Morris Minor Owners Club

Just to share because I’m excited! I took my driving test this morning and passed!

For those of you who don’t know, I’ve been driving auto for the last 20 years so I’ve had to retake my test to upgrade to manual….

Was a great feeling taking Nellie’s L plates off when I got home!

Fantastic news! Congratulations.

The driving test has changed over those 20 years since your previous test. Now the L plates are gone you can learn to get the best out of Nellie. I mean the little things like waiting at traffic lights in neutral without your foot on the brake etc.

Many road trip adventures to look forward to.

Thank you so much!

Yes it was quite different, much busier on the roads and I followed a sat nav for most of it!

Obviously I’ll drive Nellie carefully but it’s so nice to adapt to how I want to drive instead of trying to drive to ‘test standard’ which is quite different really!

Now the fun really begins

Congratulations

Well done and enjoy your future noel drives

Thank you so much!

Well Done!

As Andmurph implies, the big thing for anyone to get used to is not sitting at lights etc with the car in gear and the clutch held down.

A bad habit that many manual transmission drivers get into, but the old style Carbon Thrust Ring in the clutch doesn't like it.

Congratulations

Thanks all, now I don’t have to focus so heavily on getting through a test, I’ll definitely work on improving my driving in general to get the best out of Nell, at least I won’t be so restricted now..
I’ll be driving a lot more… more practice!

Yes the taking the car out of gear when waiting at lights is definitely a good tip, admittedly it’s not something I tend to do as it’s so built up in my area there is always the pressure to move off fast at lights etc… but I know the more I drive the more fluent I’ll get with getting her in gear and getting moving!

I have to say though… I had to do the test in a modern car as I wasn’t allowed to use Nellie, and everyone said ‘oh if you can drive Nellie you’ll find the modern car so easy’… I honestly didn’t at all! Driving Nell has become like second nature, driving the modern was a bit of a struggle to be honest… I got through it.. but man was it good to get back in Nell once it was done… like putting a pair of cosy slippers on

Just to add my congratulations !

Thank you

Well done and congrats from me too! Time to enjoy driving and maintaining Nell.....I expect that soon you will be giving out expert advice to the newbies!

Well done. Ref getting in to gear to move away... Put it in 2nd gear that has synchromesh. If on the flat, down hill, or even a very sliight incline, then the car will pull away smoothly in second. If on a steeper incline then put it in 2nd and immediately (without moving off) into first and then pull away. As with everything, it will become "second nature".

Great news.
I did wonder how, as moderns are very much automatics these days, this would affect classic car ownership with a new generation.
You have also set an example, nice one.

simmitc wrote: ↑Thu May 28, 2026 10:33 pm Well done. Ref getting in to gear to move away... Put it in 2nd gear that has synchromesh. If on the flat, down hill, or even a very sliight incline, then the car will pull away smoothly in second. If on a steeper incline then put it in 2nd and immediately (without moving off) into first and then pull away. As with everything, it will become "second nature".

I must admit I pull away in 2nd most of the time; unless it's a hill start, it is quite happy moving off in 2nd.

Yes I normally pull off in second as long as Nellie hasn’t stopped for too long or we aren’t on a hill. I may be doing something wrong but say I’m approaching a roundabout and I know I’m going to have to stop… I’ll change to down to second on approach and once I’m completely stopped I’ll go into first, if I try to change from second to first while moving she won’t do it.. I guess this is where double de clutch comes in… a technique I need to learn!

And thank you all for the best wishes!

mrs.smith2012 wrote: ↑Fri May 29, 2026 12:03 pm Yes I normally pull off in second as long as Nellie hasn’t stopped for too long or we aren’t on a hill. I may be doing something wrong but say I’m approaching a roundabout and I know I’m going to have to stop… I’ll change to down to second on approach and once I’m completely stopped I’ll go into first, if I try to change from second to first while moving she won’t do it.. I guess this is where double de clutch comes in… a technique I need to learn!

And thank you all for the best wishes!

IMHO, and I've only had Basil approaching 9 years, moving 2nd to 1st (which has no synchromesh) on the move is really only on the steepest of long hills, of which I have none around me.

Double declutching is fairly easy once you've got used to it and of course understand what you're trying to achieve.

1 - Disengage: Press the clutch down and move the gear lever into neutral.
2 - Engage: Raise the clutch (with it in neutral) while pressing the accelerator to raise the engine's RPM to the expected road speed in the lower gear.
3 - Disengage (Again): Press the clutch a second time and shift into the lower gear while maintaining that extra engine speed.
4 - Engage (Again): Release the clutch as normal.

Step 2 is the key one where you need the experience, just to judge the amount of extra accelerator required.

Okay, I think I’ll take her somewhere quiet to practice this!

I was driving her a few weeks ago and accidentally put her into neutral instead of 3rd… she made such a racket

But thank you for that breakdown, if I can master it, it will help me out a lot!

When you say ‘raise the clutch’ you mean raise up to the bite point, not take your foot off completely?

I can’t see the need to change from second to first on the move, if you find the need to go into first, presumably you will eventually intend to stop. From there select first, it’s usually better to move the lever towards second (but not select) then select first.