Morris Minor Owners Club

Ok, I have inheridited a 1967 morris minor woody traveler 1000, great condition, well, before it sat in mymom's garage for 17 years. We did remove the battery and drain the oil and gasoline beofre it sat. Now, I'd like to get it running agin. where do I begin?

Try turning over the engine by hand, see if it's seized. Fill with oil if not, change petrol for fresh stuff, new battery I would prob pull hose of carb at this stage (make sure the hose is a good one too..) & pump some fresh petrol through the pipes then possibly turn it over for a few seconds with coil HT lead removed to get some oil going round & then have a go at firing her up....

Someone may be along later to add/take away from this but I think it's essentially it...

Then you only have to check out all the electrics, check brakes, hoses etc check chassis for rot, suspension, kingpins for play etc...

If I was you I'd get the engine running, overhaul the brakes then get it to an MOT station to see what else needs doing for a new certificate.

Cheap way to get a good judge of the state she's in...

Get a manual!

I'm guessing that you're in (Thinks) Canada or America.

First thing I'd do is put some oil in the engine and get out your starting handle**. Get it turning over by hand first. Of course, if it's been sat for 17 years then the engine has probably seized, in which case I've heard several remedies as to how to get them working - most of which are on other threads on here


I'd also probably check that the clutch moves as if it's got rusty at all the plates would have rusted together.

After you've got your engine turning over by hand hook up the battery and have a go!

At least, that's what I'd do since you've probably got nothing to loose after 17 years of being sat still.

Do you have any photos?

Nikki



** I've just realised that if my evil plan with Hebe goes ahead and I turn her into an E-minor then she'll loose her little starting handle! Booo!

if it's been sat for 17 years then the engine has probably seized,

very unlikely (unless the plugs were left out or the manifold / carb / exhaust taken off, it is hard for a lot of damp to get to the cylinders.
An engine left assembled in a car in a garage has a very high probability of beiong ok.

Best idea is to put some oil down the bores before turning over with the starting handle (carefully). If the engine doesn't have any sticky points then put the plugs back in one at a time and repeat to see if you feel compression on each cylinder. If that is ok, get battery and put some fresh fuel in!!
As you've drained the fuel tank it is likely to be full of surface rust so make sure you have an inline filter.
The pretrol pump is unlikely to work after a few years standing but often they are ok if you clean up the points with abrasive paper (do you call it emery cloth in your part of the world - the strange place where mums are called moms and petrol is called gas)
once you have a working petrol pump putting petrol into the car it is still unlikely to run. If there's no spark (common after such a long time laid up) you may just need to clean the points in the distributor.

once the engine is running, you can find out if the clutch will come free, and then find out if the engine is strong enough to free off the seized brakes. Most likely you will ahve to replace most of the braking system, as most of it will be stuck/corroded after such a long time.

Good luck - it would be nice to hear how you get on.

I can't seem to find the crank handle to start the engine manually, I have a maunal, however, i'm a 36 yeear old woman!! I know nothing about cars, I drive a huge SUV and have never lifted the hood. Now, for this challenge.
The car has no battery, will have to buy one, 12 volt?? where can I get parts? yes, I'm in America. Found this site just from doing a search.
Yep, have a photo, here it is....how do I insert a photo?[/img]

Yes the battery is a 12v one - should be available fairly easily. Try looking under the boot floor for a crank handle - it might be bundled up with the jack. The original ones were painted red.

Great news that you've got the car and found this site Hopefully you'll get plenty of support and we'll bridge the divide of an almost common language There are plenty of bonny lasses on here who will tell you (correctly) that being a woman won't be a problem.

Now, battery: Yes 12 volt. We call them type 038 but if you ask your local car spares place he should be able to supply one - take the old one along as a pattern.

Other parts are easily available by mail order from plenty of UK companies, and there are US based stockists of "Brit" (British) car parts.

Without a crank handle you can still turn the engine with a few precautions. Make sure that the spark plugs have been removed so that it cannot start or get compression, then look at the front of the engine. You might be able to turn it by moving the fan or fan belt; or find the big nut on the end of the crankshaft and use a spanner on it. When standing in front of the car and facing the engine, turn the nut clockwise.

You will probaly need some local mechanical assistance to help assess things, but hopefully the car will be OK after a bit of care and attention. Just take it one step at a time, and eventually the answer to your title questioin will be...... DRIVE IT Good luck.

well if you can afford the airfare, I'll gladly take a look at it for you

yes, I'm in America.

Whereabouts? So am I... I'm in LA, anywhere close??

Salty, have you moved?

Definitely put oil in the bores - and let it seep down the rings before attempting to turn the engine. Battery from Costco - be sure to connect it right way round - the car may have a warning sticker somehwere to say Negative earth. Spark plugs out - fresh oil in sump - and crank it till the oil pressure light goes out. Then new plugs - plus all the tips alraedy given about fuel pump/points etc - and with fresh petrol it should go ! You may need to pour just an egg-cup full down the carb inlet to get it started first time. The fan belt and radiator hoses will need renewing - the clutch will likely be stuck - but often if you get the engine started and warm it up fully - the heat soak through into the clutch will release it - worth a go. And all the brakes and the tyres will need renewing too ! Best really to try to find an enthusiast (not necessarily Minor - Mini or MG would do nicely) near you to help you out.

bmcecosse wrote:Spark plugs out - fresh oil in sump - and crank it till the oil pressure light goes out.

Don't spend TOO long cranking it if the oil pressure light won't go out or you will run the risk of damaging the engine. If you can't get oil pressure then undo the banjo bolt at the rear of the engine that connects to the oil filter and dribble fresh oil down there with a long nosed oil can. This will find it's way down to the dry oil pump and prime it. I have had to do this before and got oil pressure straight away afterwards.

Guys, guys, guys! Give the lass a break. Slow down. Breathe. You're all getting terribly over excited. Remember, she's said she knows nothing about car maintainance. Saying 'banjo bolt' to me 7 years ago would have left me going "what, musical is it?".

Chucking 'petrol down the carb' is great... unless you've no idea how

Cam, oh man of many pictures, perhaps now is your opportunity to shine

(Incidentally, welcome to the MMOC, I'm Kate, I wander round tiredly going 'I'm tired' at the moment, so I'm probably best ignored).

Salty, have you moved?

Yep nearly a year ago... That's why the minor got sold!

I'm a temporary colonial or something

Pyoor_Kate wrote:Guys, guys, guys! Give the lass a break. Slow down. Breathe. You're all getting terribly over excited. Remember, she's said she knows nothing about car maintainance. Saying 'banjo bolt' to me 7 years ago would have left me going "what, musical is it?".

Chucking 'petrol down the carb' is great... unless you've no idea how

Cam, oh man of many pictures, perhaps now is your opportunity to shine

Kate, speaking honestly if I may. Really speaking, if you know absolutely nothing about car maintenance and have never lifted the bonnet on your own car then trying to get an old car going is not going to be an easy straightforward task. There are certain things that HAVE to be done though in order for it to work properly.

Ideally she would be best getting someone to get it going for her, but after that it should need a fair amount of work to get it roadworthy and if she is not mechanically experienced then that's going to translate into $$$

But she did ask:

Now, I'd like to get it running agin. where do I begin?

So we replied! If she wants to do the work herself then buying and reading the appropriate manuals for the car and attending car maintenance classes is a good start, and of course asking questions on here.