Morris Minor Owners Club

If it is of any relevence I once wound my Series MM up to an indicated 75 mph on a level bit of test track (between jcn 11 & 12) before front wheel balance persuaded me to lift off.

Well that's really good going Mike.
Is that what finished your big ends on the way home from the national.

Yes Kevin......fascinating to know what hotted up cars can do but was kind of interested in hearing from owners of original Series II's with the 803cc....or are there none left?

I used to get 78mph downhill on the slope westwards from the M4/M5 junction towards the old Severn Bridge in my ex GPO van with 803 engine. The limiting factor was the low ratio diff and the pistons going up and down at an alarming speed.

My God that's 16 mph over the max speed recorded in the standing mile tests of the time !!! The pistons must have beel banging away like mad!

A series 2 van I rebuilt recently seemed to be happy cruising around 45- 50 ish on the flat. Didnt try for a max speed as it wasn't my vehicle so it was driven with a certain amount of mechanical sympathy. Guess it would probably manage 60 if you were heavy footed enough.

Followed a friend in his 803 saloon to a MMOC national a year or two back and he was doing 55-60 on the motorway. I was struggling to keep up in the Land rover and caravan, but then he said afterwards that he was struggling to keep ahead as I kept looming up behind him!

My own Series 2 convertible had a 1098 in it when I bought it, which seems reasonable enough as I do a lot of long trips in it, and I confess to havig doubts about wether to use 803 power in the Series 2 LCV project I've had on the go for some time. Its the show or go question....

David53 wrote:Yes Kevin......fascinating to know what hotted up cars can do but was kind of interested in hearing from owners of original Series II's with the 803cc....or are there none left?

jst read this post... my orig. 803 does at least 60. You just have to get the feel of it right... there is a lot of noise in the high 50s but then the noise and vibrations drastically reduce when you go a bit faster. I can't give you accurate speeds as the speedo is way out of whack. Perhaps the engine has hit its limit?
Bear in mind this is a completely original car - trafficators only and no wing mirrors or seat belts - on the motorways!
P.S. It also uses next to no oil even at such high revs. The cross-plys can be a bit dicey in the wet though.

in any case i am getting some wing mirrors as these are definitely a neccessity.

In a standard Morris Minor 100mph equates to over 6000rpm

Seeing as we have dug this up, I am with the Javelin, in that my standard 803cc will sit at indicated 60mph. I feel guilty doing that to the old girl though, plus there are a lot of hills here, so 45-55mph is normal cruising. 32mph (in third) up Dunmail Raise and the like though.

No idea about speedo accuracy...

Last year in my 2 door 948cc I managed 80MPH downhill from Boulogne-sur-Mer to Calais but only 35MPH uphill
(sat nav Speeds)

I think my 803 will do more than 60, as the foot is not at all to the boards at that speed, but it does seem harsh on the car and I would not want to try it for any length of time.
Almost definitely it will go more than the 62mph quoted in the road test at the time.

I suppose it all depends on conditions and the state of tune of each particular car.

My 803 seems to be about maxed out at 45mph , when it's properly warm it will hit 50 by the speedo which I think is about right. I do have the 4.55 diff in it as well.

Hmm 50 MPH doesn't sound good. I wouldn't be happy with that personally.

I think a properly tuned 803 in good condition is quite a bit better than many people seem to realise. They are by no means quick, but probably a lot nippier than their reputation might suggest.

hear hear!

JOWETTJAVELIN wrote:Hmm 50 MPH doesn't sound good. I wouldn't be happy with that personally.

I thought it was a bit slow, but am not too sure why this could be as the timing etc. is OK. Could is be down to the distribtuor - the person I had the car off said something was on it's way out (might have said the vacum) but am not sure?

I would suggest that Mr. Morris has the wrong speedo for a 4.55 axle.

Look guys David was asking about comparable speeds of 803 owners. What your saying is david is about right we have a November 54 series II with one slight difference we have a 948 box fitted we can sit 55-60 comfortabley all be it a bit noisy, so what your saying is about right 50-55 is fine[frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

In my 803cc, all original running gear underneath, it will do 55ish+. On the way to the national last year i was most happy cruising at around 45ish. I just feel harsh going any faster as i like to just hear the engine happily running in the background.

Personally i just enjoy the ride

customjob wrote:Look guys David was asking about comparable speeds of 803 owners. What your saying is david is about right we have a November 54 series II with one slight difference we have a 948 box fitted we can sit 55-60 comfortabley ...

Note that the 948 gearbox will make no difference to top speed. The only way to increase cruising speed would be to change the diff. ( or fit bigger wheels or an overdrive). IMHO the engine is not powerful enough to cope with that, unless you only drive where it is very flat...