Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi all - I am in Melbourne Australia. I have lots of British car experience, despite being American, but have never owned a Minor (1000) until this afternoon. It runs fine, goes down the road fine, and has a little cancer that will need to be addressed.

Here's my quandry/happy circumstance: I also happen to have a Wolseley 1500 which I have decided to forego, but not before I completely rebuilt the front and rear brakes, suspension, rear end (3.9), all the hubs and bearings/seals, even the leaf springs and front and rear shocks. I will be selling the 1500 in whole or in part, but I wanted to ask you all here - since I am new to Morrie ownership, but know the 1500 has some desirable bits on her - what can be swapped over - or should at least be squirreled away for the future off of my 1500, and onto my '57 Minor saloon?

Cheers all, and many thanks in advance for your sage advice!

Tom[frame][/frame]

Hi Tom,
I hope you're enjoying the Minor! The most common swaps are the diff and the front brakes. If your Minor is 57 I guess it's a 948 (I don't think they actually sold the later 1098 in Australia?) so it will have a 4.55:1 ratio diff - Tbh the 3.9 from the Wolseley will be too much for it. The brakes would make a nice improvement though, as your car will likely only have the teeny 7" brakes.

I'm not too sure about other swaps, but hopefully someone else will let you know!

Have fun!

Rear brakes can be fitted to a Minor too -- Minor cylinders are a bit difficult to use but I believe it has been done. If fitting the front drums from the Wolseley, take the rear ones too, as it preserves front-rear balance better. 3.9 diff will be worse than useless with a 948cc engine (you'll never get up a hill again!), but are priceless for bigger engines.

Photo guide to the fitting of Wolseley front drums: http://mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=4&t= ... ke+upgrade
A nice discussion of fitting rear drums: http://mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=4&t= ... ke+upgrade

Happy to see a fellow American - and happier still to see you enjoying sunny Australia, a place I hope to visit someday.