Morris Minor Owners Club

i need to stop my traveller! it is a 1098 and the braking is awful. can anybody offer any advice, i know east sussex morris minors will fit disk brakes for about £500, does anyone know of a cheaper option?]
Thanks
Robin

well it's raining today..
if the brakes are working correctly you should be able to skid the car on a wet road at 20 or even 30 mph...
(be very carefull if you try it)
If you can't then your brakes aren't in tip top condition.

I have had problems with brake fade in the past but that was down to severely corroded + worn brake drums.
Other brake problems can come from sticking wheel cylinders, faulty master cylinder, leaks etc..

The cheapest otion to upgrade the brakes on a 1098 is to go for 9" drums instead of the 8" (Riley 1500 or Wolsley 1500) however these are not easy to find anymore.

Otherwise you can consider to go to the scrappy for a set of Sierra front disks and calipers. Then you'll need a conversion kit.
If you DIY it, it will be a lot less pricey than the £500!
lets face it a complete Sierra with MOT is only £500 ish so paying the same amount just for a brake conversion is a bit steep for most people ;-)

Do it yourself and save the labour charges
Seriously its the only current conversion thats worth doing as the Midget one is slightly less (£25:00) but is not as good and to get the full benefit a servo may be required if you dont like the pedal feel.
It is still possible to do a Marina conversion but you will need to source some parts if you contact Minor Mania they can help with what is required
http://www.minor-mania.co.uk/about.htm

But if you paid £500 for a complete Sierra ... you'd be driving a blooming Sierra ... now where would the fun be in that?

What about a transplanting a set of disc-brakes from a Marina, or does that work out more difficult/expensive than taking them from a Sierra?

you'd be driving a blooming Sierra ... now where would the fun be in that?

You'd be able to stop, you'd have some heat in the car, maybe central locking, you'd be able to hear the stereo and not have to shout to be heard over the engine at 70mph, you could do 90 mph if you chose to, you'd also have a luggage space if it's a 5 door....

But yes it's not a Minor and doesn't have the character - which is why I've still got my Minor and drum brakes ;-)

it is a 1098 and the braking is awful

Robin - a Minor's brakes shouldn't be awful. When they're properly adjusted they are safe enough. I assume you have clicked all the snailcam adjusters to the maximum and then back one notch?

As an alternative to Ray's test, if the brake shoes aren't worn and everything else is O.K. then (on a dry tarmac surface) you will be able to stop from 30mph in only 25 feet (exactly two car lengths). If you find your minor takes more than that then it proves you have sub-standard brakes.

I'll second Chris' comment.

My 1098 stopped at the traffic lights this am - about 20 yds from 30 mph - and it's wet. No locking, no loss of adhesion.
The Eurobox behind me (30ft or so behind) had to swerve around and go through the red light - I didn't see if he had a mobile/breakfast in his hands, but I think his head was empty.

Colin

(on a dry tarmac surface) you will be able to stop from 30mph in only 25 feet (exactly two car lengths).

I wondered if there was a more sensible way to check the brakes...

If you do the locked wheels test is tht you will find out about your brake balance, as if one front brake is poor, then only the good front brake will lock up...
Hence the need to be careful! You don't need to have the brakes on for more than a second as this will tell you what you need to know. (Also I wouldn't do it unless the road is big and there's no cars or pedestrians around.)
There is always a bit of imbalance, and if the tyres don't match, then that can cause the same effect. To make sure, try it again with more brake pressure, but if you still only get one wheel locked, then look at the brakes urgently (otherwise you may regret it if you need to do an emergency stop - you can spin the car)

If you test the brakes in the dry, then the way to look for unbalanced brakes is to take your hands off the wheel and try an emergency stop. If the car pulls away from a straight line then thats a brake balance fault (you may need to grab the wheel if it is severe).
I do that test when buying a second hand car, on both Classics and Euroboxes as you don't want a repair bill for the brakes on top of buying the car..

go to the gym and build up those leg mussels

try running it down the mot station with a tip, and get them to test them for you

cheapest improvement must be to fit a servo onto the standard front drum brakes. works great on my traveller.

i spose they will always skid because of the narrow tyres, but you take that into account .... after a while ...

cheers
grainger

spose they will always skid because of the narrow tyres

Wider tyres are more prone to skid in the wet! Mine skids because the brakes are working normally, and because I was testing the brakes ;-).
but yes - unlike modern cars which have far too much servo boost, you don't usually skid a Minor by accident.

it is far easier to lock up on a modern car, i feel much happier in the moggy, because you dont have some computer controlling whats happening......

so if i can get my hands on some sierra brakes at the scrappie, or a dead midget with brakes, how much work will i need to do to fit them? is it worth getting the parts and taking it to my mechanic to fit, or is it easy enough to do myself?

the midget brakes SHOULD be easier to fit, and as far as i can remember, you should be able to get all of the bits new or recon for around £150 - i am not an expert on this, i dont know how to convert them, i am just doing up a sprite, and parts of the front suspension are very similar......

To fit the Sierra brakes you need a fitting kit with the backplates, caliper mounting brackets etc. The only bits you can use from the Sierra are the calipers, discs and pads (and it's a good idea to get new discs and pads while you are at it). You will also need the discs drilling to the Minor stud pattern if you are keeping the standard wheels, as well as hubs to accept the discs. This is why they sell the 'kit'. I don't know about the Midget / Marina setup but I would imagine that a similar situation exists, so it is not as easy as ripping the bits off a scrapper and bolting them on the Moggy!