Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi! I have never towed my 1960 Morris Minor 1000 (manual 4sp) yet.
I have the tow bar set up in place and ready to go.
Is it safe to tow this car with the driveline in and the trans. in between gears? Also do you have to tie the steering wheel in place?
Thanks for any help.<br><br>

how exactly are you going to tow it? If all 4 wheels are on the ground you need to tow from the front and the steering should be free to move otherwise it won't go round corners.

Only automatics have issues with being towed ... not sure about the steering whee though ... are you towing on a D bar, or an A frame?

Thanks so far for the input. I'd be towing behind my pickup using an A-frame type tow bar with all 4 wheels on the ground. Some friends are telling me that to leave the steering wheel loose but "do not back up". I quess I just worry about if the manual trans pops into gear, hopefully that won't happen though.

No real reason why it should do that - but if towing a long distnace, and worried about it - take the prop shaft off. All the oil will of course run out of the gearbox - unless you make a plug to shove in - instead of the prop shaft tail! But it will reduce the towing frictional load slightly.

I'd be towing behind my pickup using an A-frame type tow bar with all 4 wheels on the ground. Some friends are telling me that to leave the steering wheel loose but "do not back up".

All good advice so far! However when towing with an A-frame you are classed as having an unbraked trailer and the weight limit is most likely 500kg. The Minor is well over that, so can only be used this way in an emergency (motorway recovery to next exit or to local garage for repairs). You'll need a lighting board run from the tow car with the correct reg plate for the tow car,

The rules are very hard to find and the average PC won't know them properly but a well trained traffic policeman should know his stuff. Therefore consider the law and safety before doing so. If your tow vehicle is heavy duty, then safety of towing a higher weight unbraked trailer is much improved, but don't forget the rules.
When towing with a pickup, remember that the rear axle is unloaded and therefore prone to sliding! An unloaded rear axle will be a liability if you have to brake hard on a corner as the towed vehicle will just keep going and jack-knife you. (I've managed this once when towing a van on a solid pole!!)

I suspect this 'towing' is not in the UK ! Other countries have more enlightened rules - but the caveat re brakes etc is still relevant of course.

I suspect this 'towing' is not in the UK !

I saw the grass by the path and the clover flowers in it and couldn't think anything other than UK!


Doh - yes, I looked harder at the CAR and saw the LHD...

What is your location?

There are plenty of large camper vans towing Golfs etc on holiday during the summer so the weight limit must be well over that of a Minor. There are probably rules on weight of towing vehicle vis weight of towed vehicle

I've towed many a Minor with all four wheels on the ground with no problem. (except when the wheel fell off). Follows along quite nicely. Even towed a few with my 1275 van, including a Riley 1.5 and a Marina. Of course on some turns there was arguements of who was steering who. If the tow vehicle is light, slow down for turns, especially tight ones. If the engine is out, you will notice some some jerking over bumps as the Minor bounces a bit.
But absolutely let the steering do it's thing. The castor angle allows it to steer as needed. Which is why you can back up. Like a castor it will want to swing around and you'll see the steering wheel go from side to side. It has to be a dead straigh reverse. Sometimes someone can control the wheel for some direction control. The castor angle is the reason why tow trucks raise the back of the vehicle so high. It reverses the cstor angle, but they also tie the wheel because they really want it fixed and they can also back up.
The attachment I made for a tow bar attaches to the eyebolts and I support the front with straps that attach to the crank hole. If the bumper system is not sound, I secure it to the chassis legs or engine mounts with chains.

Thanks for all your input. I live in Washington USA (not Washington DC).
I have a full size pickup so I don't think I have a problem. Not worried about braking as my truck pulls a 20 ft boat on trailer without brakes just fine. I just had never towed a vehicle by tow bar before and was mostly wondering about the steering. Any car I ever towed was on a trailer. By the way the car is in running condition, I'm just going to the coast in another month or so and would like to putt around in it when I'm there.
Thanks again <br><br>

By the way, it would be about 120 miles each way.

Why not just drive the Minor to the coast?

As mentioned you should have working lights and perhaps a sign "In Tow". You can either use those lights with a magnet base and plug into you trailer plug or make a short harness that can attached to the plug under the bonnet near the right headlight for the tail (and parking lights), the relay box for the brake lights and turn signals, and also a body ground. You need tow bullet connections and two slotted terminals. Disconnecting the battery may be a good idea, but I've never done it. However, I do have an inline fuse for the lights. I would think the fuses in the tow vehicle would settle any arguments between the two vehicles.

There are plenty of large camper vans towing Golfs etc on holiday during the summer so the weight limit must be well over that of a Minor.

For the UK, unless they have an A-frame with a braked hitch (usually connected to a brake pedal actuator secured on the drivers floor) they won't be legal.