Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi there, I'm a new member and have recently purchased my 1968 Moggy Traveller in burgundy "mmhmm". However I know that to change the seating position you have to unbolt it underneath and move it. What I would like to know If there is a modification for the seats to allow some sort of slider so i can change the seating position more easily.

cheers Grant

The driver seat should be adjustable anyway - without any 'unbolting' . There are many aftermarket seat options - personally I find the seating position is part of the character of the car!

You can unbolt the seat and mount it further back (or forward) but there are only 3 holes so you use either the front two or the back two - This gives about an extra inch or so, thats all. But, as Roy said above, the drivers seat is adjustable. There should be a lever to move it forwards and backwards but you have to lift the lever and lift the seat to move the poition - It doesn't slide like modern cars do. It is always possible that you have a passenger seat frame fitted to your drivers side if you don't have this adjustment on yours but they can be easily replaced with the correct frame if need be.

My MOT garage refuses to pass the standard 'adjustable' seat ("not secure") - so each year I have to take it out - and fit a fixed passenger seat for the MOT..... and then swop back.

Surely BMC that can't be right? I know my MOT man is not keen on the unsecured seat back, but at the end of the day this is how they are designed and manufactured?
We will all be fitting lambda sensors, anti locking brakes and burst proof doors for the MOT otherwise!

Yes it is very true the seating position is part of the style of the car but it wouldn't half improve the driving .
BMC now that sounds very ridiculous to be honest but i do know some very odd M.O.T testers.

Hello all,

I would challenge that sort of 'failure' as there are many similar examples that are acceptable due to the year of manufacture.
It should be possible to get a ruling from the MOT authority for your particular station. There are many Minors that pass MOT's without the need to fit a different seat?

Alec

very odd M.O.T testers

True, but it may not pay to antagonise them, even by proving they are wrong.
Some people hold grudges, and if the supply of testers is limited in your area it's not going to pay in the long run.

Hello MarkyB,

why should it antagonise them to ask for a verification of their reason for failure?

Alec

Maybe someone coming along and suggesting you can't do your job wouldn't upset you, it will upset some people, why take the chance?
Classic friendly MOT testers can be thin on the ground, and nobody likes a smartarse.

Hello MarkyB,

it can depend on how you ask for the confirmation. Reasonable people react positively to a query respectfully put, after all who is perfect in their chosen profession? Generally people who react badly in such a situation are uncertain of their ground. MOT stations, even in my rural are are not that scarce nor are classic friendly testers.

Alec

The guy is very reasonable - I did ask first time round - pointed out it was the standard seat - he said it really wasn't secure in his view........suggested I swop it with the passenger seat - or bolt it down at the rear. Seemed easier to simply swop in the spare passenger seat and get on with it. I'm certainly not going to antagonise him in any way - he turns a blind eye to my crossmember every year...........and he MOTs my TR7 without problems - and for a very fair fee too.

Maybe I'm just timid, there is no shortage of MOT testers where I live in London, but once I've found one who has a clue about classics (which I have) I don't upset him by quoting chapter and verse of the regulations, I treat him as an asset.
I chat with him about the good old days, when cars had some character and he used to race Minis and Midgets.
Then he uses his air powered grease gun to fill my suspect trunnion and pass it with an advisory.
I replace it when it's convenient, and get Brownie points next time it's tested.

MOT testers are just ordinary folks, who have the power to say whether your car is safe to use or not.
Why get into a competition about who knows the regulations best?
Next year you need another MOT, is he bothered?

How do you treat policemen who stop you?
My experience is that if you say "thank you officer I had no idea of this issue"
you get a warning of some sort.
If you say " I know better than you" then you'll get nicked for something, no matter how obscure.

Sun Tzu probably had something to say about choosing your ground.

Hello MarkyB,

I think you have got this point slightly askew.

"I don't upset him by quoting chapter and verse of the regulations,"

That is not what I was saying, merely querying the validity of the fail as the vehicle is how it was manufactured, and whether the failure point is valid for the year of the vehicle? How can that be confrontational?

Alec

Amounts to the same thing ,as far as I can see.
What's to like about someone who proves you wrong? or even tries to?
You might get a grudging MOT once, but the fine tooth comb will be out next time.
Where is the benefit?

Hello MarkyB,

no it is totally different.

This discussion has gone on far enough, I'm going to accept our different views on this.

You may go through your life accepting everything that you are told or charged, that's your prerogative, and I'll go my slightly different way.

Alec