Morris Minor Owners Club

Hey guys, i'm wondering is anyone has ever tried to fit a skid plate/sump guard onto a saloon or if this is even possible. The reason being that my 1968 1000 is so slammed it has a tendancy to grind out on speed bumps etc. I know there are quite a few for Mini's but will they fit?

Think the best option here is to raise the car to a safe height, as a holed sump equals unhealthy motor, adding a sump guard will only decrease the already poor clearance.

I made and fitted an excellent sump guard to my rally Minor many moons ago. It was a complete fabricated 'tray' ( like a child's sledge in shape) that bolted up through the side chassis members and the front cross member - and extended back to protect the clutch operating mechanism. Entertaining to see the trail of sparks left behind at night on a bumpy road! One important point though - you MUST fit an oil cooler if you do this!

I used one to drive through Africa. The ground was more hot than the ambient air so it makes no difference to oil cooling. To cool the engine, make sure your radiator and waterpump are ok. To cool underbonnet area, make sure the underbonnet air has somewhere to exit.
If you send me an email address I'll try to dig out my drawing - you will want a bit less clearance between sump guard and sump than I had (unless you're planning to drive over a lot of big rocks)

I had one on my van. I welded 1" box section on the chassis rails and modified the sump. A 6mm sheet of aluminium was bolted on.

Make sure you put foam between the gaurd and sump otherwise stones can find there way inbetween and quickly hole the sump.

Just for info guys Some GPO vans had them fitted!! I was about to tell whe eyou can read all about it...............but that would be a hanging offence on this forum............can not say where


not my doing I have been told off by the moderators