Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi All,

New to the forum and a complete novice regarding classic cars but keen.

Just inherited my dear old dad's Morris Minor, but i'm a little confused about the model as i've read slightly contradictory information so wondered if here would be the place to find out once and for all what it is i now own.

So...it was first registered in 1956, it has a split screen and the small rear window, has the speedo in the centre of the dash but has minor 1000 badges on it, i've read that the 1000 ushered in bigger windows etc etc and that the splitscreen was pre minor 1000 hence my confusion.

Keen to at least sound like i know what i'm talking about if i'm asked about it, especially as i'm about to take it up to the highlands and back down to Bournemouth in a couple of weeks.

Thanks in advance

Hello and welcome.

Splitties are indeed pre-1000, so the badges must've been added later. They should read 'Morris Minor', but it's not a big deal unless you're into concours or all the minute details.

Infact my own car with the correct badges is registered as a Minor 1000 model but the cylinder capacity is correct at 803cc.

You need to determine what engine you have if you don't already know - pics would be helpful.

Hi!

Thanks for the quick reply, so i was right to suspect something then.

The car is still at my folks for the time being, but from the time i helped a mate replace the rad, plug and leads last week i'd say it was the same as this...

As you can tell, mechanics aren't my thing...yet! ;-)

How much do the two engines differ to look at?[frame][/frame]

Well the first pic is without doubt a 948 or 1098 engine - a real bonus if you have one of those fitted.

But the car in the pic is not a splitscreen! Edit: (as you actually said it wasn't your car )

The 803 motor has a big old can of an air filter and the gearbox has a real long lever. Also on the 803 the performance is really poor. The engine could also be painted a blue colour.

ok, well sounds like i have a mish mash then, i'd read the 948cc was a better engine?

here's the car..[frame][/frame]

that's my dad at a car show with it, was an ebay purchase years ago, he got it going again and whipped it into shape.

out of interest how could you tell the car in the first pic was not a splitty? (got it from google)

out of interest how could you tell the car in the first pic was not a splitty? (got it from google)

It's what you would call being an anorak The wiper motor position, I.D. plate style etc.

Yes the 948 is much better.

Regarding your planned long journey, a 948 would make it just fine on the motorway, but if you still have the 803 then take it very easy and make sure it's in top mechanical condition first.

Thanks JJ,

I'll try and post a pic of the engine and more details etc to clarify once and for all if i may? be a couple of weeks yet though.

Had an MOT done last week, no advisories, fitted new rad and wipers, plugs and leads, new spare tyre too.

Hoping that's enough to do it, planning a top speed of 56mph and sit it out in the slow lane

Sounds good.

Thanks Mike I did well i think, mom was going to sell it but i couldn't see it go.

On the grill, you're right i think, i remember reading that, so it seems like the previous owner (not dad) has gone to some effort to 'upgrade' the series 2 to Minor 1000 spec then.

jagnut66 wrote: Out of interest, for it's year, should this car have a 'cheese-grater' style front grill, instead of the type shown (which I thought was later)?

No - the 'cheesegrater' grille was replaced by the 'slatted' style in October '54 so it has the correct type grille for a '56 car.

ah, so there's atwo year window where series 2 were made with slatted grills before the 1000 arrived.

As mentioned previously, if its the 803 enigne you have, like me, make sure its in tip top condition, and taking it on the motorway is fine, but believe me, you wont get it past 50mph, nor would you want to!

Going past 50, with an 803 engine 50 odd years old, is pushing it too hard, and in fact in my car, if I go even slightly past 50, the noise becomes unbearable.

That said, dont listen to the people who tell you that the 803 is rubbish etc. Its not, its just very slow. No need to baby the engine Up to 30mph around town areas etc, I personally find it quite nippy.

I recently drove 4 hours on the motorway doing 50mph one day, and the same distance back the next with no problems whatsoever.

all encouraging stuff!

does anyone have a pic of and 803 engine and maybe i can tell the difference? or are the differences to the untrained eye too small to notice?

It's quite easy to tell. On the picture you have posted of your friend's engine the air filter is "saucepan shaped" (In the picture it has a blue label on).

On an 803 engine the air filter is a large cylinder raised up higher than the engine on the right hand side from the engine on a wide curved bracket.

Sorry I have no photos to hand as I have 1098 engines, but I hope this helps. As said before the gear lever is very long and if it is an original 803 should have a small round black ball shaped gear knob.

Here are some pictures of my fathers 54 series II. As you can see in the first one it has the horizontal grille. The second shows the engine bay, as this is a November 54 it's one of the first of the updated series II's and shows the original colour of the 803 engine (Blue) and the rarer vertical type oil bath air filter which was more for export models (India Austrailia NZ) than uk models, this type was also probably fitted when the horizontal ones where not available on the production line. Also note the position of the coil on the bulkhead just out of veiw but it's next to the staibalizer, and the shape of the I D discs. I'm agreed with Kingz 50 in an 803 Minor is an experience not to be endured for long as it's noisy. plus this old girl is 58 years old and 50 is unkind to her.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

it's definitely got the saucepan shaped air filter on it, watched my mate take it off and have a look at the filter.

it also has what looks like 15mm copper plumbing pipe running around the engine which i've seen in other pictures seems to run from the radiator hose around the offside of the engine.

If it's got the saucepan shape filter it's more than likely the 1098 engine that has been fitted at some time. An easy way to check is to have a look at the engine No. Which is on a plate and you should find it on the o/s of the engine just above the dynamo. If starts 9 M it's a 948 cc engine or if it starts 10 M it's the 1098 cc engine. Our picture shows the the copper pipe as you mention, we fitted this as a cheaper alternative to fitting a new radiator when we found the old heater pipe conector badly damaged on the bottom of the rad. The top hose for the heater which was standard on this model as it's the *De Luxe would have run down the bulkhead along the top of the o/s chassis plate and into the rad near to the brake light switch. * In the second picture the De Luxe Spec label can just be seen behind the bonnet stay on the n/s of the bulkhead.

the plot thickens, so i could have a 1098cc engine and not a 948cc or an 803cc!

blimey this classic car ownership is tricky..but I LIKE IT!

The plot indeed thickens. If you have the 803 engine fitted the engine No will either start APHM ....... or later model series II's i believe 8M ......