Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi, the mechanic who services my Minor (1967 four door saloon) has asked me to get a spanner so he can adjust the drum brakes. I have looked at the Bull Motif website and ESM but nothing comes up. Can anyone offer any pointers? Many thanks for this.

they are adjusted by a screw driver in the adjuster cam when you take the wheel off

As above. If your "mechanic" wants a brake adjusting spanner to work on a Minor then seriously coonsider using a different mechanic. Even if it did need a spanner, I would expect any reasonable mechanic to have a suitable spanner - they are standard items; and a mechanic should have a decent set of tools. Next he'll be asking you where the computer connection is to monitor the EMU

He may be getting confused with a Mini. Not a good sign though!

I've got a "brake adjusting spanner" for Ford drum brakes - but totally useless on Moggies as, it has been said, the adjustment is carried out by the use of a flat-blade screwdriver, a torch, and the road wheel adjusting hole lined up with the hole in the Brake Drum.
Even my 1958 Series II Hillman Minx, had this type of brake adjustment - standard in those days.
Could be your mechanic was having a "senior moment" - let's give him the benefit of the doubt.
Regards, George.

Find a real mechanic urgently - don't go anywhere near this clown..... Even if they were adjusted with a 'spanner' (and Riley brakes are so adjusted - do you have 9" Riley brakes??) - any self respecting mechanic would have such a thing in his tool kit.......

Strange one this

My gardener arrived today to cut the grass, he had a lawn mower with him,
I took a taxi last weekend, the taxi driver possessed a car of his own
At the bakery in the village they have flour, eggs, water, yeast and other stuff....

I don't use mechanics but if I did, i wouldn't be buying them tools to do a brake adjusting job on someone else's car!

Just sayin,,,,,

Ok, thanks for this guys. Maybe I should talk to him again. He is usually good though he admits mine is the only Minor he's working on.

No - seriously - run away - don't let this donkey anywhere near your car. It's very easy to DIY the brake adjustment - DIY is the secret to Minor ownership - and half of the enjoyment. If you don't have a workshop manual - search Google - it's there, and it's FREE. You do know NEVER to attempt to jack the car up using the 'jacking points' - I hope?

Yes, that has been well documented on the forum. Thanks again.

He's probably just made the assumption that the adjusters are the same as on a Mini, 1100, 1800 and many other BMC cars of the time. It's not unreasonable to want to use the 'correct' spanner on them - I must admit that I don't on my Lsndcrab and didn't on my old 1300s, but I'm sure the purists just like to use the correct tool to minimise the chance of rounding the square adjuster. It's just that it's different to the adjusters on the Minor

But surely a 'mechanic' has this in his toolkit...to ask the customer to supply his tools for him is just taking the ****

Agreed, it is a bit rich!

The real worry is - that in cheekily asking for a spanner to be provided (when not needed) - he obviously has no idea about Minor brakes - and won't know how to adjust them - particularly the rear brakes where the cables must be loosened first - then the shoes adjusted -then the cables reset. Once that has been done, the cables then should not need re-setting for a long time, but it is important to set that datum first time round on a 'new to owner' car.

It doesn't sound as if this car is "new" to either the owner OR the mechanic as he "services my Minor". You would assume that previous servicing has included adjusting the brakes wouldn't you. It is just possible that the car has Riley 1.5 brakes fitted but other than that......I'm at a loss. No doubt it'll all become clear though.

Pretty obvious he hasn't adjusted the brakes before - and the R brakes I mentioned earlier are highly unlikely. Have to wonder about any past 'servicing' - Especially - if the plate and spring are still there under the filter cartridge...? I would be checking... Did you have to supply him with a grease gun for the 'servicing' ?? Not something that many 'mechanics' would ever use these days..

They still exist,but a dying breed sadly.

Mechanics or grease guns

Both....