Morris Minor Owners Club

hello i have just aquired my minor thousand spent afew weeks getting on the road passed mot and everything but the breaks are leaving abit to be desired (has ahd new cylinders and new shoes all round but still wouldnt like to think i had to do an emergency stop!).
Does anyone have any ideas on how to change/ improve/ modify my breaks to get a bit more stopping power.
Any ideas welcome and thanks for your help alison.

Welcome to the forum. If it's just passed MOT - the brakes 'should' be fine...... The wheels should lock if pushed HARD at 20 mph. You do perhaps have to press rather harder than in a modern car - but not THAT hard really.... What age is the car ? Early cars only had 7" front brakes and later cars with the 1098 engine had much better 8" front brakes.......

Break improvements,30 mins insteadof15, Another cup of tea,and doughnut.
or coffee and donut,us translation.

Actually - the things that stop trains (and later cars) used to be spelled as 'breaks' - it's a relatively recent thing to spell them 'brakes'.

is that because they were always failing?

Train brakes since ~ 1872 are 'failsafe'.......

the titanic was unsinkable!

Nevermind.

bmcecosse wrote:Actually - the things that stop trains (and later cars) used to be spelled as 'breaks' - it's a relatively recent thing to spell them 'brakes'.

I didn't know that------so are folk being old fashioned or just can't spell when using the word break?

les wrote:I didn't know that------so are folk being old fashioned or just can't spell when using the word break?

If I ever spell it wrong I'm being old fashioned

Why did I post a comment on a thread about brakes?!

Replaced all the brake components on my car last April. Fitting a new exhaust today I notice that one of the rear brake cylinders is leaking... not happy

To answer the original question to some extent, you can also adjust your driving to suit the characteristics of the car, it will make you a better driver.
Leave a bigger gap to the car in front and look down the road a little further.
Even if you improve the brakes you will still be on relatively skinny tyres, and I've yet to hear of anyone fitting ABS to a Minor.

Someone on another forum was asking about making improvments to his 948cc Minor. It was suggested that he should fit front discs with a servo. I mentioned that fitting 8" drums to the front might be a better idea and that fitting discs on a 948cc Minor was overkill. Well, I got shot down in flames, it was argued that Minor brakes (or breaks) were not up to today's fast moving traffic. The standard 948cc Minor is not going to go any faster than it did 50 years ago. Having said that, modern cars do stop a lot better than a Minor which encourages people to brake harder. Some drivers will overtake an old car like a Minor where really they shouldn't which means that nine times out of ten they will cut you up and then brake hard to slot in behind the car in front, forcing you to brake hard as well. Hard braking like hard acceleration means fuel wasted, an important thing to remember in these days of expensive petrol. I agree entirely with what MarkyB says about adapting your driving style to suit the car.

The 'other forum' answer was obviously poorly informed - the Minor brakes will lock the wheels - what more can you do! What they probably can't do is lock the wheels over and over again - highly unlikely situation with any sane motoring in a 948 Minor....

more traffic now and cars with awsome braking compared with the morris

disc brakes all the time

Dennis - they don't stop the wheel going round any better ! Most of the perceived problems with Minor brakes are down to poor maintenance......

bmcecosse wrote:Dennis - they don't stop the wheel going round any better ! Most of the perceived problems with Minor brakes are down to poor maintenance......

Or brake cylinders that keep failing in my case

yes i agree entirely
its just a personal thing i guess

I have been looking at a variety of minors and travelers with a view to purchase.
My current Minor has ford vented discs and a servo and stops very easily.
A we drove car with Discs and no servo was very hard to stop. Not saying the brakes didn't work, just it required much effort on the pedal which my wife was not at all keen on.
The car with a servo and drums was also hard to stop which surprised me I thought that the servo would make the pedal easier to push. I am about to buy a traveler and I think I will have to get some discs and a servo fitted so my wife will not be scared to drive the car. How much do you think I need to spend and where please?

I'd heard £1500 for specialist fitted discs and servo and a lot less for DIY.