Morris Minor Owners Club

Before viewing, request clear pics of the chassis number stamped directly into the bodyshell - walk away if vendor is unwilling to reveal it - number often painted over.

Also the chassis plate - Cowley stamping unique.

Body code and number.

Many 2dr roof chops with Tourer identities about.





.

I just went to get an insurance quote in case I buy it and it comes up as a "2 Door Coupe" , does this mean its not an original convertible as the owner says or is that normal ?

Wondering if the owner knows if its original even especially after what you said he seems confident its an original though...

It will only say what is written on the V5C. You say 85 miles away - GO AND SEE IT - you'll be there in a couple of hours. You seem very smitten with this car - I advise extreme caution.....There are many fish in the sea..... The re-registration would have me running away . And the mess under the bonnet - and the missing engine steady (it will be rocking all over the place) . RH for Classic insurance - don't go to any of the standard car insurers!!! It should be ~£70/80 depending on garaged or not (and Convertibles and Travellers MUST be garaged) and number of drivers etc.

Hi yes I am too keen to get one asap I think before the summer goes, even if its just one to get me into it so I can learn more and then buy my perfect car when I know a lot more, it takes me a lot of time to decide what I want but when I do decide on something then I go all out to get it...

its one of my many faults.. but then the time I spend researching I could be doing other things for our business so its not about money its about getting the right car...

The registration thing could be a worry as it says on log book first registered in 1972 but its a 1964 ex taxi car from Jersey,,

Having second thoughts about the driving to look at it now...

Perhaps if he sends me pics of the underside in the AM and if OK I will still go ?

I have put RH insurance into my phone for when we buy one.. thanks for that recommendation...

To be honest the wife would rather pay more and get a really nice one first time that we can take and show as we like the classic car scene but this summer is disappearing fast and we have a dry ish week this week so its a good time to be driving one home.

Having been a historical re-enactor for many years Sue loves the idea of us both dressing up in the period of the car and pootling about... and she likes the idea of us having a picnic basket on the back as well..

Ah well - the 'Jersey Taxi' explains the re-reg, so that's no so bad and I guess no salty roads over there - although there is the sea. For 85 miles I would go and take my own pics!! Good luck with it. Remember you have to 'Tax' the car on change of ownership - and therefore before driving it home, and you can't do the Tax on a sunday - even though it is of course free... Crazy world...

Thanks everso..., learning al the time,

Have been offered another car which looks perfect so we will let you know what we end up with..

Sue wasn't well today so we cant drive 200 miles to see the one we meant to look at as per past posts and we decided after advice on here that it might be hard to resell with the odd registrations etc...

Got another one lined up that looks ok though...

We have decided to go for it and have told seller we will definitely have it, I will post pics when we get it if it goes ahead, it looks just what we want after the advice given to us by kind members I feel confident we have the right car so thanks for all your helpful advice.

Hopefully I will be able to give people advice in the future when I/we know more.

Check the MOT history of the car you have been 'offered'........

Stuartandsue wrote:Hi yes I am too keen to get one asap I think before the summer goes, even if its just one to get me into it so I can learn more and then buy my perfect car when I know a lot more, it takes me a lot of time to decide what I want but when I do decide on something then I go all out to get it...

Mate, as someone who could only afford a Morry in pretty poor condition, I can assure you that getting it up to scratch is pretty awful. I don't mean getting it to 'perfect' status, I'm talking about all those every day things like brakes, exhaust, suspension, ignition, etc. All these add up and if they're all crappy, the path to getting a nice running but still horrible looking car can be long, featuring only small improvements on the way. My Moggy is better now than when I bought her, but she's far from being a nice car to drive and looks one step away from the knackers.

It sounds like you can afford a nice car, so wait and buy one. Work out what you can afford and buy the best you can within that. Even a really good Morry will give you a lot to play with and a lot to learn - they still need brakes, suspension bushes, exhausts, dizzy caps, etc, and that's before you look at regular maintenance.

bmcecosse wrote:NO! And how can a car be legitimately 're-registered???? it may have assumed the Reg Number of a real Convertible..... no interior light switch holes??

The re-registration isn't a great issue. I agree that a 1964 car with a 1972 registration looks odd but that what was done with imported cars in the 1970s. If you contacted the DVLA now and requested an "age related number" they would issue a "B" suffix free of charge.
The "no courtesy light switch holes on a genuine convertible" statement is a myth which for some reason is raised regularly.
Courtesy light switches were fitted to Minor 1000s from the end of 1958 and the panel which carries the switch was altered at that time and manufactured with a hole for the switch. A Convertible didn't have the light so doesn't have the switch fitted BUT the hole for the switch IS there and was plugged with a rubber grommet on the production line. Some owners have fitted switches later, to operate a light fitted to the dashboard. Funnily enough my own Convertible which ISN'T a genuine one has no switch hole because it was built before that date. Some people probably reckon that mine is "genuine" on that basis!

