Morris Minor Owners Club

If someone told me how I would modify the M/C myself if it is possible without machining

The remoe reservoir isn't rocket science - you need to add a pipe fitting to the plug in the rear of the original MC reservoir.
The kits give you what you pay for - a new cap including the pipe outlet (which as a special machined part is why they can't be cheap) a new reservoir, pipe and fitting screws/clips.
Modification of the existing cap would be cheap to DIY if you have the correct tools and parts, and a remote reservoir from a scrappy would be fine (IMHO) as long as it has enough volume.

If / when you want to do it, I can give you tips.

Jonathon...You are very touchy about your own products - you should know better than to make statements about others !!

plus the quality of component parts is second rate to say the least.

I have no experience of JLH parts but I entirely agree with his comments regarding Owen Burton branded disc brakes.
Also I believe that the quality of Owen Burton parts has been bought to the attention of the legal system in the past.

Cam
I appologise for breaking the forum rules and any problems this may cause either yourself or the club in general. I'm quite happy for the moderation of my statement if it has caused any member of the forum to think twice about purchasing the MMC Bath disc brake kit.
Bm, you are probably for once,correct in your comment on this topic. However my opinions are based on fact not heresay or ignorance of the product in question. It is my business to look at what the competition offers and its percieved quality. I have for over 10 years advised against this product and its former stablemate based on Ital parts. It is important to me that the Minor owners and possible future customers recieve only the best quality products available. This is the basis on which we produce our kits. I do not believe that "cheap and cheerfull products" have any place at all when it comes to handling and braking packages. "Cheap and cheerfull" being O Burtons own words when talking about his approach to modifying the Minor.
Other posters on this forum have agreed with my comments here, probably with a little more discretion, but hey I don't claim to be perfect
I feel that we are well overdue a form of accountability of all products for the minor, whether it be poor chrome ,panels, modifications etc. Unfortunately the owners club see that they have their hands tied in this respect, but they do hold a wealth of information about both poor products and specialist garages which should be in the public domain and not just appear when someone reports yet another problem. This is not a direct critisism of the club as I realise that this is against the forum rules, but lets drag these issues into the real world, instead of hoping that they and people like me ,who believe in quality first , will disappear

On the subjects of brakes, after a very near miss the other day on my standard moggy 1000 brakes i've thought about upgrading. However being a young driver I can't afford the £300+ of these kits, is there a budget way to upgrade the brakes, Im not looking for massive performance, but adequate and safe braking.

is there a budget way to upgrade the brakes

Yes, and it's very simple: maintain them well and drive carefully.

Standard Minor brakes work perfectly well as long as the drums are true, the shoes clean, the cylinders move correctly, the system is bled properly, and everything is asdjusted regularly. Even the best disc set-up won't work properly if the pads are worn and the discs warped.

Then to the driving (and no criticism of anyone's driving style is intended). Driving fast until the last minute and them slamming on the brakes will cause extra wear and then if not adjusted, and less efective brake. Anticipation, and using the engine braking and gears will allow lighter use of brakes. Such precautions will then leave plenty of braking for when you need to compensate for the other idiots on the road.

Last thought on the braking: Standard brakes can lock the wheels. At that point you can't get any more braking effort, the tyres havce lost their grip; and you must releasae the brakes and re-apply them in order to stop. Discs do have advantages such as no adjustment required, and with a servo can offer easier braking. But then that just makes it easier to lock the wheels!

Now to the quality issues. Like many owners, I know most of the traders; and purchase from many different sources. I agree 100% with Jnathon's comments. I'm fed up with "cheap and cheerful" - there's nothing cheerful about having to do a job twice because the parts aren't up to scratch. As we've commented in other posts, we need a proper rating system for all spares, and a determined drive to improve quality. If I find somebody selling me crap then I won't hesitate to tell people. It's not libellous if it's demonstrably true.

If your running with the standard minor engine,then a well maintained standard drum brake system should be adequate for most eventualities. There are alternative drums available from the Wolesley 1.5 which some believe to be as good as a set of discs. These are very thin on the ground but are apparentyl cheap to buy and easy to fit. There are no disc kits available commercially which would be below £300. I would either start saving or start trawling the autojumbles for the Wolesley drums.

Anticipation, and using the engine braking and gears will allow lighter use of brakes. Such precautions will then leave plenty of braking for when you need to compensate for the other idiots on the road.

