Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi there guys,

I have a 1969 morris 1000 that has been sat in the garage for nearly 3 years now, pulled it out today and had a look. Some of you may remember the supercharger conversion I had some lots of fun/trouble with a while ago!

It needs a few odds and ends to get it back on the road, mostly engine related. It is a nearly finished 1275 conversion, I cant remember what the block is from. It has a metro ported head and a few other mods that again I cant remember. I have a pair of HS4 carbs that I can probably make one good one out of, and a hs4 cast iron inlet/exhaust manifold with standard minor exhaust. Also an alloy inlet manifold. Is a hs4 too small? My main concern with the engine is that as it has no covers over the cam followers (see photo) and the rocker cover has no breather, so the air inside the engine is completely sealed, do I need to find a rocker cover with a breather to prevent leaks? Im keen to get it back on the road now, its been too long since I last had a go in it! What are your thoughts on the carb? Also will the standard radiator and fan cool this engine?

Picky[frame][/frame]

no tappet chest covers is normal for a 1275. i'd recommend a rocker cover with a breather, and have the breather connected to the carb for some negative pressure. some 1275s had a breather 'chimney' on the timing chain cover. can't make one out from your picture though. standard rad has plenty of cooling capability. normally a minor fan blade will struggle to clear the 'chimney' i've just mentioned, but if you havent got one the chimney the standard fan blade will do!

i've got a single HS4 on my 1098(...and a bit ), a HS4 will work on a 1275, it was standard on the marina, but a 1 3/4 carb offers more power, especially if the engine is tuned.

Right I will look for a HIF44 going cheap, and a breather rocker cover. There is no breather on the timing chain cover, so I will just put a two blade fan on it. Thanks for the info

I have HS4 on mine, was looking some months back to change to HIF44 but the HS4 is doing its job well enough and has caused me no issues at all. I have the breather set up at the timing chain cover with I think standard fan and radiator, the only thing you need to worry about us the fan catching the pipe.

Welcome back Picky! Breather rocker cover is good - and you can fabricate another breather using the hole in the block where a fuel pump is sometimes installed. A single HS4 will be fine to get the thing running - worry about upgrades later once it's MOTd and on the road. You can fit 2 fan blades - crossed - if the single two blade proves insufficient in the lovely warm summer ahead..........

picky wrote:Hi there guys,

I have a 1969 morris 1000 that has been sat in the garage for nearly 3 years now, pulled it out today and had a look. Some of you may remember the supercharger conversion I had some lots of fun/trouble with a while ago!

It needs a few odds and ends to get it back on the road, mostly engine related. It is a nearly finished 1275 conversion, I cant remember what the block is from. It has a metro ported head and a few other mods that again I cant remember. I have a pair of HS4 carbs that I can probably make one good one out of, and a hs4 cast iron inlet/exhaust manifold with standard minor exhaust. Also an alloy inlet manifold. Is a hs4 too small? My main concern with the engine is that as it has no covers over the cam followers (see photo) and the rocker cover has no breather, so the air inside the engine is completely sealed, do I need to find a rocker cover with a breather to prevent leaks? Im keen to get it back on the road now, its been too long since I last had a go in it! What are your thoughts on the carb? Also will the standard radiator and fan cool this engine?

Picky[frame][/frame]

Picky, welcome back to the fold! I applaud your approach to modifying (or actually in this case IMPROVING) your Minor. The A series is a great engine, IMHO, possibly one of the best all round engines ever designed, and I think it is great that you are sticking with an A series in your Minor, and sticking with an SU carb as well. Good stuff I look forward to following your work.

BTW, you might also want to ask your questions to the folks on the other Minor forum:-

http://morrisminorowners.co.uk/index.php

Thanks chickenjohn, I checked out the other forum. Registered under the same username

Im keen to have the block well ventilated, As I understand it from the photo though the mechanical fuel pump would go on that blank spot though? There is no blanking plate, its just cast flat.

Currently I need all of the mechanism that holds the bonnet closed and open, The back of my grille has the radiator shroud removed, so I need that aswell. I also fitted an 8 way fusebox and all the wires are black Going to have to label them all so I can make sense of it all.

The tyres are some ageing crossply ones, I was thinking radial 145 or 155 profile?

Also, the front brakes are Riley or Wolseley 1500 and the back are standard minor ones. Is this a safe setup? I seem to remember if the brake pistons are a different diameter this can cause the back end to lock first during braking.

Ah yes - if no pump blanking plate present you would need to drill holes and tap for studs. The brakes will be fine - but if you find a rear set of W/R brakes that will be even better.