Morris Minor Owners Club

Well, before you start, no, I'm not being a newbie and asking if I can fit a B-Series into my Mog, I'm just wondering why it is that if the Wosley and Reily 1.5s, which had the same floor pan/chassis and suspension as the Minor/1000, could handle having the larger weightier engine in, and not the Minor?

I've heard it all before about having that much wieght out front of the front wheels, but the Wosley and Reilys had it, so whats would the diffrence be to a Minor with the same floorpan? I understand that the brakes would obviously have to be upreated to the 9" spec or better.... yadta yadta....., but surely the wheel base and positioning in relation to the mounting of the engine is exactly the same?

but surely the wheel base and positioning in relation to the mounting of the engine is exactly the same?

Probably not.

Hello Mr A,
from memory, (having owned a couple) they were the same. I think that it is the front panel and radiator location that made it possible.

Alec

I have a set of 9" 1500 front brakes if you need them.

Wanderinstar.

wanderinstar wrote:I have a set of 9" 1500 front brakes if you need them.

Wanderinstar.

Don't let JLH hear you!!

Don't let JLH hear you

Ah, I see you read the 'other forum' too

Peetee wrote:

Don't let JLH hear you

Ah, I see you read the 'other forum' too

Just started reading it, but I don't think I'll bother with it much as it seems very biased towards modified/custom cars and against standard/concours cars. Plus it's nowhere near as big, active or accepting as this one.

But then again I suppose I would say that!

Plus the massive trader influence seems to have caused problems for people not wanting to buy things from them!

The advice given is a bit worrying though! I would take some of it with a pinch of salt!

What forum is that then folks

The Other One...
No, I'm guessing they're talking about this one - http://www.theminorsite.co.uk/ - It's where JLH vents his spleen, but I've found nothing about 15" brakes, so I might be wrong.

a

Thats Mike Deans site, he is from the Lincolnshire branch, better have a look

I was always under the impression that the Wolsey and Riley 1500 B series engines would fit in a Morris Minor although the other B series engines wouldn't.

Hello NAT,

no that is not right, they have been fitted but the water pump boss wants to be where the radiator is. The radiator can be modified by removing some cores but i don't think anyone will bother wthese days with alternative engines available.

Alec

Yes and the `B` series also does wonderful things to the handling as well most of which I think is down to the increased weight, and the couple I have come across have said that its OK in a straight line but everything else is a bit iffy.

Bigginger,
The brakes in question were 9" Wolsley items, that you will find in Parts for Sale. Yes Cam there is a MASSIVE trader influence, if you say anything that might be construed as being against a certain trader and it looks like you are winning an argument, YOU GET CENSORED.

This would never happen in the MMOC, would it?

Wanderinstar.

wanderinstar wrote:Bigginger,
The brakes in question were 9" Wolsley items, that you will find in Parts for Sale. Yes Cam there is a MASSIVE trader influence, if you say anything that might be construed as being against a certain trader and it looks like you are winning an argument, YOU GET CENSORED.

This would never happen in the MMOC, would it?

Wanderinstar.

My mistake - it was the right forum then?
a

Oh!! It was the right forum.

Hmm - He gets a little tetchy, I think there's a bit of over moderation going on there, 'new boy'!
a

I won't comment on personalities within this post, but will confirm that fitting a B series is relatively straightforward. I ran a full race MGB engine in my MM series for many years and used a Sherpa diesel radiator with electric fan when this became available. I previously used 2 mini radiators side by side forming a slight V allowing water pump clearance.
Handling was ok most of the time, but in the wet could cause understeer, and obviously rear wheel spin. Of course this was at speeds that standard engined minors could only dream of. My front and rear suspension were uprated with teles etc, and braking was initially with Riley 1.5 drums with uprated linings, then marina discs as they became available.
This B series(all same physical size) conversion became supersceded by the Fiat twin cam (more modern), but overall performance was very similar (MGB - not 1200, 1500 or 1622, I know as friends used fiat 2 litre when I had MGB).
Nowadays there are a number of options, but just use whatever you have to hand. Downside is the length of Minor engine bay measured from steering rack. I currently run a rover v8, and son has fiat twin cam.
Most websites have a particular following, my preferences are for modified minors - but the main thing is we all use the same shell - so why worry. A lot of comments are tongue in cheek (you should have a look at my bike site if you want to see slaggings), but are mostly well intentioned - just verify advice given if you are unsure.

Cheers

Pete

plastic_orange wrote:Handling was ok most of the time, but in the wet could cause understeer, and obviously rear wheel spin.

So, with many people saying about these adverse effects on the Minor, surely the W and R 1.5s' had the same bad handleing charecteristics?

I'm not really commenting very seriously - I've bought from JLH in the past, and hopefully will in the future. I've made 2 comments, both very mild, no offence meant, or I'd hope, given to any party. I don't know what was written, so can't really go far beyond just offering wanderinstar a bit of sympathy, and as for modding motors, I'm all for it.

a