Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello everyone
My question is about tyres. Now I know you are all going to tell me that radial tyres are far superior on the moggys. However, I am trying to restore a car to original spec at present.
Has anyone got some real experience of quality crossplys on their minor?
If I can afford them and it is worthwhile, i would fit Dunlop D75 520-14.
Compared with Firestone 145 R14 they are very expensive. Is it worth it?
Is the performance & handling OK. Everyone I know has radials. I would be most grateful for some insights. I would of course have to fit inner tubes
Cheers
Ty

people use radials because they are safer
you will find crossplys will seriously reduce the cornering ability and also the car will follow lorry tracks in tarmac that you didn't even notice were there.

Hi Ray
thanks for the advise. Some days I have enough trouble with corners let alone getting caught in a 'rut'!
Ty

Fitting Radial tyres is the single most effective mod you can make
on a Minor. If you have them on now and intend to fit cross plies
you will be very disappointed. If the wheels are in good condition
there is no need to fit tubes. I haven't had tubes on my Minors
for thirty years!

Radials are much safer as has been mentioned, BUT crossplys look FAR better on an earlier car (split-screen especially) as they look 'squarer' and don't bulge out of the sidewalls. If I was restoring an early car for show use and the odd bit of pottering about on a Sunday then I would fit crossplys. If it's going to get a lot of use (maybe daily use) then I would fit radials.

Thanks Cam.
The car is a 1962, 948 cc trying to keep totally original spec. It is a hard decision. On safety grounds no argument against radials. For authenticity then crossplys are the thing. The car will not be used daily but for shows and odd days out.
How are croosplys in the wet? any experience
Ty

In the Wet? dreadful but you will learn car control very quickly!

If Judge (Bill) would like to comment as he has some new ones on his original splitscreen or send him a PM

Hello all,
I am old enough to remember radials being introduced and all the horror stories of "Yes they grip well but if they let go you'll never catch the car".
I'm sure modern radials are more progressive than the early examples, but I'm not convinced by the argument that they are safer per se.

Alec

The car will not be used daily but for shows and odd days out.

Ah - with that in mind I would have added that if it's just a sunny-day car you can get away with crossplies as long as you drive accordingly.

My road cars do a bit of commuting / running around every now and then competing with every day traffic, so I prefer handling to looks and would only use radials. My 58 (project car) was intended to be a show car so I have left the crossplies on it for now.

If you are going for a concours car, then feel free to stick a post in the concours section - I'm sure that Bill will be only too happy to advise as to how the tyres would be scored.

Crossplys are tyres designed for cars - they do the job and are original to the minor.

In saying that, personally I don't consider radials a originality threatening modification. They are a replaceable mod.

There is always the option of running two sets of wheels - radials for most running and crossplys for any showing and "original" work. In five minutes you can change it from a somewhat modernised safe handling car to a totally original piece.

Of course you have double tyre cost (if you need to buy both) but they should go you double the distance. The hassle of course is changing them over when you want the others on and for some ppl having space to store them might be an issue.

The other problems with crossplies apart from the inferior handling charateristics mentioned before is that they generally cost more than double the price of radials and dont last as long.

Thanks to everyone who has commented.
I know a lot of you run on Firestone radials and, at present. they are very reasonably priced. Has any one got experience of Michelin MX. I remember having these on a minor in the early 80s when they first came out. But I do not know the current thinking. Are they any better than the Firestone? They are certainly a lot more expensive. But are they worth it.
Comments please form anyone using them!
Ty

Pesonally I prefer the Firestones as they seem to be a slightly softer compound and give a bit better grip, there is nothing wrong with Mitchelins and they last forever just that the extra cost does not seem worth it with slightly inferior handling.

"Yes they grip well but if they let go you'll never catch the car".

I manage to "catch" ours regularly in the wet if I'm in the mood

Mitchelins and they last forever

I had a very old set of unused mitchellins. Damp had managed to get to the braiding and due to corroded braiding some of the tyres literally started to fall apart (bulges etc.. )

There is some legislation in the pipeline to ban old tyres but it's not yet enforced. I have some 30 year old crossplies and they don't look particularly perished...

Re the Michelin radials for the MInor it is a FACT that Michelin
themselves stated that the recommended pressures for the Minor
were 20 lbs front and 22 rear(fully loaded)!! The steering was
somewhat heavy! When I changed to Firestones the gnarled
old tyre depot manager said that Michelins were known for causing
'heavy' steering. Of course you can always up the pressures to
your preferred level but you may then cause uneven wear, like
wearing away the centre of the tread?

Has anyone had any experience of Toyo tyres? In my midnight treck to find out what tyre options were available I found that Toyo do a mog-suitable tyre, and was wondering if anyone had encountered them?

Toyo must be a Jap tyre - We have many Jap imports come with Toyos on them. Originally thought of as being a cheapo, they haven't proven to be too bad. We had a set already on a vehicle we bought and from memory they lasted us quite well.

I can't comment on them being quiet, soft, hard wearing etc. Have had very little experience and have heard no other reports.

Hi all....

While on the subject of crossplys and radials, just before my '60 saloon went off to the Moggy Factory, a friend noticed that it had crossplys on the back and radials at the front. This would explain the 'interesting' handling of the car (I know next to nothing about tyres).

Does anyone know if this will be a problem with the MOT man? I do intend to change to all radials as soon as I can afford it (student), but want to get it through the MOT ASAP so I can start driving it again, as the old girl has been off road for over two years now. All four tyres are in good condition with plenty of tread, and it has passed three MOT's in the past with them, but this is a different test station and they may be more strict.

Thanks....Paul.