Morris Minor Owners Club

Just a quick report on my recent work. All back together and on the road. New Sump Gasket seems to have completely cured the rear oil leak, although have yet to take her on a good long run.

Suspension has settled nicely but slightly low on RH side. I can fit my hand sideways between LH Tyre and Wheel Arch, but it is about an inch lower on the RH side. I think I will be able to adjust this out using the vernier plate at the back of the torsion bar.

The whole front end feels so much firmer, and knocking sounds all gone! Well worth the effort

Hi David

Well done. Its a great feeling of satisfaction when everything works after all the effort that has been put in.

Sounds like it's HIGH on the LH side....... Best not to fiddle with the vernier adjustment unless you know it is all free and easy.

I moved the RH torsion rod one spline, now riding around 1cm higher on RH side. An earlier post in a different thread quotes a spec of 10 1/16 Inch between floor and centre of eyebolt but I can't find this in the manual myself. This equates to 27.2 cm. This measurement on my car is now 27.3 cm on RH side and 26.2 on LH side. So sounds like all good but LH side needs to come down 1- 2 holes on the Vernier plate on that side to lift it up around a cm. Will leave for a few weeks and see how she settles. Does this sound right?

The height to the c/l of the torsion bar is 10 11/16 = 10.6875 = 0.271m. UK Workshop Manual bodywork section page R16.
Your LHS is about correct. Each spline adjusts the height by 1.5in. To adjust the rear of the torsion bar you will need to strip the suspension to take the load off the of the torsion bar which is why you should only do the minimum assembly when setting the suspension up. Each hole on the rear plate adjusts by 1/4in

Yes, thats how I adjusted the spline on the RH side. Once you remove the front part of the arm and disengage the lower trunnion taking the tension out of the bar it is very easy to adjust height on the rear lever, as per the manual. My levers are very easy to slip on and off now that I have had them off and cleaned them up. I think I'll leave it all to settle now for a few weeks then measure again. I think my RH side is spot on, but LH side slightly less than an inch low which I can adjust with the plate.

It is also clear that the rear springs have sagged a little over the past 57 years, as the height does lessen towards the back of the torsion bars by about half an inch. I guess the only remedy for this is new springs which I might look into at some stage.

On a negative note I have a few spots of brand new oil appearing on the drip tray from the rear of the sump, so looks like I may not have solved that leak after all!

Sounds all too familiar. Did you use the cork or the rubber seals?
Regards
Declan

What rear springs do you have? The original springs were 7 leaf but they are different from the Traveller 7 leaf springs which will jack the back up too high and ruin the handling. The best options are to find another set of early 7 leaf springs, have your springs re set or fit a set of 5 leaf springs which are the same thickness as the Traveller springs but with 2 less leaves

Declan, went with the cork, which I thought would be good as they were nice and thick and soft and had a good clearance above the rim of the sump to compress. Oh well......

Mike I think I have the original springs, so might look into having them re-set as you say

Just LOWER the front end so the car rides nice and flat - not 'nose-in-the-air'. And - you really want the car to sit level (left to right) when you are IN the car - so either get another to sit in - or load it up with sand bags, then take the measurements.

A low front end looks wrong with the high cut Series 11 rear arches

Yes, I think I would prefer to keep the car as per manufacturer's specs. And the rear wheel arch does look funny if there's too much gap. Will see if I can find an original 7 spring set and have it "re-set". What exactly does this involve? Is it an expensive exercise?

No idea but I have heard that it can be done, probably involves heating the spring and bending it back to its original shape, otherwise the later 5 leaf spring is just as good if you are not that bothered about originality

I was suggesting lowering the front end slightly so the car sits level front to rear - this will not 'disturb' the rear wheel/arch set as it is now..........

I think spring resetting is a blacksmith job, needs a forge and an understanding of temperature control for different applications.

And spring leaves that are unworn - which is unlikely on springs of that age!

Blacksmiths were making cart springs before cars were even invented.

I'm fairly sure that some wear must be acceptable, if not, they are only made of bar, curved and properly tempered.

The original 7 leaf saloon springs were pretty thin to start with. They inevitably rub at the end of each leaf onto the leaf above.

After some deliberation I think what I will do is as Roy suggests - measure up carefully front and rear and adjust the torsion bars to make her sit level all around (with allowances for driver's weight), which will mean being slightly lower in front than originally specified. She does look a bit funny at the moment, there's only a cm or two in it but she does look a bit "nose in the air".