Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello, My woman wants a Morris Minor so today we went to have a look at one. It looks quite okay but I am concerned about the motor. I know it isn't exactly a jet engine but never thought it would be that slow. When we arrived at the garage where the Minor is for sale the motor had been warmed up. Whenever I look at used cars I want to hear the motor both cold and warm but in this case I have only heard it when warm. When I started it I immediately asked the seller if it is fireing on all cylinders. It sounded like it was running on 3 cylinders only. I had a look at the exhaust fumes and there was no black smoke there so I suppose the seller was correct after all. When revving the motor up (with cluth pressed down) it revved up remarkably slow. Naturally the acceleration of a 1957 Minor can't be very quick but should the motor sound slow even when the motor doesn't have to move the car?

Take the car for a test drive. Make sure you drive the car. If it is only on 3 cylinders, then you will know.

I forgot to mention earlier that I did actually drive it today. It was slow but possibly running on all 4 cylinders. It felt like the Minor was accelerating slower than an average moped.

Here's a picture of the car we went to look at.<br><br>

Well - that will be the 948 engine model which is not the fastest in the range !! But even so - the idle should be smooth and it should 'spool up' nicely when you stab the accelerator. Could be many things - most likely is sticking piston in carburettor, or even just a completely clogged up air filter - but provided no nasty rattles or clouds of smoke it should be easy enough to get it running correctly. Do take the radiator cap off and rev it up - and see if there are any bubbles. Then take the oil filler cap off while the hot engine is idling - is there a plume of smoke and fume coming out ??
The mechanical parts of these cars are almost irrelevant - what is important is the condition of the UNDERSIDE ! That will cost about 10 X as much to repair as any mechanical woes. More pictures - including under the bonnet and the boot floor - and under the carpets will help us advise you !

I agree completely with BMC (above). Even if the engine is completely shot you can get a secondhand replacement for no more than £100.00 and probably half that these days. The body is the important part. NO ROT MEANS A GOOD BUY

I'm afraid I can't post any more pictures of the car. I stole this picture from the ad where we found the Minor for sale. The underside is in a fantastic condition. The car has been completely disassembeled and the few holes that once existed have all been welded. Even if I am far from an expert on welding I have spent enough time welding to say it really looks like it has been done very well. The underside has been painted with thick undercoating so it looks just like a new car. I did have a look under the carpets and everything looks great. The motor has recently been removed and reinstalled after being painted (British Racing green?). All the walls surrounding the motor have been painted the same colour as the body so it looks REALLY nice under the bonnet. The paintjob on the body could have been better. It looks like a talented amateur painted it in a hurry. Not horrible but very far from show winning standard. The price asked if anyone is interested - In british Punds: 1563 Back to the motor: I don't think the air filter is clogged. I have experienced that on other cars. It works as an extra choke and the exhaust fumes turn black. The card has recently been rebuilt so it SHOULD be in good condition... Still, rebuilding something doesn't necessarily mean it works good when finished...

Its worth pulling the plug leads off one at a time whilst it is ticking over. Use a pair of insulated pliers and don't touch the bodywork with your spare hand. No worries its only 20000volts. Anyway the engine should slow down each time. If not then you have a fault with that cylinder, possibly just electrical.

Well - I would worry about that thick undercoating - what's it hiding!? Yes - the paint looks a bit dull to say the least and i'm not sure a colour/finish like that will polish up. So you should factor in for a decent respray and allow something for fixing th engine - these are good bargaining points! I would try to buy it for £1000 - maybe end up splitting the difference at £1250 - not much more than that!

I really don't think the undercoating is hiding anything scary. The owner said something about the car having been sandblasted when it was disassembled. All the undercoating is new and fresh and there are no old rests that could hide rust. It is easy to see where metal pieces have been welded in to the underside. Thinking about the fact that the car is 51 years old it must always have been relatively rust free. I just checked a search engine that searches all Swedish ads on the internet in one search. Right now there are (apart from the Minor we had a look at) 4 Minors for sale in Sweden that can be used right after purchase. The price span is from 2260 to 3800 Pounds. There are also two wrecks for sale and the prices are 195 and 1000 Pounds. By the way - how is a gearbox supposed to sound and feel on a MM 1000? This car is "singing" on first gear and on higher gears it is quite silent. The synchronising is not fantastic but feels rather okay. I stopped the car with second gear engaged and had to use quite a bit of muscle power to get it in neutral...

Well - 1st and reverse are achieved with straight-cut teeth and direct engagement, so yes they are noisy. 1st should only be used to 'get the car rolling' - then into second and accelerate away. And these boxes (especially the smooth case box with the 948 engine) are not exactly famous for their syncromesh powers! Just be happy if it doesn't jump out of any of the gears on power reversal. Sticking in second - well it may be the clutch needs a bit of adjusting and is not freeing completely. Again - all the mechanical bits are almost irrelevant - but body condition is ALL important.

We are going back to have a second look at that Minor tomorrow. I have searched the Swedish ads on the internet and it seems as if the price isn't that bad after all. I still think the underside and rest of the body is in good condition so I'd like to ask is there anything mechanical (even if nothing is really expensive or hard to repair) that I should study closer tomorrow.

Just general engine condition - when idling hot - take the oil filler cap off - there should NOT be plume of smoke/fume from the rocker cover! Other main thing is gearbox - should not jump out of gear on torque reversal ie when you lift off the power in each gear. But use such items as 'bargaining' points - not reasons to reject the car. But if you find RUST under carpets/boot floor etc - then consider rejection.

We bought the Minor today. Only three cylinders were firing but a new spark plug took care of that problem. The motor still needs some adjusting to work absolutely perfect. I had a look at the documents of this car: It hasn't been used between September of 1970 and June of 2008. I suppose that's quite unusual. If anyone is interested I will be able to upload pictures by the end of next week. Just let me know if you want to see more pictures of the car and I\'ll go get my camera.

Oh yes - we are always interested to see pics

Well done - let's see the pictures!

Today I took 25 pictures of the Morris. I hope you want to comment on them and tell what looks good and what looks bad on the car. And if anyone could tell what type of SU carb that is fitted that information would be highly appreciated. The pictures can be viewed here: http://www.pixbox.se/alb942365

It looks great!! Well done. I especially like that Art Deco heater!! The SU appears to be the standard early H2 carb - 1.25" throat, and the early original air cleaner assembly. The whole car seems in fine condition - look after it well!

Very nice