Morris Minor Owners Club

Greetings all,

I'm interested in purchasing a Minor as a beginner's project / tinkering car. I don't know much about cars, but fortunately I have help of a knowledgeable friend who, though not a Minor expert, has restored many other kinds of vintage cars.

I've read a good deal about inspecting a Minor for rust in certain places, for even door gaps, etc. However, being new to Minors and fairly ignorant about cars in general, I find most of these instructions fairly mystifying, since I'm not sure what "correct" looks like to begin with. I was hoping there might be a guide that is illustrated with color photos. Preferably showing what things *should* look like, as well as examples of bad cases. I know that's a lot to ask for, but doesn't hurt to ask, right? I'd be very grateful if anyone could point me to such a resource.

There is a Minor for sale on ebay that is actually near me... I will try to get my friend to go look at it with me. Any feedback you can give would be appreciated. The asking price seems somewhat steep to me, but what do I know... I've no idea what one could expect to pay for a Minor in the States. Any comments or insights would be appreciated!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Other-Ma ... 35ac16da13

Many thanks,

TomK

Make sure you take your knowledgeable friend and don't expect to buy the Morris just suss the condition out and make some notes about any work required so you can get quotes for parts and labour.

You need to see the underneath of the car and have a good look all round to assess the condition and any work required as ask proof of th mileage on the new engine as he also mentions the speedo doesn't work.

I won't comment on the price but it might be fair given that there are probably not too many Minors in the USA for sale. I think in Minor Matters there is a buyers guide which maybe is what you are looking for. You need to join the MMOC to have Minor Matter delivered.

Welcome to the forum. We would need to see a LOT more pictures to make a judgement. Can you ask the seller to provide more - including under-bonnet (hood!) / inside the boot (trunk!) and underneath of the car. Assuming it is all in decent but not immaculate condition - a car like that would fetch ~ £1000/£1200 over here.
Edit - just noticed the daft Weber carb - and the faulty second gear in the blurb. Expected UK price revised down to ~£900 now.

Hello Tom, it's good to see a fellow American on here. I'll see if I can be of some assistance.

I bought my Minor, far more ignorant of Minordom than you seem to be, for $4500. (That was prior to the recession.) My Moggie ended up requiring a near total rebuild, which I wasn't entirely prepared for. Only the engine, transmission, and SOME of the bodywork are in perfect condition. It's been repainted several times and the odometer reads '01386', which is actually most likely 1----- or 2-----. Since it's a '57 and mine's a '59, they likely have the same five-number odo, so it may have rolled over once. Or twice.
So, anyway, total cost of my Minor so far has been perhaps $6000-$7500, and there's still a ways to go yet (but most of the major expenses are done).

Why would you replace the SU carb? They seem to work so well. I'm unfamiliar with Webers, though. If indeed he has the original carb, water pump, etc., make sure to get them too. Rebuilding the gearbox (transmission -- you get used to Britishisms), depending on what the problem may be, could set you back as much as $2000. A rebuild on the speedo could be $200, and a new one would be a similar price.
If indeed it's mostly rust-free -- as you know, the biggest problem usually on Minors -- and as much work as he says has been done has in fact been done, then $3200 is an acceptable price, I think. It certainly looks like it needs a respray, but that's only cosmetic. If the structure is sound, it's worth it.

I wish I could come out and look at it for you! But I'm preoccupied with school.

Be aware: there are practically no Minors (particularly in the United States) that have gone unmodified in some very significant way. If it's just the carb that's been replaced, it's a very lucky car indeed.

Also keep in mind that Minors are some of the simplest cars ever built, and they make wonderful first restorations. This site is about the most helpful around.

Hope to see you back sometime!

