Morris Minor Owners Club

Can anyone help, I am restoring a 1960 MM 948cc, I am having difficulty with the front off side brake. I have replaced all piping, and brake cylinders along with the shoes and had no trouble with three of the drums or brakes but for some reason the f/o/s the brake shoes just hang loose as if the springs are too long, and wobble the adjusters have a gap between them and the brake shoe and I cannot get the drum to go on. What am I doing wrong! I done each wheel one at a time so as not to mix up any parts.

I reckon somebody has tried to put on brake springs from an 8" drum instead of your 7". I ordered a new set of front springs from a well known supplier back at the begining of the year for our 61 MM with 7" drums, he supplied springs for 8" drums - they don't fit and give the symptoms you describe exactly.

Hi Nigel, the springs are the ones that were already on the old cylinders all I have done is fitted new cylinders and shoe's.

I know that thias sounds obvious, but have you got them in the right holes. look closely at the old lining and you can see where they were fitted.

yep, I have even taken off the front o/s wheel on my 1962 MM to have a look and compare it and I cannot see what I done wrong

I assume the brake shoes are from the same batch as those on the n/s which fit properly? Also compare both brake drums - it's highly unlikely, but you might just have an 8 inch drum (from the later cars) on the o/s.

If both of these are OK it sounds like the springs have become stretched, which is why the lower shoe is loose. To check this, measure the length of the springs in situ on the n/s. The springs you are trying to use on the o/s should be at least 5mm shorter in their natural state than the springs on the n/s which are under tension.

Swap the parts over to the other side - and see where it goes wrong. Did you change the cylinders ?

Hi all springs ok and yes did put new cylinders on and yes they where from the same batch which were bought in 1983 when the chap I got the car from started to restore it bet never got round to putting it all together (he is 76 )I think I have found the problem the brake shoes seem to be slightly oval and do not match up with the set that I have put no the near side.

Suspect brake shoes are from 8" drum then and not 7", this would also explain why you cannot get the drum on. I have a set of both here and when they are off the car they look very similar.

Indeed - they won't be oval - just too big. Good idea to convert up to 8" drums anyway ! They are so much better than the miserable 7" drums - but not as good as 9" Wolseley 1500 drums !!!

Really? I've NEVER heard that before,
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Sorry in my reply I didn't mean they were oval, but if you compare 8" with 7" they appear oval! Also if they were 7's the drum would still go on. Still got 7" on ours, must alter to 8's at sometime. No problem with locking up the wheels but brake fade can be interesting on some of our hills!!!

Hi yes one brake shoe is definitely out of shape no doubt about it. like I said earlier this project start in 1983 the chap stripped everything down and had the bits iv various boxs around the house in the garage in the attic you name it he had them there, nothing named just in boxs and it like doing a jig saw with out the picture. Bolts springs washers pipes all in different box's. He bought various parts over the years with the intention of one day putting it all back together again but his health has got the better of him.

Been there - done that ! Good luck sorting it all out. And don't throw anything away !

Thats easier said than done, I have a double garage with two MM's, packed to the rafters with bits of everything ( I'm a hoarder) in it and two cars sitting out side in all weathers and a wife nagging that her car 2004) should be in there and not all that junk!!

Nah mate, modern cars have not 'served their time' so don't deserve a garage yet. They are only allowed one when they get past 25 years old! I've got a similar situation: 2 garaged classics, 2 car port'd classics (when I've finished building the car port ), one classic covered up in the garden and the two modern cars on the road serving their time!

But by that argument the modern cars will never get to see the inside of a garage... ;)

But by that argument the modern cars will never get to see the inside of a garage...

Except for some Honda, Toyota and 80's Volvo stuff ;-)

My first Minor was rotted out at less than 20 years old then badly repaired and was finally sent to a scrap yard, and rescued by a 14 year old. He welded it up over the next year and I bought it when it was 23 years old and spent the next 11 years fixing the endless list of things that broke.

One of the differences is that the huge amount of electronics on modern cars mean they are not viable to repair.

Modern cars are built to last 15 years at max. Those computers don't like getting old, and the tiniest amount of corrosion would kill them

But to be fair most Car makers seem to have the rust thing sorted. Till something mechanical packs up.

Remember the 70's? my dads company Cortina rotted to the large hole stage at less than a year old!

Hides while stories of modern rot boxes abound