Morris Minor Owners Club

Okay, they do sometimes! like now, but when you need them to clarify your intended joviality they sometimes do not

Sounds like the pop-up which displays the smiley selection window is having trouble popping up on your computer then.

I don't use that anymore, I just remember the codes now. Much easier (quicker too)!

I would agree that the original post problem appears to be under adjusted front brakes. I have drums all round and under heavy braking my front wheels lock.

now onto the hijack A personal point of view

its just that some folk on here seem to think that because the car is old you should drive it like a museum piece.

Minor production ceased in 1971. At that point the development of the car was frozen in time. While it was already being out-handled and out-paced by some of its competitors, eg the 105E Anglia, its originally advanced configuration enabled it to keep its head reasonably high when mixing it with its competitors. However NO family car produced in the late 60s / early 70's can really keep up with or brake with modern cars, and ALL of them need to be driven with a degree of circumspection on modern roads. In my view this circumspection produces a new set of skills, e.g. keeping an eye on braking distances and trying to 'out-think' the modern driver while trying to return a good journey time. Furthermore while by 1971 there were a few Motorways the Moggie was predominantly driven on 'A' roads. The Moggie was, and in my view still is, happiest on 'A' roads. Although like most drivers I only use them if I am under no time pressure. Strictly speaking the car is a 'Museum Piece' and should be driven within the limits of its design, and I guess that's what a lot of us like about driving the Minor. We are driving a historic vehicle, to a degree like those who drive Austin 7s or vehicles of the 40's and 50's.

Now I know, as I've said above, that it won't keep up with modern traffic. You've bought the car, it's yours to do what you want with so put disks brakes on it. Put in a bigger engine and gearbox. Change the suspension along with comfier seats, and drive a car that looks like a Minor that is able to keep up with modern traffic. At times I think I'd like to do that myself, but I also know that I wouldn't be driving a Minor any more. Its charm, its idiosyncracies and its peculiar driving characteristics would have been engineered out. Even if, after upgrading you managed to keep the feel of the old car, it would be just that, the Feel...

So can I summarise by saying that in my view if you want to drive an original Morris Minor you obviously have to drive it within it's limits. That doesn't mean slow or like a museum piece, I average 50 mph on a run i.e. 300 miles in 6 hours driving. If you want to drive faster you can change all the running gear and other bits and pieces and drive a car with a Morris Minor body. There are loads of companies out there catering for this.

I don't see how the rear brakes could have been'over adjusted'? If they were
set so as to be actually rubbing then the resultant overheating would have
made them less efficient and therefore even less capable of locking up in an
emergency.

Willie wrote:I don't see how the rear brakes could have been'over adjusted'? If they were
set so as to be actually rubbing then the resultant overheating would have
made them less efficient and therefore even less capable of locking up in an
emergency.

On a drums all round car I used to have, I once set the brakes to just binding all round, working on the theory a few miles would see them bed in and wear the excess off.

I learnt never to do this again after just managing to negotiate a roundabout at silly speeds when I had total fade/ failure at 70mph!

Willie, if the brake bias I described in my last post is observed correctly then the fronts will lock before the rears. In this particular case the rears locked first. Two conclusions can be drawn, either the rears were over adjusted or the fronts massively underadjusted.
I adjust the brakes as outlined in Packedup's post, so you hear a slight scuff when you spin the wheel, backed up with a brake test.

Exactly - there is no 'over adjusted'. In this case the front brakes were obviously faulty - hope they are fixed up now !

Hey Bm, whats going on , thats twice you have agreed with me!!!!:D

scary... I'd go and hide

Don't worry Jonathon. I'll find a home for that new engine when you start craving drums and 1098s

I think it'll be more a home for me (a secure one, with a high fence around it)

Don't worry Nikki, he's not grown up yet. He's not got the craving for 1098s and drums like I have!

It's alright JLH - you do grow out of these childish phases and infatuations, there's hope for him yet...

*Grins*

Perhaps then I can be excused for having a fantastic time last night when I took Hebe out for a spin

Yes, you can Nikki. The only way to enjoy the full 'Minor experience' is to have a foot in both camps. Modified AND standard! See? You medically NEED two cars now!

JONATHON....I repeat, you cannot 'overadjust' the rear brakes on a Minor,
you can only set them to give the designed maximum retardation. You cannot
make them 'bite' more than they should do unless you modify them! As I said
earlier the fronts were at fault.

I have a modified Minor and a standard one. So it's only minor mods to Liz, Vicks is bog standard