Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi.
Has anyone built a turbo diesel Morris Minor, or at least a diesel one?
If so, what engine/drivetrain did you use? What would fit a Minor engine bay?
I recall someone doing this but cannot remember what they used.
It would have to be RWD unless you were very clever??!!!
I am thinking this mnay be a good thing to do given the economy that may be possible using a modern set up although that may necessitate Ecu's and what not.
Thoughts please.....

There are several about - search the forum. One problem is gear ratios - a diesel turns relatively slowly, so even with a 3.7 final drive and a 5 speed box the possible top speed is quite limited and the diesel will always be revving faster than is ideal for economy. Most use an axle from another make of car to try to get a low enough ratio (and strong enough half shafts...). If you want shear economy - an LPG conversion on a 1098 or 1275 engine will give much better miles per £. And the kit can be easily transferred to a different vehicle in time.

There was a diesel turbo on Evilbay

Mine has only got as far as getting the engine, then loosing an engine sized space in the garage form the last 18 months

1.5 NA diesel from a pug 106 - will do 55mpg in the pug, so with 5 speed and a 3.7 diff it'll do at least that in the Minor.
Due to increased engine weight I also have some uprated front torsion bars (these are in the shed )
The engine needs modification for the fuel housing which would clash into the bulkhead but otherwise it's a fairly sensible low tech option. Anything too modern will need a ton of wiring, sensors & ecu's which wouldn't fit my idea of classic motoring.

There was a guy on the forum with a FWD fiesta diesel Minor trav but not heard a lot from him for a while.

And that diesel will run on £1/litre veg oil from the cash & carry........

I knew a chap many years ago who fitted a Ford V6 into a Traveller and just wound up the original torsion bars to take the load, he said it worked fine

Wouldn't it be easier to simply buy a diesel powered car?

If you're not happy with a Minor's performance, why buy
one in the first place?

A POV I've always held.

POMMReg wrote:Wouldn't it be easier to simply buy a diesel powered car?

If you're not happy with a Minor's performance, why buy
one in the first place?

A POV I've always held.

YOU JUST DO NOT GET IT DO YOU

No, and I never will.

Mr.Startinghandle

And that diesel will run on £1/litre veg oil from the cash & carry........

No it won't! Although it 'could', that's very ecologically unsound and unethical - it will however use up my remaining stock of used veg oil (and more used oil after that).

Wouldn't it be easier to simply buy a diesel powered car?

If you're not happy with a Minor's performance, why buy
one in the first place?

In one sense I totally agree with you - and we have 2 modern(ish) Diesel cars for commuting, property development projects, etc.. I am also a big advocate for running a standard car, as they are just as great when left alone! I've converted more 'modified' minors back to standard than the other way so far!

The excellent engineers at Morris wanted different engines for the Minor but were held back by group politics when the Austin establishment got involved with directing BMC after the mergers.

The guys at Morris were developing a 1.5L OHC engine... if they'd been allowed to carry on then maybe the Minor would have continued to outsell the Beetle globally.. maybe the car industry would look different nowadays!

Morris had always been highly innovative. Austin benefited greatly from the influx of ideas & talent from Morris but on the flip side Morris appeared to be stifled (e.g. the Marina being made without allowing any new innovation as a panic reaction to the Escort)

In one sense - the guys who add higher performance equipment to their Minors are only doing what the original design engineers would have liked to do.

In my case with the Diesel engine - I'm thinking of how to use the Minor instead of a Modern car as much as possible for when I semi-retire in a few years time (it's always been ~5 years away, so not really getting any closer! )
When I do get round to it, the diesel engine might end up in the 1.3L Marina Camper van instead (rather than the the 2.0L Fiat Twink).

There's nothing wrong with using veg oil! It's produced by the sun in real time - so it's very very 'green' compared with using precious mineral oil stock made millions of years ago - by the sun! I believe the pump on that engine has to be a specific one (not sure which) but basically - that engine will burn cheap veg oil - and it's perfectly legal to do so......

There's nothing wrong with using veg oil!

Using new veg oil not only pushes up the food prices around the world (hurting the poorest parts of the world most) but is also a waste of natural resources, as waste (used) oil is really easy to get hold of.
Funnily enough - used oil is by far a cheaper alternative!!
Each to his/her own, but there are 2 sides to every story.

But there is plenty of sunshine... and plenty of land to grow rape = veg oil. If you can get used oil cheaply - and have the means and time to process it.....by all means use that!

no Roy there is not plenty of land / water to feed the entire planet and produce oil for running cars and lorries on it is already beginning to drive up the cost of food. For us in the west that might be a couple of pence here and there but in poor parts of the world it makes a huge difference.

charlie_morris_minor wrote:no Roy there is not plenty of land / water to feed the entire planet and produce oil for running cars and lorries on it is already beginning to drive up the cost of food. For us in the west that might be a couple of pence here and there but in poor parts of the world it makes a huge difference.

Sorry CMM, the problem lies with Capitalism - exploitation of the poor.

In short, both the money & food is about, but the 'capitalists' are not willing to share their
wealth with the poor.

There is no common WE either - I doubt David Cameron is on minimum wage, has a mortgage
& does his shopping at ASDA!

Regardless of the mess they cause whilst in power, they will STILL get a payout, pension and
offered directorships of companies.

Tony Blair et al

Rant over!

PLENTY of unused land up here in Ecosseland...and oil seed rape grows VERY well here with heavy crops. I used to run a plant processing 400 tonnes of it each and every day - all grown in Ecosseland. Just needs people to want the oil to burn in their cars! I don't know where you get the idea there is 'no land'.......Create the demand and it will be grown. It's very much more GREEN than burning mineral oil!

POMMReg wrote:Wouldn't it be easier to simply buy a diesel powered car?

If you're not happy with a Minor's performance, why buy
one in the first place?

A POV I've always held.

I bought my first Minor 26 years ago; i still have it. we now own 8. The performance is not an issue. But i am now doing a 70 mile commute in a 46 year old car and while i am happy to trundle along, i am spending 60 quid a week on fuel, so i did look into buying a diesel car. The cost of that would be expensive insurance of over £200 a year, plus road tax of £140 plus the running costs and higher cost in fuel offset by better MPG. When you look at it, its not a great saving over a year to replace a Minor with a modern bore-fest hatchback, even if you can hear the radio.
So, the point of my original question, Mr Pomm, was to enquire if it was possible to have ones cake and eat it; namely a Morris Minor that i could simple add to my classic policy with my others, that i wouldn't pay road tax to use, that would zoom along and keep up with the moderns but get more than the 39MPG i currently get from 'William' my 67 saloon, or the 48mpg i get from my 1959 4 door saloon, or the 34 mpg i get from my 1275cc Austin 1300, that DOES keep up with modern traffic, but is unreliable compared to a Minor. A modern diesel engine would therefore be a possibilty.
Hope thats clarified that!

39MPG isn't very good but it depends on the nature your commute.
An LPG conversion could be a good plan, and a bunch of new effective sound proofing.

What pressure do you have in the tyres?

I was getting 25mpg in my 65 Minor for daily commuting (endless stop start traffic jams)
That was 23 years ago long before the days of the M6toll road - the same commute would now be twice as fast!
Although I hate toll roads -good roads do help the environment!

The 48 mpg is unbelievable - FAR more than the original Minor road test figures - so what modifications have you made to achieve that? Or is the odometer simply wildly over-reading! You would indeed soon get your money back on an LPG conversion - that's the way forward as long as you see the 70 mile commute (is that each way - or the return journey?) continuing for the next few years.