Morris Minor Owners Club

How Reliable would you say your minor is as mini owners moan like the A series is unreliable whereas I've found the A series to be virtualy indestructable

I agree, the mecahnics are virtually indestructible. It will take an awful lot of punishment, but has bits that wear out (like the points) that modern cars just don't have, so you have to do some maintenance to keep it trouble free.

The problem with the A series in a mini is that all the sensitive ignition electrics are right at the front, exposed to all the road grunge and wet weather.

I rekon most mini owners issues are caused by the lack of maintance and plain and simple tight fistedness
as for the past 8 years I've been driveing mini's and have not broke down once
my current 72 mini was with the old owner for about 10 years and he never missed a day off work while he had the mini as soon as he brought a vw polo estate he was off work with no car
all he did was the same as me listened to the engine if it sounded a bit rough investigate why rather than wait till you need the aa
I cant realy comment on my minor but I rekon it will be just as reliable as my mini
I cleaned the minor engine earlier it started straight up as it should and my mini does after rinseing it off
I like the A series and I am also a fan of ford's cross flow lump what a great engine I dont want no stinking ecu or abs etc the proper way or not at all for me
gadgets and gizmos just create lousy drivers in my opinon as they are all to busy trying to sort out the air conditioning or figure something out

edit

and I belive maintainace is the main thing that most mini owners are forgeting
now the strange thing about this is many of these people claim to be enthuiasts yet they fail to follow the basic monthly checks
I mean it only takes 5 minutes to check the points the main break down for sure and is hardly rocket science and since these engines are user freindly not laptop freindly theres no excuse
and checking out the minor handbook with all the relevant settings etc listed it shows you must be willing to get a bit of oil under your nails or was it armpit

I've always found the A series to be pretty bullet proof, but only used them in in line configuration (Marina and Minor). They carry on forever - even on 3 pistons

I thought the question was regarding Moggys not Mini's

I know they have the same A series engine but you can't compare the set ups...
Speaking from experience a Moggy is one of the most reliable cars you will find, with just routine maintenance you won't have any probs;

Mal

My Morris is mint! (and reliable!) - that cover it?

mal wrote:I thought the question was regarding Moggys not Mini's

Thought my answer was too... "I've always found the A series to be pretty bullet proof, but only used them in in line configuration (Marina and Minor)"

I was going to tick very reliable... went out a few minutes ago to find my starter has jammed and she wont start on the handle..

To define reliability realistically I feel that annual mileage has to be taken into account. A car that has been used for the odd show without problem, may turn out to be totally unreliable as an every day car. Only time will tell.

(ducks and waits )

I perform all the regular maintenance chores and more and can only say that
if you asked me to drive from London to John o Groats I would check the oil
and water and fully expect to get there without problems. When I owned a
Mini I did 25,000 miles a year in it and only breakdown was due to a burst
by-pass hose!

Ah, a potential entrant for next years inaugral LEO (Lands End to Orkney) run

I've found alternator conversions to be very unreliable - I have yet to come across a Minor owner who fitted an ACR Alternator that never had a problem within a couple of years. (broken bottom pulley, faulty Alternator etc...) Sometimes problems within days!

With good maintenance, a standard Minor is likewly to be reliable but it surely depends on how much 'life' is left in the car (ie how much abuse/servicing it has had and how many miles it's done previously). I've bought Minors that needed replacement engines within a thousand miles, despite servicing them when purchased.

Servicing makes a huge difference and having bought a fair few cheap Minors, I found that the initial rate of breakdowns can be astronomic until the maintenance is back under control.

A heavily restored Minor should be very reliable (after fixing the teething problems of faulty new parts) but if you're going to do 20,000 miles a year you are likely to have permanently dirty hands - maybe not in the first year but certainly by the end of the second year (just my experience).
When the Minor was brand new, they were the most reliable car around. When 40 years old it depends on a fair bit of chance!

Well, I ticked very reliable, even though I broke down yesterday, with a dead dynamo (brushes worn out)

But as long as you treat them with the respect they deserve, they will last!

I broke down yesterday, with a dead dynamo (brushes worn out

Hence my comment on reliability vs servicing...

No comment I checked them a year ago actually. About 15,000 miles back.

Ah but a dead dynamo doesn't stop you - the car will still run enough to get you home - so that doesn't count as a real 'breakdown' !

For me, reliability also means "Can I rely on this car to get me to my destination?"

The beauty of simple cars, epitomised by the Minor, is even if you have a problem, more often than not you can fix it easily and cheaply and carry on your journey.

Old cars may need more care, but it is care well within the capability of the average owner who can be bothered to learn.

If only the same could be said of modern cars.

bmcecosse wrote:Ah but a dead dynamo doesn't stop you - the car will still run enough to get you home - so that doesn't count as a real 'breakdown' !

I drove my Elan home from the Cotswolds this year in just such a condition

It was a bit "skin of the teeth" but it got us home

Ive had mine for almost two years now. Initially it was a complete pain in the backside as it had been laid up for 7 years. Many electrical and cooling problems as well as faults caused by people poorly wiring in alarms with scotch locks (i really hate these).

Now i trust when I jump in the car it will start on the button and get me where I'm going. Its just the niggly little faults that I'm constantly finding piling up and having to be blitzed such as leaks, electrical faults and brakes doing interesting new things.

Just to redress the balance for modern cars, my Saab 9000 15 years old,70,000 miles in my ownership , only one blown headlight bulb, Honda Interga 1.6EX, no faults at all, in 80,000 miles, Honda Civic 1.5S no breakdowns, Citroen ZX TD Volcane 30,000 miles no breakdown, Peugeot 405 TD estate 10,000 miles no breadown. Minors are very reliable and easy to work on , modern cars can be more reliable but harder to work on.