Morris Minor Car Covers

I’ve often complained here about how irritating it is having to go and collect the Traveller before a run out, simply because I haven’t the room to garage it at home and wont leave it out to the elements. And although I’m not personally into the Concours competitions (mainly because I’m too lazy to maintain the required standards), I do often hear moans from people who’ve spent hours detailing their car only to have rain on the morning of an event spoil the effect. So I got to thinking: Is there a cover on the market that could help in these circumstances?

After a bit of research, I decided to talk to Cover Your Car and look at their range of covers specifically designed for the Minor. I had some rather old-fashioned preconceptions about covers, remembering the flappy tarpaulins that would disappear as soon as the wind got up, scratch the paint getting them on and off, and trap moisture underneath that kept the car wet even when it was dry outside. It was a hugely pleasant surprise to find that covers have moved on immeasurably since then, and CoverYourCar showed me four different types of cover – the Sahara, Voyager, Monsoon, and Stormforce – all custom-tailored for a Morris Traveller. Their covers weren’t cheap (the top one costs about £150) and I really wanted to see if it could justify its cost. After chatting to their representative, I opted for their ultimate cover, the Stormforce, and waited patiently for it to arrive.

The first surprise was how neat it was, in its own tailored ‘carry-bag’, which had for once been designed with getting its contents back into it in mind! It wasn’t as heavy as I expected it to be either – I revised my thoughts that it would be left at home all the time and decided that I’d simply put it in the boot in case I should need it at a show, etc. Unfortunately my own Traveller wasn’t available at the time the cover arrived, and eager to have a look I temporarily loaned it to a friend who was about to go on holiday and leave his own Traveller outside for two weeks. Unpacking it from the bag showed that it was thoughtfully designed, with underbody securing straps and even little ‘bunny ears’ for the mirrors.

This is where we noticed our first minor negative with such detailed covers – they are obviously designed around a perfectly standard car. The cover is too precisely tailored for the car to accommodate a roof aerial, for example, or the ‘kidney cutter’ headlight eyebrows that many of us have. Unscrewing the aerial and releasing the screw that holds the headlight surround which locates the eyebrows is only the work of a couple of minutes, though, so its hardly a major flaw. My own Traveller has ‘peephole’ mirrors on the door frame, although these too unscrew from their bases in just a few moments, but I must remember to do that or the cover simply wont fit.

After laying the cover over the roof of the car, we stopped for a moment to talk about the covers construction. The cover has four distinct ‘layers’, starting with a super-soft lining on the car side which wouldn’t worry owners about scratching the paintwork. The second layer has a ‘breathable’ membrane which Cover Your Car claimed would allow moisture out but not in, and given the weather we were keen to see if it lived up to their claims. The third layer is padded, forming a gap between the lining and the outer layer which is UV resistant and wipeable to get rid of the inevitable bird crap. All four layers are then bonded together, and again the attention to detail is shown with things like double-stitched seams and elasticated hems at the front and back.

My pal put the cover on himself to see if it was a one-man job and I took some pictures. Presuming you’re not putting it on in gale-force winds, one man can fit the cover in about seven or eight minutes start to finish. That’s easy enough to make it a realistic proposition to cover the car Saturday night on the rally field at the National, for example, to ensure that if it rains during the night you don’t have to do it all again while everyone else is having breakfast on Sunday morning. I’m not entirely sure what the mirror pockets purpose is, though – they kept falling off the mirror while the cover was going on, and the mirrors themselves (once ‘folded’ in against the bonnet) are protected under the cover anyway. Once fitted, we ran the optional locking kit cable round the underside through the eyelets, but to be honest I don’t think it adds anything in terms of outright security because the eyelets are plastic and would easily be ripped off by a thief. It does prevent the chap in the car next door lifting it up and dropping some bird crap on the bonnet so he can get your first place though!

While my friend was away we had some horrific weather, with a couple of major thunderstorms and some localised flooding again. I did think about popping round to his house to check on the car but resisted the temptation until he got back and we inspected the car to see how the cover had fared. Despite the very high winds (my neighbour lost a couple of ridge tiles and a fence panel) the cover was still attached just as it had been left. As you can see from one of the pictures, the outer layer was still very very wet as it was taken off – the last serious downpour was only the previous day. Underneath, though, the car was absolutely bone-dry. For comparison’s sake, we also looked at his son’s Mini which had been covered with a more conventional single-layer cover, and the bodywork on that was still wet everywhere. More importantly, the Mini also had condensation on the windows showing that there was moisture inside the car, while the Traveller had none. This was genuinely impressive – there’s no point in covering your car and keeping water inside the cover – so the one-way membrane had indeed done ‘just what it said on the tin’. Finally, the cover, once dry, fitted easily back inside its bag (only those who’ve ever tried to get a tent back into its carrybag will know the frustration of a bag that is exactly big enough and not a millimetre more!).

