrol on to the exhaust manifold, which I'm fairly certain was a bad idea.