Morris Minor Owners Club

hi. i am 14 and i just bought myself a morris minor 1958. i have the intention to hot rod the apperance of it. could you tell wheather morris van leaf spings will fit my moggy 1000?
thanks
loz

AFAIK (I only know the springs from the commercials, really) the size of the loop which fits to the front mounting is different
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Has anyone fitted longer shackles on the back of the springs to bring the back end up? Like THIS SORT OF THING

If that is possible its easy to lower the front end by adjusting the torsion bars!!!.

Take the rear axle off and repaint with bright silver paint, add a few neons and flames on the bonnet.

Then fit big wheels at the back and standard at the front.

Job done!!

Or isn't that the sort of hot rod look you have in mind?

RogerRust wrote:Has anyone fitted longer shackles on the back of the springs to bring the back end up? Like THIS SORT OF THING

If that is possible its easy to lower the front end by adjusting the torsion bars!!!.

Take the rear axle off and repaint with bright silver paint, add a few neons and flames on the bonnet.

Then fit big wheels at the back and standard at the front.

Job done!!

Or isn't that the sort of hot rod look you have in mind?

hmmm... what i have in mind is that i would quite like it to be low at front high at back. but still with its original engine in.
i put jackup bars on my moggy but it lost the sping in the leaf. so i thought stonger leafs would do the trick.
could you please tell how you can adjust the torsion bars at the front.

Yes you could fit stronger springs - the Traveller springs are stronger having 7 leaves - and yes you can fit longer rear hangers. But you can't lower the front by much or it just hammers the bump stops into the inner wings and the lower arms bash the engine bay floor. Any of these 'mods' are just going to destroy the handling - I strongly advise against!

Yes I would have thought that jacking up the rear and lowering the front would upset all the front geometry. Caster, camber and KPI.

I lifted the back end of my first moggy back in 1982 when I was 17. I made some shackles from stainless at work like the ones shown in the link. It looked good I painted the diff white and fit a brake light underneath so it lit it up red. It looked good well I thought it did back then but the road handling was shocking. So bad, I removed them before the end of the same month.

Let me save you some hassle. Brand new 5 leaf springs will raise the rear of the car to where it was intended to be; far higher than most will have sagged to. Brand new 5 leafs are as stiff as you'd want and take a while to soften to a supple ride. At the same time take the opportunity to upgrade to poly bushes and forget about worn out bushes.

Joking apart.

I have just fitted new rear springs and polybushes. It was one of those jobs I put off last year in order to get the car on the road quicker.

They have picked up the back end by about 40mm, and have made a big difference to the ride. The back end now has twice as much clearance before the bump stops hit and the springs are stiffer. It makes the old girl feel like a youngster.

£40 well spent

Hmm, If your car is a 1958 model it should have the 7 leaf springs anyway? I have a very late 1957 1000 and that has them!

Hot rodding a minor....easiest mod to make it look more rod like is to lose the front and rear bumpers, then get some Slot mag alloys!

But as your only 14 I would say dont bother rushing, no point having a finished car you cant drive!

Maybe a set of fat pro street style slot mags at the back and skinny (relatively) at the front would achieve the look better. 3 years to play about! Maybe get the flames painted on now while cellulose is still available!

Just remember - if it's not 'standard' you will have problems getting insurance when you are 17 anyway!

I had problems getting insurance for my 1987 Rover 213 which cost me 200 quid!!

I jacked the back of my pick up in the eighties about three inch if I remember rightly, didnt do a lot to the handling as the back end was solid anyway with no load, and the steering didnt seem any worse through the shirt button steering wheel!

The change to 5-leaf springs looks to be at the very end of 1958 from the information I have. Our 1958 1000 was built during October 1958 and registered on 1 Nov 1958, so could be one of the last fitted with 7-leaf springs, which it still has!

wonder why they changed them

thanks for all the repley's
i have all ready taken back bumper off and filled it. i also intend to take the front one off.
i think the plan will be to change the leaf spings to 7 leaf traverler one's
it still need's alot of work i.e welding in few place's, boddy work, engine could do with a good tidey.
cheers for the help. i'm shore there will be many more questions to come.
loz

oh yer the pic is quite old! the hole back end is complete now

If you really want to 'fancy' it up - some smooth out the boot lid removing the number plate location - and lose the handle! then of course the rear lights can be changed too!

'wonder why they changed them'
I would say cost, four leaves per car, lots of steel plus leaf springs are very rarely loaded to anything like there capacity, apart from shock load most of them just go soft with age, the second leaf on mine is currently cutting a notch into the main leaf at the back so I,m expecting to drop onto the bump stops sometime around 2025!