Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello everyone.

This is my first post on here post my registration a fair few weeks before. Bear with me whilst i get used to the forum format and rules as i go along. I'll leave the intro bit out for now and post that in the appropriate section and get going with the title of this thread.

I was bitten by the classic car bug through my friend's FIATs (mostly 1100). There are tons of them running about in all their glory post restorations and it was always a nostalgic feeling, the pureness one gets to sense in these old charmers is something i craved for. Albeit, i wanted the same but wasn't inclined towards the FIATS as such. It was always going to be a Rover mini or a Morris to ever get my own efforts and bring them to fruition. Mini's are by and large scarce over here and remake of the Italian Job didn't help much in keeping the prices sane i must say , lol. A run down Mini in India ( only a handful available ) claims close to 3000-4000GBP! , no kidding here. Spending that kind of money and still having to do a resto was out of the equation and hence, the search continued for a MM. After bout 3 months of soul searching within myself in trying to figure out if this crave of mine was a passing phase, the bug had not diminished and i finally decided its bout time i fulfill my wish. Yes, i spent a fair few hours fantasizing about it online( and came across this site too ), downloaded pics ... hot rod way , retro way , crazy engine swap way , roof chop way ... all ways possible , doable and cherish-able!. The virtual desire finally ended and i landed up with some news from a friend bout a lil curvy car all covered up in a street. My passion for wanting one had rubbed off on all my pals and the quest and effort to find one was a much easier task as they did all the hard work and spotted one!.Yes!!! .... the curvy lil one was indeed an original Morris and not the Baby Hindustan. I'll leave the trivia out for now and just go ahead with the only pic i currently have of the car . It was acquired , put on a flatbed and brought to my friends garage whilst I'm still out of station. I proudly present Curvy to all of you'll . [frame][/frame]
This is a 1953 4-door MM with the original engine and in running condition as per my pals.How i wish i could find a low light model!. Anyways..... the body, chassis and floor is in real bad condition but mechanically there are not many shocks apparently. I trust them ( cough cough). I shall cover the extent of help needed and work to be done in future posts as i get this thread rolling.

RIght, thats that for the intro part. I'm yet to inspect the vehicle thoroughly and hence cannot request for much assistance right away. Rest assured, im confident that with the help of the members knowledge on here ( I'll need plenty of it ) and the quality of info available all across this forum, that I'll be able to get this car back into shape and fulfill my craving for old pureness in driving pleasure. In case the intro above has confused anyone on what i plan to do as a final result ... the answer is I've decided Curvy would be restored as stock and as original as possible through every inch. Its a bold statement to be made coming from a land so far away from resources- lets hope the SU-carb doesn't scare me off the 1st time i crank her, lol.

It'll be a week before I return home and be able to take detailed snaps on her condition.Any feedback and comments prior to commencement of this restoration is much appreciated and eagerly anticipated from you lot.

cheers
Arun.

PS: the cars you see in the background are Fiat 1100 centrelight , Fiat Palio 1.6 GTX and a rear engined Peugeot 309 dragster ( Its got a 2.4ltr Accord engine mounted in the boot). All cars have been restored or worked upon by my friends who owns the garage and myself. The level of skill and equipment requisite for this restorations is not lacking. I just need the guidance from you lot to get this car to its standard specs in all its glory. I thank you all in advance for it .

I'm surprised that rust is much of an issue there, as British Minors have salt on the roads in winter to contend with.

Interesting grille, don't think I've seen one quite like it before.

There is hardly anything scary on a Minor, feel free to ask any questions you like here.

Cheers on the reply Mark.

Rust is a major issue in India depending on where you live. Most of our early Metro Cities were developed along the coastlines, i.e Bombay , Calcutta and Madras. The only other major city in those times was our Capital Delhi. I'm yet to pull up the histroy behind the vehicle, but I'm aware of me being the 4th owner. In all probabilities, the previous 3 owners dating back to '1953 to date were from the coastal regions and hence, reason for the rust.

I think what you see in the photo is not the actual grill , but slats that are behind the trim and the whole front portion is missing.

As one of the Indian seasons "monsoon" has a lot of rain - and hot humid air- rust WILL be an issue there as well!

Good Luck! Just in time for Christmas too, you should be able to get a lot of the 'investigative' work done during this period.
There is a wealth of info available on the forum so you should have any questions answered swiftly.
Welcome to the site!

Took one look at the car and thought of this guy!



Quite apt both being from India anyway.

Good luck with the Restoration, your in the right place for guidance and help.

Glad i'm not the only one who noticed the number plate

I do remember another Minor rebuild from India being featured in Minor Matters a little while ago, the owner had added wire wheels which I've never seen before, but looked rather good.

If I were in India I'd definitely be driving a Hindustan Ambassador with the 1489cc diesel! Great that you can still buy such a car brand new.

Great to see your post Arun, are morris minors a rare site in India today? whats the parts availability over there?

Hi,
I have just moved to Bangalore and am interested in restoring a marris minor here. Any help appreciated.

Doug

Hi! welcome to this site. Do you have a car already or are you still looking?

chrisd87 wrote:If I were in India I'd definitely be driving a Hindustan Ambassador with the 1489cc diesel! Great that you can still buy such a car brand new.

Slightly OT but would this engine fit in the minor? there are a few discussions surrounding this at the moment.

It's a B-Series (although I suspect the ones now in production have had some alterations), so would presumably require a similar amount of work as the B-Series petrol. They were fitted to the BMC Farina saloons for use as taxis, and also in 1800cc form to Sherpa vans I believe.