Morris Minor Owners Club

Rather than clog up another thread, here you go jagnut. Here are some photographs of ‘Vincent’, my “new” 1957 Minor 1000.

Previously owned and restored to fairly original specification by someone (who was very sad to see the car go) in the Scottish North East branch. No front seat belts, no indicators, still on 7” drums, dynamo etc. He obviously took a great deal of pride in the car and used it regularly. The rebuilt 948 engine sounds absolutely fantastic and runs like a dream. The LED lights at the rear can be easily removed, they’re hazard warning lights. I might go ahead and remove them. Safety wise they make sense but I love originality.

Vincent is not a perfect car by any means, but I love him. I think this car is a good fit for me.

(On the off chance anyone knows anything of the cars history please let me know. I’ve a big mountain of paperwork and photos since 2010 covering the restoration etc but nothing from before that time.)

That is lovely and so nice to see a car in the spirit of the original ethos.

A good looking car! As the registration number seems to be a re-registration from DVLA, you will need to track down the original reg number to find previous owners and history. You may find a clue in the early years of the paperwork you have.

Nice,
I particularly noticed the all chrome handbrake lever with chrome button.
I've got one of those in my '55 SII and wondered about it, since SII is supposed to be the large grip style release and the 1000 always seem to have painted levers with white plastic end button.

Very nice, especially in the autumn sun.

geoberni wrote: ↑Fri Nov 12, 2021 8:09 pm Nice,
I particularly noticed the all chrome handbrake lever with chrome button.
I've got one of those in my '55 SII and wondered about it, since SII is supposed to be the large grip style release and the 1000 always seem to have painted levers with white plastic end button.

I think you're probably mistaken about the handbrake lever. Isn't it just a reflection making it look bright? All the earlier Minor 1000s have a metal button chrome plated though

The handbrake is indeed black, with a chrome metal release button. Probably just the sunlight reflection making it appear shiny.

That looks a very nice car. It should be ideally suited to your needs. Let us hope it continues to give you great pleasure. The early Minor 1000s are my personal favorite of all the different models.

The original registration is RSR 641. Tallies with being registered in Angus/Forfar in 1957. Sadly it’s now on a 2004 Mercedes.

The replacement registration is also a 1957 reg, but from the London area.

Rather than clog up another thread, here you go jagnut.

A very nice car indeed.
I know you don't like mods but one thing I would do, if you do nothing else, is swap the bulbs in the trafficators to 'flashicator' LEDs.
I will help modern road users, who seem to struggle to find indicators at the best on times, understand what they are and signify.
Plus of course, if they're bright and flashing, hopefully they'll actually notice them........
Link below.
Best wishes,
Mike.
https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/produc ... imline-256

jagnut66 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 14, 2021 9:42 am

Rather than clog up another thread, here you go jagnut.

A very nice car indeed.
I know you don't like mods but one thing I would do, if you do nothing else, is swap the bulbs in the trafficators to 'flashicator' LEDs.
I will help modern road users, who seem to struggle to find indicators at the best on times, understand what they are and signify.
Plus of course, if they're bright and flashing, hopefully they'll actually notice them........
Link below.
Best wishes,
Mike.
https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/produc ... imline-256

Thanks for the suggestion. The previous owner has changed them to flashing bulbs, so they do indeed flash when operated. It probably does help a little. Though so many modern cars drive around without indicating at all you’d think they weren’t fitted with them either.

Though so many modern cars drive around without indicating at all you’d think they weren’t fitted with them either.

To be fair, I believe that indicators are an optional extra on modern cars in order to save on manufacturing costs.............
Best wishes,
Mike.

MorrisJohn wrote: ↑Sat Nov 13, 2021 4:48 am The handbrake is indeed black, with a chrome metal release button. Probably just the sunlight reflection making it appear shiny.

ManyMinors wrote: ↑Fri Nov 12, 2021 11:09 pm I think you're probably mistaken about the handbrake lever. Isn't it just a reflection making it look bright? All the earlier Minor 1000s have a metal button chrome plated though

Thanks Guys.
I'm no closer to working out where my handbrake lever came from then... probably an old Mini or similar.
Good to know the early 1000 ones had a chrome button though.

geoberni wrote: ↑Sun Nov 14, 2021 6:39 pm

MorrisJohn wrote: ↑Sat Nov 13, 2021 4:48 am The handbrake is indeed black, with a chrome metal release button. Probably just the sunlight reflection making it appear shiny.

ManyMinors wrote: ↑Fri Nov 12, 2021 11:09 pm I think you're probably mistaken about the handbrake lever. Isn't it just a reflection making it look bright? All the earlier Minor 1000s have a metal button chrome plated though

Thanks Guys.
I'm no closer to working out where my handbrake lever came from then... probably an old Mini or similar.
Good to know the early 1000 ones had a chrome button though.

I do recall seeing a chrome handbrake lever on an early Minor 1000 many years ago. The whole lever was chrome and not just the button. The car had been off the road for a long time and was nothing special. So, I'd always assumed they must have been fitted as standard, for a short period at least, before the painted version replaced them.

MCYorks wrote: ↑Wed Nov 24, 2021 10:50 pm
I do recall seeing a chrome handbrake lever on an early Minor 1000 many years ago. The whole lever was chrome and not just the button. The car had been off the road for a long time and was nothing special. So, I'd always assumed they must have been fitted as standard, for a short period at least, before the painted version replaced them.

That's very interesting.... Basil is March 55, so the last 6 months of SII production... The car that donated bits to his rebuild about 20 years ago was from near the end of 1000s, so unlikely to have donated a handbrake lever...
Perhaps it is his original.

The early Cooper S had a chrome handbrake lever and which was suitable for fitting to the Minor 1000. Later Minis had a different arrangement for the brake cables.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265190752003 ... Sw8hlgwRa4

In my (fairly wide) experience of them, I can say that Cooper S Minis did not have a chrome handbrake lever.
I do seem to remember some of the "posher" BMC 1100/1300 models being equipped with them though? And, there were plenty of those in the scrapyards after a few years so maybe that was the source?

They come up from time to time on eBay. Usually they are just old handbrake levers which have been stripped of paint and chrome plated. At least one deceased member used to chide people about them (along with headlamp peaks).

JOWETTJAVELIN wrote: ↑Thu Nov 25, 2021 3:44 pm They come up from time to time on eBay. Usually they are just old handbrake levers which have been stripped of paint and chrome plated. At least one deceased member used to chide people about them (along with headlamp peaks).

Roy, aka bmcecosse, by any chance?