I apreciate what youre are saying but where i live i am always driving winding lanes and i do find brake fade inevitable. I agree about the parts however, perhaps a forum in which the club states no opinion on and which in the terms and conditions it is stated that the content is purely opinion.

Thanks jonathon, I have been told about these, will they bolt straight on in replacement of the moggy brakes?

Simmite, Can't tell you how pleased I am to read your comments on the quality of parts to which the minor owners are being subjected. I cannot agree more!.
With regard to the Wolesley drum upgrade, I'm sure BMeccosse will be along to sing their praises, personally I have not used this route, prefering disc brakes instead.
The forum on which we are writing has in its TandC's the provisor that each poster is responsible for for their comments. Unfortunately the clause denying us to tell the truth about products or traders we feel are either dangerous or of poor quality, stiffle the freedom to make valid judgements. If the club have their hands tied, then why not allow this form of debate on a forum which is bound by more liberal ideals.
The club although they pay for this facility( well the members do I suppose) can distance themselves legally from any comments which may be percieved as liable.

I cannot agree more about the quality of modifications being offered. I have had two remote reservoirs from kits fail (brake and clutch) both causing fluid to p*** all over my new paintwork Now if i knew about the flaw which apparently all the suppliers did know about then i would never have fitted them. I now have decent reservoirs bought from demon tweeks for half the price that are more than up to the job. This information needs to be out there for others to see. The majority of morris spares retailers just seem to be in it for the fast buck and not the quality and longevity of products. Sorry just my two peneth worth Rant over!!!

I totally agree again!!. The trouble with most Minor suppliers is that they do not fit or work on minors as wel, your disc kit may just as well be a sack of spuds to them and turnover is parramount, due to the small profits on parts in general.I'm still amazed at the garages who sell substandard parts and fit them as wel, knowing that they are laying themselves open to warranty claims and having to loose money by re fitting the poor quality parts.Its just Bizzare! but I feel it all stems from the general attitude that minor owners wont spend money on better products even when they are made available.
Even the big shots like Heritage and good o'l Hadrian are becoming less bothered about qualitying, their argument is 'well where else are you going to get it'? We have just bought a heritage Mini shell, and to be honest the only thing going for it is the fact that it is not rusty. How Heritage can churn out such poor quality is beyond belief. l

tbh jonathon,
the reason I am going to buy your goods (when I've saved) is because you are prepared to stand up and defend them...

you know, that when I buy your disc kit, I'm going to post the results here...

respect to you for that

Well, the MMOC is in a tricky situation legally with bad-mouthing suppliers. Basically the volunteers who run the club don't want to end up in court every week defending complete strangers and having to obtain documented evidence from independant mechanical engineers at considerable cost and time regardless of who's in the right!

That's why we have the terms and conditions on here and moderators to make sure that they are kept to (within reason).

Best bet is to praise the good suppliers and don't bother with the rest. I'm sure we all know who the good and bad are anyway. If not, then as a starter, the good include: Bull Motif, ESM, JLH.

These are people I have delt with time and again, and trust. I'm sure others could contribute further.

Also, a lot of people don't want to spend money on their cars, but a lot do too (like me). I would much rather pay double for a panel/part that fits properly than penny pinch and spend days trying to bodge something together which is not going to last anyway as it's made of poor quality material.

I think it's awful that these traders are allowed to push rubbish onto the market, but it's a free market unfortunately and there seem to be no rules prohibiting the sale of such items.

Also, a lot of people don't want to spend money on their cars, but a lot do too (like me). I would much rather pay double for a panel/part that fits properly than penny pinch and spend days trying to bodge something together which is not going to last anyway as it's made of poor quality material.

Makes sense unless you're skint

Well, yes, but in that case a few hours extra work will earn enough to buy most panels!

WORK!

Sorry, sorry... I meant messing about for someone else. Real work as we all know involves things of a Morris nature!

Real work as we all know involves things of a Morris nature!

Finally someone who speaks sense

I would much rather pay double for a panel/part that fits properly than penny pinch and spend days trying to bodge something together which is not going to last anyway as it's made of poor quality material.

Well, as expected the quality of the 'main brand' replacement panels is getting pretty poor (I really miss Henrics!). The sill panels I bought 3 weeks ago from a well known supplier have no drain holes at all!!
I can't believe they churn out that kind of rubbish, however they will sell a lot more of them to anyone who doesn't put their own holes in...