Morris Minor Owners Club

Cam wrote:

Rasputin wrote:I joined the AA as I believe the RAC didn`t accept cars older than ten years.

Yes, I heard that too......... plus I have had lots of sarcasm from the RAC before now when I have broken down and a mate with an RAC card has been in the car.

I believe that the RAC changed its policy about cars over 10 years old to keep up with the AA.

Well really the minor is so simple, if the engine hasnt been serviced, give it a blitz, change the oil & filter, drain coolant, if in doubt replace all hoses & jubilee clips, add coolant, new dizzy, new points, plugs & HTs, service the fuel pump. Check all the tyres. Apart from A spare wheel & associated tools the only tool you should need is the TT&CC recovery card. I can arrange RAC cover for you £49.99 a year!!
So your car shouldnt break down if its well serviced & if it does your sorted. Keep the boot free for the picknic & chairs

So your car shouldnt break down if its well serviced & if it does your sorted

So you have 100% faith in all the service parts being produced at the moment?

new dizzy

So you regard the Dizzy as a service Item , but not the Air filter, Brakes ect.
This must be another wind-up

Not 100% faith, but same faith as id have in any vehicle! Why shouldnt you!

Sorry kev i was just being brief, if you want to give it a full service then go by a manual, obvioulsy brakes should be checked periodcally, but there is no need to get nurotic over any of it. As long as the simple mechanics are well kept there isnt to much need to worry. After all do drivers of 12yr old euroboxes cart there entire toolkit around just incase? Nope! If you were going on an expedition then you would need to be prepared. In this case NO!

Tony

Not 100% faith, but same faith as id have in any vehicle! Why shouldnt you!

I have much less faith in new spares than one's that were on the car for years - that's down to experience (having new parts fail quickly). Most of that is probably due to being one of the thousands who broke down due to poor replacement rotor arms, but when other stuff such as new choke cables are not fit for the job you end up feeling a bit jaded.
At least these days a lot of the specialists brought back UJ's / Handbrake cables / track rod ends etc.. WITH grease nipples unlike the parts you had to put up with in the 90's.

After all do drivers of 12yr old euroboxes cart there entire toolkit around just incase?

My 12 year old Eurobox is a Honda so I don't see the point of carrying tools unless I'm going to visit someone with a Moggy ;-)

After all do drivers of 12yr old euroboxes cart there entire toolkit around just incase? Nope!

VERY true! But then again if the ECU developed a fault or you had a blocked injector or a snapped cambelt there is not much you CAN do at the side of the road with a fully equipped toolbox! At least with a Moggy although they break down more often the faults can usually be fixed easily whereas with a eurobox more often than not there is very little point even opening the bonnet..........

My 12 year old Eurobox is a Honda so I don't see the point of carrying tools unless I'm going to visit someone with a Moggy

You are only saying that because you carry a spare 1098cc engine in the boot Ray

Thats very true cam, but the A series is very reliable & its only really age & fatique which causes many of the breakdowns. Many mogs were used & abused in there day & rarely broke down. Same as minis etc As long as they are looked after there isnt a great deal to worry about

I have always found the A-series to be a very reliable motor and is my favourite engine of all time! BUT it's not usually the engine but the ancillaries that are more prone to failure than on modern cars. Ignition, fuel system, electrics, etc are FAR more prone to failure than on a modern car but FAR easier to fix when things DO go wrong!!

Also the oil seals, bearings, balancing etc is/are not as good as the modern counterparts so do tend to give up sooner. Having said that, if you maintain the car properly then you will vastly reduce the chance of breakdown but you can always be caught out by poor or faulty new service items and major mechanical failure which was not spotted/checked during servicing......

You are only saying that because you carry a spare 1098cc engine in the boot

that was a fuel economy device! The MPG definately improved with that, however it was probably due to the bad handling making me drive slower

a fuel economy device!

Hey maybe you could fit another engine in the back with a kinda front wheel drive set up on the back wheels which you can switch over to as a back up when the main engine fails!!

Why not, the boots only going to be full of tools anyway lol

The RAC have not to date responded to my question re 10 year car age limit.
I was on the 'phone to them this morning about my imminent membership renewal and asked then. The advisor stated categorically that there is no vehicle age limits for any type of membership. Only limitations are vehicle weight, size. I did ask about the vehicle specific class, no limit. Something strange about the vehicle specific, it's exactly the same fee as personal membership. I though it would be a bit cheaper covering one vehicle instead of any vehicle either driving or passenger, but apparently not.
Something to be aware of re MMOC linked RAC membership, the 10% ncd doesn't apply, that's my interpretation of their t & c's. I haven't had to call them out for a couple of years now so I am paying more with MMOC affiliated than I would be otherwise. That can't be fair!

Interesting 57 I am with the RAC but not through the owners club as I was already with them when I got back into Minor motoring and stayed with them as its the driver thats covered and when I asked about the Moggie being covered they said no problem apart from they can`t guarentee being able to repair it at the roadside (and they can fix modern metal, huh) and as its a multiple policy with my wife and one of my daughters (originally both) I just stayed put, but I don`t know about the 10 year clause.

I would have thought a Moggy had more chance of being sorted at the roadside than a modern car myself ---------- but?

My renewal came through yesterday and I've searched the t & c's that accompanied it and could find nothing about vehicle age limitations. So
I took the opportunity while on the 'phone and as I posted earlier he stated there was definitely no age ceiling.

I'll dig out the terms again and find the bit re discount for no call out, my membership fee has not reduced at all in 2 years, that's what prompted me to check.

Problem is they just don't carry the bits; my condenser went a while back, and the guy just didn't have anything appropriate. He felt a right twit having to get a Morris Minor recovered; especially with such a piddly fault!

WELL there we are then. We have gone full circle and the end result
seems to be that you should carry the condensor,points, rotor arm,
etc but then join the RAC or the AA who, on being called out will be
able to fit them for you!!

although they break down more often

I must be lucky then, I can honestly say I've had five years trouble free motoring and feel sure there's more to come!

LES, I bet your trouble free running is down to thorough maintenance,
not just luck. I have had one actual breakdown in the last eleven
years and that was just the condensor in the dizzy, but I must admit
that I spend a lot of time playing with the car because i enjoy it.