Morris Minor Owners Club

Not really - it's the height of the sidewall - so the car will sit very low and the there will be a big gap all around the tyre and the wheelarch! The gearing will also be lowered.

Ahh right, How much of a difference would this make in practice?

Cheers

Will

google mytyres and you get a choice of 20 winter tyres 155 65 14 other sizes as well

All im saying BMC is mud and snows may not help... And I was rarely driving through 4" of new snow. I was passing lots and lots of people who were stuck with my winter tyres and pulling away on gradients up to 1 in 8 with no wheelspin... Even after the snow had frozen

My minor has wide wheels so my tyre choice (185/60/14) would be no good on standard wheels

Yes, they exist. At least one pair exist. I have a pair that were originally used on a Morris Minor Police dog van in Gloucestershire mid to late 60's. They were left in it's garage when the van was disposed of. I have had them ever since, not really knowing what to do with them as for the past 36 years I have been a Mercedes man!! I did run a Traveller for some time but used slightly larger wheels/tyres on the back, so they were not suitable. I have lived in France for some years, but coming to the UK in October with my car and thought I might as well try to find someone who may want them. They are what I would describe as almost HEAVY DUTY and I don't think they would be too much trouble even if you had to drive on snowless sections of road. I do not want anything for them and see that there will be an Area Meeting on Sunday 7th October at the Reservoir Inn on the A40 out of Cheltenham and as I am staying in Cheltenham, thought I would drop them off there - unless anyone can come up with a better suggestion!

I borrowed a pair of snow grips a few years back and they were brilliant. Much easier to fit than chains - only moments to position them on a wheel and tighten up the clamp. Easy to remove when you get back on solid ground too (you need to, its like driving on square wheels if you don't) but great for getting out of the slippery stuff.
Pic shows my old trav about to go up a 1:4 hill in fresh snow... (Apols to the person who has this car now )

I since found a pair for sale on an autojumble stall and promptly bought them to keep in the car ready. Its not snowed since...

Those are Knipetaks, I have a set as well and they are good. Made a long journey last winter and got stuck at the last cars length reversing into a layby. Popped on the Knipetaks and then went straight in. You do need to stop with them in the correct position to get them back off though but they only take seconds to put on/off.

Yes thats them. Couldn't remember the name - came with no packaging...

I think they are kind to the tyres as well.....

I have a set of parsons snow chains that came with my 1935 Morris 8.We have used them only twice and in 6 ins snow they work perfectly, but of course when you come off the snow you have to take them off. They make quite a distintive sound on a good road surface. The answer used to be "Town and Country" tyres. If you looked at them carefully they had small holes set in the tread of the tyre, these could have carbide tipped studs inserted with a special tool by hand, it took quite a time as there was about 60 studs per tyre. I still have about 5 packets of these in the garage somewhere and the tool for inserting them. Same precaution when you came off the snow or ice, you had to take them off as soon as practical or the studs chewed the road up. Happy motoring.

The answer is to bung a few flagstones into the boot.

JOWETTJAVELIN wrote:The answer is to bung a few flagstones into the boot.

My dad had a Hillman Hunter and did this to maintain grip when we had some bad snow one year in the 70`s. He ended up breaking a rear spring.......

I would really think twice about adding extra weight to improve traction, especially with the condition of the roads these days. Hit a pot hole or a hidden speed bump covered by snow and you could be in trouble.

Richard

But that was a 70s Hillman. If you think about it 2 or 3 flagstones will actually weigh less than 3 people sat in the back.

Yep thats a good point, but throw into the equation all that extra weight, the condition of todays roads and a 40 to 50 year old car and maybe the idea of leaving your moggie in the garage when it is snowing is more appealing

I was highly tempted to get mine out when my modern car couldn't cope with the snow!

Marky, do you get snow so far south in that there London?

As Jowett will know, when we get snow up here we are stuck for days!!!!

Not often!
When it does it's chaos.