Morris Minor Owners Club

So I've recently purchased a 1960 morris minor which I am very keen to get up and running properly so we can do a few family drives in it.

My 1st question is how to tell whether the head gasket has failed? The oil seems a bit watery to me but I'm unsure how to tell any other way Also the brakes seem to be sticking, is that an easy fix? I believe they are drum brakes?

As can tell I'm a real newbie at this so any help is great appreciated

EDIT by simmitc: Topic now split. this thread is for comments on the head gasket.

Welcome to Minor ownership, I hope that you enjoy every minute of it.

People often talk about oil in water and water in oil, but in my experienc3e, the commonest head gasket failure is between two cylinders. The oil might just be thin, if it had lots of water in it then it would be milky and emulsified. Look in the radiator, again you would see milky deposits. With the engine running and warm, a failed HG would probably pressurise the radiator and you would see bubbles forming in the water - be careful of hot, scalding water. Failure between cylinders can be heard as a loud popping sound and the engine will run very roughly on only 2 or may be 3 cylinders.

One of the best tools that you can buy would be a compression tester. They are not terribly expensive and will aid diagnosis of a number of problems, including HG issues. If you buy one, then post back for more advice on how to use it and interpret the results.

Brakes are a safety critical issue, so you do need some skills before tackling them, but a sticking wheel cylinder is usually fairly simple to replace, but it depends on what else might need doing too - it could be a brake hose problem, poor return springs, badly assembled components etc.

Does the car pull up in a straight line? Raise each wheel in turn off the ground - observe correct jacking and safety procedures, and then spin the raised wheel. Note if any make an odd noise or feel stiffer to turn, or generally do not spin freely.

I might split this thread into two separate topics so that you can concentrate on each set of replies, but I'm going to have some dinner first

Has somebody silly has put in modern Oil 05/40 weight etc. Please use a old fashioned Oil ... even Halfords should be able to help ....but expensive

MattsGPOvan wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2020 8:36 pm Has somebody silly has put in modern Oil 05/40 weight etc. Please use a old fashioned Oil ... even Halfords should be able to help ....but expensive

That could possibly be the case, I bought the car a few days ago and the guy didnt really seem to know too much about it (in fairness, neither do I!!)...he also told me it had been converted to unleaded petrol and no longer needed any additive with it?? I have no idea if that is true!!

simmitc wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2020 8:18 pm Welcome to Minor ownership, I hope that you enjoy every minute of it.

I might split this thread into two separate topics so that you can concentrate on each set of replies, but I'm going to have some dinner first

Thankyou so much for all of the information, I'm really keen to keep the car if I can...I'll have a go at jacking it up and turning the wheels over the next couple of day, and I probably should invest in a compression tester too