If you have very little experience of Minors and classic cars then I would advise you to go for the best car that you can find and enjoy driving it. Don't worry, with learning to do regular servicing and with the usual faults developing there will be enough to keep you busy without being faced with a total rebuild which will rapidly empty your bank account

Thanks guys for the feedback and advice! I will hopefully get a chance to go look at her with my friend sometime this week, and I will take some pics if I can. From what I've read, it sounds like popping out of second is a fairly common problem, but also that it's rather difficult to rebuild the "smoothcase" transmission / gearbox. So that does spook me a little. Perhaps it is a bargaining point however, if the car is structurally sound otherwise of course.

You guys seems to dislike the Weber carb... why is that? Is it indicative of someone trying to boost performance, rather than keep original? If the SU carbs do work well, I can see keeping it, but it sounds like something was off, and that's why the Weber went in.

Just to be clear -- I don't dislike the Weber carb -- I'm just more familiar with the SU setup. I can't comment on the difficulty of rebuilding the gearbox, because I haven't tried. But a properly-geared and oiled gearbox should stay in gear, it seems to me.

OK Tom, here's one more voice from this side of the Atlantic. I live i Canada and have learned to place a higher value on cars from the West because they suffer less rust. If this one has lived all its days in Nevada that could be good news. As for the Carburetor, an SU is one of the simplest ones there is but not many people in North America know that or understand how easy they are to maintain. Hence "Throw it away and put on something we know." The transmission is probably repairable and there are some to be had if not but either way that's a lot of work.
A good place to begin negotiating is about $1500 or maybe even $1200. You can always go up. The inside of the car looks nice but, as others have said, a much closer inspection is required of the under-hood and undercarriage. BTW, decent tires for the Morris are hard to find here, count on about $600 if they are needed.

Darrell (fussyoldfart) McDonald

PS - why don't you have a look at http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/morris_motors/ to get some US views on this?

In the States, if you are interested in Minors you need to contact Randolph Williams. www.MorrisandtheDolphn.com

He seems to be the main man over your side of the water, in lieu of an actual Morris Minor club and may be able to point
you in the direction of a local expert to you that knows what the underside of a Minor should look like.

There are many bodged cars about! Forewarned is forearmed and knowledge is power!

Thanks for the links and the responses re the carb, everyone. I will certainly check out the yahoo group.

Going to try to go look at the car tomorrow (thursday) with my friend. I doubt it's spent its whole life in Nevada, but if it did, it ought to be in real good shape rust-wise. Chances of that are pretty slim, though, so we are preparing to do a serious inspection. I'll take some pics if I can.

Well, for better or worse, I'm the proud new owner of a Moggy!

I didn't have time to go home and get my camera, so I'm afraid I didn't get any more pics, but my friend and I went and looked at her last night. The car's been in Nevada for at least the last 25 years, and there's remarkably little rust. There's a spot on the front bumper, and the driver's side front wing that will need some body work. Also, the mechanism under the hood to raise it up and hold it is half broken and needs replaced. Otherwise, the body seems to be in pretty good shape.

Mechanically, it's got some issues. As mentioned in the ad, it pops out of second. Several years ago, the owner upgraded it to a ribbed case transmission, but apparently there's wear or something in that transmission. But from what I've read, a ribbed case is considerably easier to work on than the smooth case transmissions. It needs some tuning and is running rich, but that shouldn't be too big of a deal.

Got her for $2500. My friend's bringing his car trailer in tomorrow and we'll haul it to his shop.

Off and away on my new adventure!

Ah, hahaha! My Moggie hasn't even got the bonnet (hood) support! I use a broomstick or a length of PVC pipe.

Hope you strip it apart and have a look at the metal from all sides. It's a fairly big undertaking and you won't be on the road for a month, but the Minor will be a better car because of it. You could instead trust it, but that seems scary to me (which is why my Mog is in pieces right now).

Give us some pix when you get the camera.........and make sure you take lots of photos if you strip it down!

Also, new wings can be purchased if it's bad enough. So can new bonnet supports. If that's all that's wrong with your Minor, then it's practically in mint condition.

Nice haggling, by the way. Reductions of $700 are highly exciting.