Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi Gang
I've been to look at a Moggie tonight and am now thinking hard about whether to take the plunge. It's a 1961 saloon in black, 41k miles on the clock and has been sat for 18 years. It's fairly solid but with a horrendously tired looking interior.
I thought I'd join here and read up on these old classics, try to get a feel for what might be in store, ease of sourcing parts, a few DIY articles and stuff so thanks for having me. If I do end up buying it, I'll post more then.
Cheers
Rocco

If it had really covered 41k miles, the interior should be barely worn surely? Interior parts are all available but very costly. The main thing to check for is the condition of the structure of course as welding work is very labour intensive. Also, if the car has been standing for a long time there will be a great deal of work to do regarding the braking system, the fuel system, the cooling system, tyres, battery, exhaust.....and then, who knows what condition the engine, gearbox and differential are in
Parts are fairly easily available although good secondhand parts are becoming harder to get and some specific parts for the earlier models are scarce. I'm not trying to put you off but......Don't underestimate the costs of re-commissioning/restoring such a car. Work out carefully and realistically how much you think it'll all cost and then double this figure and you'll probably be about right. I have fairly recently completed just such a project during lockdown and even starting with a very cheap car and doing most of the work myself it would have been quite a bit cheaper to have simply bought a good example in the first place.

Buy a decent example and have instant fun instead of instant stress.Lots out there.

Restoration is not stress for everyone, well not all the. time ! There’s a sense of achievement in bringing a vehicle back to its former glory, or even just usable condition. I think I got more enjoyment from restoring than driving !

Exactly. Parts availability is very good with many items available next day from numerous suppliers. The Club caters for everything from complete wreck to immaculate-better-than-when-it-left-the-factory. Some cars are cosseted for shows, others are stored outside and used as daily drivers; and again, all are welcome in the Club.

The cars are easy to work. There are known weak spots, but virtually nothing is terminal, and once treated, it should be good for another 60 years.

The main things to consider are the condition and price of the vehicle plus the amount of time and money that you want to put in to making it good. If you tackle everything yourself, then there's loads of advice on here.

Other considerations include, when you would like to use it, do you have facilities/skills for major repairs it could be a major 1-2 year project, in my opinion unless you want to get stuck into a major task over a long period of time (many people do) buy the best example your budget allows.

Don't be put off.... they are great little motors that give you a lot of pleasure owning, driving and tinkering with.

Don't forget to check all numbers tally prior to purchase

It all depends on your attitude and abilities. I have known people buy an ordinary-looking Minor and then sell it again within the year because of all the things that have gone wrong due to previous neglect. On the other hand, if you have the right skills and attitude and the right tools and facilities, you may enjoy a laborious restoration.
If you just want to run and maintain a car then the advice to get the best you can afford is good. A car that has been sat idle for 18 years will need a complete overhaul of mechanical and electrical components, even if the body is sound.

Wow, thank you all so much for the great advice. Just to be clear, I would buy the car with full knowledge that it'll need a heck of a lot of work and money to bring back to a good condition. It's what attracts me to the car really. I'm not a professional mechanic but I do enjoy tinkering quite a bit.
I take on board the fact that I could quite possibly pay around 5-grand and get a fairly nice, usable MM without going through the resto phase. Then again, I paid only 3k earlier this year for a nice old BMW E46 which blows the MM away in almost all departments. I'd never be able to restore a modern car by myself though.
I just need to talk myself in to wanting this project and all the hassle that goes with it, in the hope that the reward will be the satisfaction of a good completed job.
I live in Germany so sourcing parts may be trickier for me than it is for you guys. Not impossible, just a bit trickier/expensive with shipping.
Thanks again for the responses, much appreciated.

There are a handful of members here who are German residents, so they might see this and be able to give you a local perspective.

You say the interior looks 'tired', but is that just a bit dirty or are the seats really worn, perhaps sagging?
I just wonder if the odometer has been around the clock already?

It's happening. I've picked up the trailer tonight and my new project will be brought home with me tomorrow.

There's something quite worrying about saving an old car, it's all I can think of right now. How much is it going to cost me, am I going to find something terminal that'll scupper the whole project, am I actually going to be able to go the distance and stay motivated to finish it?

