Morris Minor Owners Club

I recently had problems with my Moggie 1000 pick up during the wet so I bought my self a golf for the winter. Earlier I took my brother to the train station and wanted to take the pick up as the weather isn't too bad. But I put my foot and the clutch and it felt very flat and as I just took my foot slightly off it seemed to hit the biting point very quick.

Father thinks it's because I'm not used to her lately but I'm pretty sure something's occurred. Any ideas?

Thanks, Al.

The surface of the flywheel that the clutch operates on can go a bit rusty if the car isn't used for a while.
This will give a rather harsh action to the clutch until it wears off.
Eventually this can "glue" the clutch plate in place but that tends to take a year at least.

What was the problem in the wet that was so bad you bought another car?

I planned on buying a more modern car before the problem arose but it rained heavily a fortnight ago and she struggled to keep running. It was rush hour and town was chocca. The car just wouldn't stay running and she wouldn't start running unless I waited for about ten minutes. But she did it about 6 times.

As for the clutch, it's the first time I haven't used her for ten days, the pedal just didn't have any resistance when my foot was on it. It felt as if the pedal would only return as far as the biting point.

Check for missing return spring on the clutch.... The 'not running when wet' is probably down to damp ignition components. The HT leads and dizzy cap and coil need to be spotlessly clean. If they are well worn, new parts may be best. However I have to say - this is not usually a problem with Minors since the engine is well protected from rain - even splashing through puddles etc, since the Ign parts are mounted well back, and reasonably high up. Did you drive through any flood water??

I had a feeling there was some sort of moisture in there. Leads are only six months old, not sure how old other ignition parts are. Plugs are reasonably new too. She started fine today, just couldn't drive her as the bite point was so low. How would I be able to locate if there was a return spring missing?

You would have to look under........ but also sounds like the clutch needs adjusting - or possibly the linkage needs lubrication....

Thanks for the advice, I'll see what I can find!

What make of plugs are you using?

NGK - I work for a motor factors and that's what we supply.

bit of wd40 on the dizzy cap and leads once you have them clean

Plan to strip all ignition parts soon and get them cleaned up. Then I'll try and find what I can do with the clutch.