Morris Minor Owners Club

Welcome aboard Anthony you will find it more fun than you imagine

This is topic number 25,000!

alex_holden wrote:This is topic number 25,000!

Have you nothing better to do Alex or are you just a number muncher

Overall I would say a Minor could be good choice for me, the only slight worry is the mpg, as a modern will return over 40mpg easily. Even so though the Moggy seems to be the best in its class regarding fuel consumption, the only close contender is the Austin A35, and I don't think I could bring myself to own something that cute!

I wouldn't imagine there to be much difference between body styles appart from the obvious, I would not get a van or pickup or convertible.
The saloons seem to be the cheapest and most plentiful although I would consider a Traveller as long as the wood was in good condition as it is my favourite of the Minor variations.

Saw this at college before the hols. It seems to appear over Spring, Summer and Autum and disapear for Winter.
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i get over 40mpg if i drive the car at a steady pace,thats not bad for an old engine design.

the only slight worry is the mpg, as a modern will return over 40mpg easily.

And depreciate like a brick, dont forget to take that into account.

What are you after?? running ong fresh air??

You will get free road tax, very cheap insurance, and a permanent grin on your face!1

Seriously, I think in real driving conditions you will find the moggy to be a much more honest user of fuel than some moderns (steady state does 68.8mpg, but uses a pint everytime you accelerate past a tractor!).
Obviously they will beat you with computer metering, but not so severly as to be a concern.
Also- the cars seem as cpable of their performance figures after 40 years, they are not clapped out just because of their age, and the torque characteristics of a long stroke "cooking" engine are far less affected by extra weight than a modern short stroke revbox!
my brothers new Clio 1150cc claims 78bhp but he has to rev it to pull away, and the power just disappears with a couple of passengers- different breed of horse!!

No problems with handling, just the brakes which give you white knuckle syndrome in an emergency! And an aside to the handling is how easily you can twitch it around & turn on a sixpence compared to moderns, due to it having light highish ratio steering and a good lock. Also much less bloated than a modern car for the inside size, so you can squeeze into a lot more small spaces.
The traveller is an excellent load carrier, if you aren't after a pristine car, which is not what I wanted as I would have been scared of marking it, then prices drop a fair bit.

The biggest problem I have is traffic coming towards me! If I am trying to turn, pull out etc, I find a mini traffic jam often occurs because so many drivers slow right down to have a good look as they pass. It has the effect as a Police car on traffic travelling at the legal speed, people automatically seem to brake as a reflex action

Sell your body- buy a traveller, and start smiling!!

Same problem here, people overtake but don't actually go past - sit in the middle lane taking photos - very flattering - but when it's the driver doing this!........

Hi there,
A minor 2 door saloon was/is my first car and I'm still driving it 12 years later! (I have picked up a few extras in the mean time). My brother also started driving his minor at 17. He found the 948 a little lacking in poke but he does drive it like a boy racer! We have just upgraded his 4 door saloon to the 1098 and he's very happy with it. They go up hill just great, it suprises most people in thier modern platic boxes! 10,000 per year, no probs, think my record was 13k one year. I would just advise a little caution with the brakes, as previous posts have mentioned, engine braking is a must to aviod overheating and the dreaded brake fade. Driven carefully on a long run over the xmas hols I managed almost 47mpg! but most of the time it's around 41-2 (now my driving has clamed down a little!). A saloon is not a bad starting point, they are roomier than you think and much more cosy in the winter than a traveller, also I cringe every time my varnish work gets wet as it takes a fair bit of upkeep! One other word of warning, Minor ownership is addictive, so brace yourself!!

Thanks for all the help and advice.

I've been talking to my dad about this, his concerns are the reliablility issues with older cars, its rare he ever has to carry out work on his car unlike the cars he had 25 years ago that broke down alot despite the extra attention!

He is also slightly worried aboout the prospect of drum brakes, and the fact that apparently they seize up alot and aren't up to much (Or did on his Capri Mk2 in the early 80s!)

A moggy is much easier to fix than an 8 year old fiesta or such like ... I've even had a go; things to do go wrong, but that's what breakdown cover and the board is for!

