Morris Minor Owners Club

I've recently bought a Series II - my first Morris Minor - it is great but I would like to find somebody near me who has expertise in optimising the running of the car. It goes very well but seems to have a rather high tick-over, maybe runs a bit rich (sooty exhaust) and is unexpectedly noisy, seemingly coming from the drive chain. It has had a recent professional engine swap to 1098cc and the gear ratios now seem a bit off. Is there anybody in the North Essex/ South Cambridgeshire/ South Suffolk area that I can go to for help as I am no longer able to tackle the mechanical side myself.

Timing chain is notorious for rattling. A duplex chain may be an improvement. It certainly improved mine. Even if you can’t take on much mechanical work, setting the mixture is straightforward. Idle speed is just a matter of adjusting one easily accessible screw. Rich mixture can be a sign of reduced air as well as too much fuel so it’s worth checking the air filter and replacing if dirty. Again this is very easy and doesn’t even require any tools. Sometimes the choke isn’t fully disengaging and that is worth checking.

Thanks svenedin. The noise is not engine but probably whining from the drive chain - i.e. probably prop/ diff. The air filter/ plugs etc are new and the ignition has just been converted to electronic. I personally have a pretty poor record with carb adjustment on my bikes and cars so I would still like to hear from anyone who knows a specialist who could look the whole thing over and set it up properly. I'm guessing that the jetting, idle and maybe timing need fine tuning to get things just right.

Fair enough. The SU carbs with lifting pins have their own inbuilt mixture checking tool but there are other ways. Personally, I find the Gunson Colortune foolproof and I am told it is very accurate when compared to a gas analyser. Timing using a strobe is not easy on the Minor because the timing marks are rather inconveniently only visible from underneath the engine. This makes it a two person job or frequently getting up and down from the floor for one person. Many swear by adjusting the timing "by ear" but on a recent trip to the workshop of East Sussex Minors, they had a car in that the owner had adjusted "by ear" and was over 20 degrees advanced at 600rpm!!! The idle screw does not affect the mixture so you should have no fear in adjusting that if you want to. At the correct idle speed the red charging light on the dash should just flicker (assuming a standard dynamo set up and the dynamo in good order).

My car isn't as old as yours but the diff does whine a bit.

Stephen

Just noticed that my post had a typo. It said drive chain but it should have said drive train! Sorry for the confusion.

Thanks Stephen. "Gladys" had an alternator fitted when the engine was swapped but I guess the same applies more or less re: idle setup.

The noise may be normal I suppose - I have nothing to compare with. I have noticed that there is little or no visible sound insulation in boot/ under bonnet/ in cabin so that may be worth addressing. Anybody have any experience of what works well and is not too hard to do for an arthritic pensioner?

You’re right. There is not much sound deadening. In my car it’s just something that looks like hessian. When I first got my car I was 17 and the noise didn’t bother me. Now 34 years later I find the noise bothers me. I have fitted another flasher relay under the dashboard (bypassing the original which is still in place for the original look) because I could not hear the tick tock anymore. I have tinnitus now so I too will eventually need some decent sound deadening. There are various firms who sell kits (I did a Skoda years ago) and they work well but sound deadening does add weight.

Thanks again Stephen. I've noticed a variety of things on offer so I'll keep trying to make sense of the options. Probably go for a combination of under carpet, bulkhead and boot lining maybe using some of that modern self adhesive sound/ heat insulation stuff.

Hope your tinnitus doesn't get too bad. I've had it for 20 or 30 years now and it has stayed about the same - not too distracting thankfully. Don't have to worry about indicators ticking though - my trafficators just have a bright red light to show they are on!

Dave

Differential whine is not uncommon and they can go on for years in this way. But first I would check the oil level in the diff - once I had a car that developed an annoying noise from the back and topping up the diff cured it!

Thanks for the reassurance. Just been out and it seemed less intrusive now that I know a bit more! The diff oil was checked on PDI a couple of weeks back but when it stops raining I'll give it another check.
Dave