Morris Minor Owners Club

Would I be able to use these on my traveller?????

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mini-Front-vented ... dZViewItem

Im so in need of diskbrakes could this work??

Dan

Not easily as they are for a front wheel drive car and not a rear!

I have thought of all kinds of ways of using Mini disks but all too difficult. Sprite hubs and discs fit - i am told, but you need to make brackets for the calipers. By far the best solution (cost wise) is to hunt down a pair of front drum assemblies from a Wolsely 1500 - these bolt straight on and are 9" diameter and slightly wider. They give fantastic brakes for low cost. hard to find though - although I am told there were a set on here recently - and another set (?) in the magazine - or was it the same set ? Keep an eye on ebay - i asked evreyone selling Wolseley bits - and eventually got the front brakes although they were not advertised. Many told me they had 'just dumped the car' - complete with the brakes - because they didn't think anyone would want them !!

Or of course, do what most people do and get a nicely engineered disk-brake kit. There's a few out there, so do your research beforehand. The JLH kit seems to be highly recommended.

(I've got a Charlie Ware Marina Disk Brake conversion, which I've been happy with).

I've got both - C Ware's is fine, JLH's is brilliant, that's why it costs more.

I think I am going for some fine 7 inchers.

drums that is of course

They're SO nice and snarly...

Snarly is English isn't it, or did I just make that up.

The brakes on my MM should be nice and smooth, or so I have been told

so it might not ne good to have smooth brakes....who cares!

No, snarly's fine - I was referring to your e mail

Ow all right then

So, have you found yourself a nice pair of wolseley drums then, they should be aplenty, or So I am told.

'fraid not - I HATE drum brakes quite with a vengeance.

Really?? Vut then you live in a hilly area, unlike me...

But then you can go hide in the hills.. if someone scary comes along

It wasn't the hills that got me, it was in heavy,slow traffic that I found them inadequate, without leaving a safety gap so big that people would cut into it, & after 2 sudden failures (not on brakes I'd maintained) I just lost all faith in them.

Are wolsley drums really that good then?

I find mine perfectly adequate except for the odd bit of fade when coming down from 70 odd mph.
I do have a later mog though so probably have bigger drums than what the earlier ones had.

I fancy changing to discs but thats only because I hate changing shoes - pads are so much simpler.

But caliper maintenance is not much fun. The 9" W drums are a huge improvement on the 8" standard drums. But if they (the 8") are in good order they will be fine for day-to-day motoring.

I found them inadequate, without leaving a safety gap so big that people would cut into it,

so really the problem was caused by other drivers who have disk brakes, leading them to drive badly (not respecting braking distances)...

but the risk was the brakes were too sharp on slippy roads...

so people wanted ABS then they copuld drive even worse than before, but the ability to slam on the brakes on icy/slippy roads makes people unaware of the conditions...

resulting in people who now insist on ESP on their cars...

but even that has its limits. I wonder what's coming next... satelite + radar assist braking
Yes it really is being worked on - a car that slows down to avoid hitting the car in front or to avoid approaching a corner / junction too fast

Sooner or later the car itself will need a driving license and the muppet behind the wheel can carry on watching their DVD/MP4 player even more oblivious to the surrounding environment than they are today.

I'll stick with Minor 8" drums for today - anyone who wants to take my braking zone, there's nowt I can do about it except for a courteous wave (or different kind of gesture if I'm in a bad mood)
I might fit my some 9" drums next year if I can still face working on cars ( currently that's looking dubious)
brrrrrrr....

I would have thought that any product or assistance which improves the braking and hence safety of a vehicle should be encouraged. I don't think that ABS, ESP or a good set of disc brakes are needed because the driver is less competant, but surely to improve the safety level offered to the cars occupants. Yes in general most people drive too fast for the road conditions, but not all. I do however agree that there should be some control on in car entertainment, but how do you do this without claims of there being a nanny state. I also feel that the problem of stopping a minor with standard brakes is compounded by the fact that most disc braked cars, old or modern, will have a far shorter stopping distance.

I don't think that ABS, ESP or a good set of disc brakes are needed because the driver is less competent,

That wasn't quite my point (and my point wasn't too serious either) - I was meaning that the increased number of driver aids can't help but go hand in hand with reduced skill.
Generally when people get behind the wheel for the first time they are incompetent drivers and improve with experience. What I was whinging about is that these modern advances allow people to stay fairly incompetent drivers, whereas drum brakes force you to be more competent, or suffer the consequences.
I've often thought that if all car drivers were forced to do at least 1 year on a motorbike, then car drivers would be 10 times safer on average. (5 times better because they would be more aware of the other road users, and 5 times better because the really bad drivers wouldn't survive 12 months on a bike )

improves the braking and hence safety of a vehicle

my ramblings were trying to imply that the safety of the vehicle is still limited by the driver, and if people don't need to concentrate on their driving, will it be more safe?

Certainly better brakes mean shorter stopping distances and that point 'in isolation' is a very good advance. The growing number of Minors with improved brakes mean that a larger amount of people can use them in years to come.

Radar control cruise/braking systems however feel (to me) like a step in the wrong direction and I really hope they can't squeeze it through current legislation (does that make me a luddite?)

Have you ever noticed in science fiction tv/cinema that in the 'futuristic world of intergallactic space travel', they still let humanoids on the controls instead of computers?
Even with the technology to for space travel, molecular transporters and even time travel - we don't let the computers have full control

I've often thought that if all car drivers were forced to do at least 1 year on a motorbike, then car drivers would be 10 times safer on average. (5 times better because they would be more aware of the other road users, and 5 times better because the really bad drivers wouldn't survive 12 months on a bike )

Nice one Ray, I see you think outside the box!

Actually, I agree with Ray on that one.

When I learned to ride a motorbike it *totally* transformed the way I drove - and for the good. I learned an *awful* lot about how much you just don't see or realise in a car.