One reason for using a Minor is purely because it's so much fun; but if you're dad is thinking about servicing and reliability then:
(a) a maintained Minor IS reliable. As testified above, there are many of us who use only Minors, and have done so for many years and 100s of 1000s of miles. Minors have completed desert and siberian rallies.
(b) you can service the Minor yourself with a full service kit costing around £30.
(c) My Mother-in-Law's modern Renault has 28,000 miles on it, and had to have a new cam belt just because it was 4 years old. Not cheap, and I've not heard of a Minor breaking a cam chain. Minor headlamps £8 modern one £80 (and sometimes a dealer fit too). The Renault has also had to have an indicator switch, a sump, an air filter housing, a petrol filter (the original cracked a high pressure petrol poured out). A friend with a modern car had to pay £120 for a KEY (electronic programming). For that money you can have a new cylinder head on a Minor!.
(d) Frequently used drum brakes do not usually seize, it's when they're left unused that you tend to get problems. Even if they do seize, £15 buys you a new one, and it's simple to fit. If you're really worried then disc brake conversions are available.

If you list any specific concerns, then we'll try to offer reassurance.

minors are reliable if reguarly serviced, this must be done
they are also less likely to depreciate in value

i use mine on a regular basis to and from from work
i do around 50 miles a day general driving, so are plenty powerful enough and reliable

do get one that is honest and structurally sound, forget shiney at a price
there are plenty out there that a re a bit cosmetically challenged, but sound

mine was covered in surface rust and most would not have given it a second glimpse, but i could see it was sound, and had never been restored and orignal
so they are there

good luck and let us know how u get on

Sorry Simmict, My Minor van broke a timing chain on the Abingdon By-Pass many years ago!
Cheap Insurance
Cheap servicing
No road tax
No depreciation
And you still want 60mpg!
And you can always upgrade the brakes although I find my 7" drums quite adequate.

They will only seize up if left unused for long periods of time. Not really something to worry about.

Also, the later cars with 8" drums brake suprisingly well if the drums are in order - a minor is SIGNIFICANTLY lighter than a Capri. Disk conversions aren't hard and if you look you'll be able to find one already converted if its a worry.

In terms of reliability get a good un and keep it serviced and it won't let you down. Unless your dad is going to buy you a brand spanker, pay the insurance, servicing etc I'd go with a Mog rather than a few year old modern

Thanks for the advice, I am not too bothered about the cars appearance as long as it is solid and has a good engine, how many miles can a 1098cc last 'till it needs a rebuild or significant work doing on it?
(Although obviously it would depend on the cars treatment)

How often would a Minor generaly break down (from your own experiances), and by a "break down" I mean unable to go for over an hour or two. It would be unexpected too, not because you are halfway through changing the spark plugs!
It may sound like an odd question and as cars tend to tend to break down at the worst times and when least expected not really relevant.
It would be nice to have something to quote back to dad though!

Well I've had 4 Minors - first one in 1994 and I've never broken down. My mate's had his for 18 years and broken down once which was his fault due to not tightening the points after servicing. It took him about 5 mins to jump out the car, reset and tighten the points and be off again..... A well maintained car should very rarely if ever break down

In almost 30 years and probably half a million miles, the "serious" breakdowns requiring RAC assistance have been one broken half shaft
and two blown head gaskets (different engines). In each case, a few hours work at home has had the car back on the road with no expensive garage bills. A friend with a modern car also had a blown head gasket that cost him £800 plus two days with the car in the garage.

I've had a couple of minor incidents like wires coming off coils, but they're simple to fix, and usually self-induced. No car is without problems at some time, and no matter how well serviced, you might lose a fan belt, have a water pump fail, get a leak in a radiator, puncture a tyre, etc; but although the Minor is not immune to these things, they happen to modern cars just as often. The difference with a Minor is that they are easy and relatively cheap to fix.

A Morris Minor will break down as often as it thinks it can get away with it. It instinctively knows when there is a new driver and will do its best to prove that it is in charge. You have to deny it the opportunity, for instance don't let it catch you taking it out without a toolbox in the boot.
After a couple of weeks it will settle down and you will get on fine.

the only thing that went wrong was the fuel pump.thats because i did not know there was a filter in the pump and it was blocked.i check it every few months,now.you will learn as you go.keep the trunnuns often and service every year you should not have many problems.