Apart from giving the old girl a good wash and pouring some oil or diesel down in to the spark plug holes, just to help things slide when turning over, are there any generally accepted methods of restoration for the home/amateur grease monkey with limited tools and knowledge?

It does help a little to know I can come on here and look things up on the forum if and when needed.

Well, of course it depends on what sort of shape the car is in, but there is much collective wisdom on here that will help 'the home/amateur grease monkey with limited tools and knowledge' as you put it. Once you get the car home you can post up some pics and ask any questions you have. There are lots of older posts you can look up as a back catalogue of information too. Good luck with your project

I'd start by removing all the interior and giving the bodyshell a really good going over, if there is no serious rot the rest will be fairly straightforward. If there is have a serious think about how deep you want to get into the project!

Mechanically I would assume you are going to need to replace all the braking components and suspension bushes, if the bolts come undone this is all pretty straightforward. For the steering, if anything has any play replace it and then replace any cracked or split gaiters . For the dampers if they don't leak and have any play fresh oil should make them re-usable, for the rear springs if they haven't swollen between the leaves or worn where one leaf slides over the other and the ride height seems about right they can be re-used.

For the engine If it turns over I'd drop the sump clean it and the pick up gauze, perhaps check a couple of crank bearings if all looks reasonable put it back together, check it has some compression. Take the radiator
out and back flush it and the hester, clean out the fuel system and check / repair the fuel pump, strip the carb and clean / lubricate it (nothing abrasive on the dashpot), service the ignition system and go for a start.

Once the engine is running check the gearbox and axle have oil and then pretty much all you can do is drive it to see how they and the clutch work, check the propshaft u/js for play and axle hub seals for leaks.

Then it's really just down to cosmetics, you can spend thousands on a top class paint job and re-trim, or virtually nothing just making the best of what you have.

Cheers Kevin, that's some really good advice

I've just tucked her away in the garage now, plenty of space to work on the engine in there and keep out of the wet weather.

I was just wondering, the two previous keepers of the car were Gerald from Kings Lynn and Peter from Hunstanton, perhaps one or both of them were/are members on here? It would be cool to find out something about the car and what work it had done. I have a photo of it where it looks incredible, sadly nothing like it is now.

Will give it a good wash tomorrow and start removing some bits, bumpers, bonnet (which fouls the wiper arms when lifted) and figure out what's missing from the engine. A rubber hose to the fuel reservoir or pump (I can't be sure what it is yet) is missing. I do have a Haynes manual and some other books, even a repair manual on CD too! Only problem is that laptops don't have media players any more.

The project starts tomorrow...

Good luck with your new project! It will be harder to restore a Morris Minor in another country where the parts are less readily available but I'm sure that can be got around. You will also find that the specification of these cars changed many times over the years, so parts for a 1961 won't be the sale as, say a 1966 car. There are many publications available on the subject of Morris Minors, so you can learn all you want to from them and websites such as this.
As I said earlier, I have recently undertaken a similar recommission/restoration myself and would agree with all that Kevin says above. Try to break a large job down into smaller, manageable jobs too. That way it doesn't seem quite so daunting. I had quite a few setbacks with my car and almost considered giving it up once or twice but it is running around and giving me pleasure again now

These links might be useful
https://www.morrisminorowners.co.uk/vie ... hp?t=13202

Cheers Panky
I just "introduced myself" on that forum and downloaded a couple of those .pdfs for reference.
Being that I shared a photo there, I will share it here too. I don't imagine there's any silly rivalry between forums like there is for other cars, is there?

Quite a few of us are on both

That looks OK doesn't it
Is it my eyes or does it have an earlier model (Series 11) rear wing fitted with the higher cut wheelarch?
Just an observation - not a criticism

You see, this is why I love to read comments from people who know about these cars. I am really uninitiated with these so it really helps me to read this kind of stuff. The rear wings are probably not original, they have orange in the light cluster and some untidy wiring running across the rear section of the boot.
So I may have a bought a mongrel, oh well. It doesn't look too bad in the photo but it's flattering, it really isn't in good shape....yet.