I agree the re-reg is not now a problem - I did ask if it had come in from overseas - all before seeing the ebay listing. Getting an 'age related' plate is not a re-reg. Thanks for info re light holes - I had thought they were a give-away. I'm sure now the car is a gen Conv from 1964. Doesn't seem to be doing too well on ebay so far.....

Thanks for all your advice, we have purchased one today and it is now sat in our garage,

We bought have a 1953 split screen in our preferred white colour with the cheese grater type front grille.

There are a few things non original on it but we like it, takes a bit of getting used to the clutch and gears but we got home ok in it across the Penines with the roof down most of the way until it started catching the wind and billowing up.

It has lots of new stuff and is very solid underneath having had a new floor amongst a lot of other things, too many to list but just about everything has been replaced, the chrome is good as is the bodywork, there are some mods people who like them all original wont like, such as the white enamelled non standard wheels and a non standard engine but we love it, I had a really good look round and couldn't see any rust.

We have the original 1953 log book that shows it was originally a Tourer.[frame][/frame]

Looks great - except for the ghastly/dangerous peaks!! Throw them away!!! Lovely clean front end - no tacky badges or silly 'spot' lamps - and no over-riders. Good luck it.

Well done on your car. Hope you enjoy it. Looks nice.

Did you do all the ID checks?

Excellent. Well done - it looks lovely although obviously far from original. I imagine it was a sidevalve one originally from the bonnet badge?

Hi, From what I have learned so far its a Series II as it has the headlights outside/above and not in the grille unlike the 1949-'52 "lowlight" MM so it would have had the 803cc OHV engine... they changed from the cheesegrater grille to the slat grille in 54 so I would guess the one we have might be reasonably rare as they only did the cheesegrater grille on the series II from '52 to '54 if the info I have found on this site and through google is right.

I think we got a good deal as we didn't pay a great deal more for this really nice one than some of the others we have looked at that have been quite rough, it was worth waiting, thanks again for all the advice.

We learning every day so one day I hope I/we can give some advice ourselves when we know more.

I must find a totally original one like ours and see what all the differences are apart from the obvious things like the extra indicators, I got out of the car to put the roof up earlier and nearly snapped off the semaphore as Sue forgot to turn the indicator off, I am going to have to watch for that as it has two brand new ones and he says they aren't cheap.

Stuartandsue wrote:Hi, From what I have learned so far its a Series II as it has the headlights outside/above and not in the grille unlike the 1949-'52 "lowlight" MM so it would have had the 803cc OHV engine... they changed from the cheesegrater grille to the slat grille in 54 so I would guess the one we have might be reasonably rare as they only did the cheesegrater grille on the series II from '52 to '54 if the info I have found on this site and through google is right.

I think we got a good deal as we didn't pay a great deal more for this really nice one than some of the others we have looked at that have been quite rough, it was worth waiting, thanks again for all the advice.

We learning every day so one day I hope I/we can give some advice ourselves when we know more.

I must find a totally original one like ours and see what all the differences are apart from the obvious things like the extra indicators, I got out of the car to put the roof up earlier and nearly snapped off the semaphore as Sue forgot to turn the indicator off, I am going to have to watch for that as it has two brand new ones and he says they aren't cheap.

It likely is an MM, as they were only 'lowlights' initially - the lights were moved to the wings at the very end of 1950 / beginning of 1951. So in fact, most series MMs are actually not 'lowlights'

As ManyMinors says, if the bonnet is anything to go by, it's an MM as that bonnet 'flash' or whatever it's called, was changed on the SII cars. Of course, it could be that that has been changed over the years, although in my experience, the bonnet is one of the few parts on a Minor that doesn't rust too badly!

You say you have the original 1953 logbook. That will tell you what the car was originally. If the original engine capacity was 918cc then it was a "MM" Series. If 803cc it was a Series11. The chassis number will tell all. Old English White was not a colour option so the original colour will also show on the logbook. Other small details are the later lights as you say, and also a later bumper is fitted along with the mirrors etc which certainly make modern driving a bit safer! I expect the car has received some mechanical updates too which will make the driving experience easier . It looks very smart.

As far as values are concerned, the earlier cars attract a rather small market so prices are relatively low due to their less practical nature. The split screen cars look great so if they are what you fancy they are often a good buy.

Apparently, the vendor told them I (POMMReg) had confirmed it as a genuine Tourer - unless I see a pic of the stamped in chassis number/virgin NMP plate I don't do - the floors were replaced during restoration thus no chassis stamp(?)

What have the floors got to do with it? Surely a Minor of this age wouldn't have had the chassis number stamped into the floor would it?
The buyer says he has the original 1953 logbook and that states that it was originally a Tourer.