I bought another one

[rocco]

Morning all. I got impatient with the slow progress I am making on my car and so I bought another one which doesn't need much attention!

I just want to drive a Minor in the nice weather while it lasts. So I have a long journey across Europe with it next month to bring it home.

I have made a start with a spares list (fan belt, points, etc.) but I am sure someone on here already has one. I would really appreciated if anyone would like to share their list with me, just so that I can be as prepared as I can be for the common eventualities of a 800-miles drive in an old car.

I aware of the need for a warning triangle, first aid kit, beam deflectors, breathalyzer kit, hi-viz vests and a UK magnetic plate already.

Any advice will of course be very gratefully received.

[rocco]

OK, well I think I have a good selection of most of the items that may fail already sorted. If I forget anything and end up stranded in the French countryside, I can always use the ADAC to get me home.

[Myrtles Man]

One item that you may not have but could well prove useful is a tow rope, just in case you need to be taken to a safe area or somewhere more conducive to get-you-home repairs.

[rocco]

One item that you may not have but could well prove useful is a tow rope, just in case you need to be taken to a safe area or somewhere more conducive to get-you-home repairs.

I had not thought of that, thank you for the suggestion. I'll get one ordered asap.

Do they have a towing eye? I don't recall seeing one.

[Myrtles Man]

No towing eye on them but I'm pretty sure you could find somewhere suitable under there to lash on to in an emergency. Also you might do worse than include a set of jump leads in your kit; you never know, as they say.

[StillGotMy1stCar]

You can guarantee if you pack everything including the kitchen sink, you won’t have exactly what you want, but:-
You can be inventive when needed, I had the throttle return spring break once, letting the engine rev flat out, 20 miles from home, I had a rummage around the little tool box I had with me and found some twist wire cable ties and rubber bands which made a super light throttle return. Not on a Minor but the same SU carb.

Regards John

[simmitc]

If you do need to attach a tow rope to the front of the car, then the tie rods have always been the favoured place. However, be careful to not catch the number plate. I have always carried a toe rope and used it on quite a few occasions - to tow more modern vehicles that have failed to proceed. For that purpose, it does help that all my Minors have always had tow bars.

[rocco]

Thank you. I'm absolutely do not intend to tow anything with a Morris Minor. I was thinking more of being towed if I get stuck somewhere in the middle of the French countryside.

I'm going to have a battery jump starter pack with me in case of a dead battery.

Another thing I am struggling with is getting a fan belt. ESM don't have any but the ones they sell for the 1098 with dynamo are 825mm. On eBay they are 813mm. Other belts are 865mm or 925mm for the 1098. I know it depends on whether they have a dynamo, factory alternator or aftermarket alternator but I cannot find any consistency here.

Now I wonder if I am getting confused by the naming. Was the Minor 1000 model name used for both the 948cc and the 1098cc engined cars?

[geoberni]

Another thing I am struggling with is getting a fan belt. ESM don't have any but the ones they sell for the 1098 with dynamo are 825mm. On eBay they are 813mm. Other belts are 865mm or 925mm for the 1098. I know it depends on whether they have a dynamo, factory alternator or aftermarket alternator but I cannot find any consistency here.

Now I wonder if I am getting confused by the naming. Was the Minor 1000 model name used for both the 948cc and the 1098cc engined cars?

Belts do seem to vary....
On other cars of the Dynamo era, back in the day, I always found that by slackening off the tension adjustment on the dynamo mounting, I could fit a belt over all the pulleys and get sufficient tension on the belt. That just doesn't seem the case on my minor (1098 engine).
The belt that was fitted when I got him was 814, which only just fitted without using any of the adjustment to tension it.
So I then fitted a 838, which just fitted over the pulleys but was pretty near the end of the adjuster, so after a bit of use was too slack and couldn't be adjusted out further.
I'm now using the 825, which doesn't quite fit over the pulleys and needs the Dynamo mounting bolts to be removed to get it on.
I often wonder if there's an issue with the mounting brackets.
I find the reason the Dynamo doesn't quite adjust enough to allow fitting is that the insulation around the main terminal catches on the bracket, when the Dynamo is hinged towards the block...
A past Owner has removed some of the brown insulation which seems to be excessive for the terminal, I'm thinking about taking a little more off and I suspect it will be sufficient to allow belt fitment without demounting the thing...

20240724_110916.jpg (1.16 MiB) Viewed 5715 times

[rocco]

Another thing I am struggling with is getting a fan belt. ESM don't have any but the ones they sell for the 1098 with dynamo are 825mm. On eBay they are 813mm. Other belts are 865mm or 925mm for the 1098. I know it depends on whether they have a dynamo, factory alternator or aftermarket alternator but I cannot find any consistency here.

Now I wonder if I am getting confused by the naming. Was the Minor 1000 model name used for both the 948cc and the 1098cc engined cars?

Belts do seem to vary....
On other cars of the Dynamo era, back in the day, I always found that by slackening off the tension adjustment on the dynamo mounting, I could fit a belt over all the pulleys and get sufficient tension on the belt. That just doesn't seem the case on my minor (1098 engine).
The belt that was fitted when I got him was 814, which only just fitted without using any of the adjustment to tension it.
So I then fitted a 838, which just fitted over the pulleys but was pretty near the end of the adjuster, so after a bit of use was too slack and couldn't be adjusted out further.
I'm now using the 825, which doesn't quite fit over the pulleys and needs the Dynamo mounting bolts to be removed to get it on.
I often wonder if there's an issue with the mounting brackets.
I find the reason the Dynamo doesn't quite adjust enough to allow fitting is that the insulation around the main terminal catches on the bracket, when the Dynamo is hinged towards the block...
A past Owner has removed some of the brown insulation which seems to be excessive for the terminal, I'm thinking about taking a little more off and I suspect it will be sufficient to allow belt fitment without demounting the thing...20240724_110916.jpg

I think I'll just have to buy two. One 825mm (which is also described as 813mm in some adverts) and another that is 865mm. Not seen one that is 838mm yet. How many more sizes are there for heavens' sake!!

[liammonty]

Cable ties and gaffer tape or similar are useful for emergency fixes!

In addition to what's been mentioned, I'd take a few spares for the ignition system, as those are pretty much the only things that ahve ever let me down in 30 years of driving Minors. They are also small and easily packed!

[rocco]

Cable ties and gaffer tape or similar are useful for emergency fixes!

In addition to what's been mentioned, I'd take a few spares for the ignition system, as those are pretty much the only things that ahve ever let me down in 30 years of driving Minors. They are also small and easily packed!

Good point. I've bought some points and a condensor already and now 3 different fan belts, 813mm, 825mm & 863mm

Cable ties are on my list, will add gaffer tape to it too.

[Mercmancdi]

One of those cheap £9 fuel pumps that come with hose filters and clips and take good Stanley knife wife with you
and little bag of electrical joints and strip of wire and couple of fuses. oh And spark plug spanner and multi metre to test for power.Before you set off might be a good idea to crack off and retighten , fan belt bracket bolts ,wheel nuts , maybe even the stat housing studs.
And the more you take the less likely you are to need any of it. Enjoy your trip.

[Myrtles Man]

A 2 post lift could be useful too.

[rocco]

One of those cheap £9 fuel pumps that come with hose filters and clips and take good Stanley knife wife with you
and little bag of electrical joints and strip of wire and couple of fuses. oh And spark plug spanner and multi metre to test for power.Before you set off might be a good idea to crack off and retighten , fan belt bracket bolts ,wheel nuts , maybe even the stat housing studs.
And the more you take the less likely you are to need any of it. Enjoy your trip.

Not heard of a £9 fuel pump but I am intrigued. Sounds like a good idea if it runs on its' own batteries to get you say 50 miles in an emergency.

I did ask about fuses but got no response. I think the glass fuses are 20x5mm but there aren't any 35Amp rated one for sale. There are only the 6x30mm ones which might be too big.

I'm flying over light so I can't bring everything I want to bring with me. I'm having to buy a load of items twice in the UK and I'm already over 200 quid down!

[rocco]

A 2 post lift could be useful too.

Will it fit in the glove box?

[StillGotMy1stCar]

Look again, I did respond to your fuse size question, it was in the electrical section. 6x30mm

Regards John

[les]

Good luck with your latest purchase, i’m thinking the slow progress on your original car, will be even slower now. Can’t say I’d start something else before I’d finished the first one. Unless of course the new one wants nothing doing to it. Oh, who am I kidding !

[rocco]

Good luck with your latest purchase, i’m thinking the slow progress on your original car, will be even slower now. Can’t say I’d start something else before I’d finished the first one. Unless of course the new one wants nothing doing to it. Oh, who am I kidding !

The new one doesn't need restoration, although I haven't seen it myself yet. I did get a qualified family member to look it over before committing. My biggest problem is space to work on my original car. Yes I know, the situation of having to store another car isn't lost on me

Last weekend I got around to painting the front grill surround. It got paint stripper, wire wheel on a drill, a smaller Dremel for the nooks and crannies and then sanded it by hand because corrosion was still there. A layer of etch primer went on and then some paint. It still doesn't look perfect but it's taken more than 5 hours (on and off) in total and I still have the awkward slotted part of the grill to do.

I hoping to buy an old house this year with a big garage and/or barn. Then I can make a more serious attempt to restore "the black one".

[rocco]

Look again, I did respond to your fuse size question, it was in the electrical section. 6x30mm

Regards John

Ah thanks John, I didn't see it. I usually click on "New Posts" to see everything I missed and I log in here virtually every day. I'll get a couple of fuses sorted now.

This is where my confusion stemmed from.

MM_Fuse_Size.jpg (28.01 KiB) Viewed 5560 times