So, does the Stormforce justify its price-tag? In one word: easily. I was hugely impressed with its resistance to the weather, and its ease of fitting and removal. I’ll be more than happy to keep the Traveller at home more often and just cover it up, knowing that it will emerge from the cocoon exactly the same way as it was put away, no matter how much rain has fallen or how many migrating birds had picked my trees as a suitable stop-off point. I’ve got no hesitation in recommending Cover Your Car to readers, and the final icing on the cake is that from reading their site I see they’ve knocked 10% off their prices, so their top cover is now £135 including VAT and delivery here.

How to buy a Morris Minor Pt2

(back to Part 1)

Series MM, 1948-52: sidevalve 918cc engine, single wiper, sunvisor, offside tail lamp and beige vinyl upholstery. 1950: four door, wing mounted headlamps, also interior light, cancelling trafficators, screen demisters, stainless steel window frames.

ENGINES
Unless you’re looking specifically for a sidevalve Minor you’re unlikely to stumble across one for sale. Although the engine is reliable, it’s pretty gutless and not very easy to source spares for. It can suffer as a result of owners not knowing how to maintain the engine properly. Exhaust valves burn out as a result of incorrect tappet adjustment because they’re not easy to set correctly. Timing settings can also be thrown by wear in the distributor (due to lack of lubrication),

The next engine fitted was the 803cc version of the A-series. Unless you’re happy to amble along at pedestrian speeds these units are best avoided.

Series II 1952-62: 803cc engine. 1954: Horizontal grille, sidelights on wings, body colour dash, central instruments. 1956: 1000, 948cc, close-ratio 'box,single piece screen, larger rear window, 6.5 gallon tank.

The first of the really usable engines was fitted to post-1952 cam, in the form of the 948cc A-series unit. Incredibly durable and reliable, these motors will rack up 150,000 miles quite happily and are the sweetest runners of the three A-series capacities used. When the unit does start to wear out the first signs will be exhaust smoke under power, noisy tappets and reduced performance – and its not that perky to start with. There may also be big-end knocks when the engine is started, timing chain rattle and an oil light that’s slow to go out because of the reduced oil pressure.

1962-1970: Series III 1098cc, revised 'box & clutch, 8in drums, raised final drive. 1963: toughened screen, larger indicators & rear lights. 1964: revised interior & ignition switch.

Which leaves the final – and most usable – version of the A-series. the 1098cc unit. The extra capacity makes the engine less stressed and the most able to cope with modern driving conditions although it ultimately still suffers from the same maladies as the 948cc.

If you’re not too worried about originality it’s worth putting a 1275cc powerplant in, as it just slots into the engine bay without any modifications. The gearbox should cope with a 1275 just as well as it does with a 1098cc unit – although it doesn’t actually cope that well with the smaller engine. The brakes would really need to be upgraded, but you could do the work yourself to keep the cost down to a minimum.

1953-71: Traveller, exposed ash framework, hinged rear seat, separate lower compartment for spare wheel and tools.

TRANSMISSION
Gearboxes are the weakest mechanical link in any Minor, with all the units fitted being weak and having syncromesh that gives up alarmingly easily – although none of the Minor derivatives were fitted with syncromesh on first gear. Once the teeth have become chipped the gearbox will become especially noisy and it will start jumping out of gear, especially second.

The only model that has reasonably good parts supply is the 1098cc car, with the 803cc and 948cc versions having very patchy availability. The casings themselves were different, with the 1098cc car having a ribbed unit while the earlier cars featured a smooth case. Gearbox parts supply for the sidevalve-engined cars is even worse, so don’t count on getting parts very easily. But if you’re looking for a replacement gearbox for a 1098cc car and you’re offered a decent Midget gearbox, your prayers have been answered because it’s the same unit.

MM Tourer 1948-53: rear sidescreens. 1951: wing mounted headlamps, renamed convertible, glass sidescreens. 1953-69: changes as Series II/III, 1956: plastic hood.

Some owners get round the parts supply situation and the inherent weakness of the gearboxes by fitting a Ford Sierra five-speed conversion kit, which costs around £1000 including fitting. As this gives a taller top gear it makes the car more usable with the ability to cruise at 80mph.

The rear axle and propshaft are pretty reliable, but at some point the differential will wear out. You can tell that replacement is imminent if the unit gets noisy when you lift off once up to speed, so expect to pay £300 for a rebuilt unit. That’s the same price as you’ll pay for a reconditioned gearbox.

STEERING & SUSPENSION

Trunnions and swivel pins at the front wear out unless they’re greased at least every 3000 miles or three months – although twice as often as this, if possible, is desirable. If they’re allowed to wear enough, the swivel pin will pull out of the trunnion altogether, although this will probably only happen at parking speeds when the loading on the suspension is at its highest. But with a new kingpin leg and both top and bottom trunnions costing just £75, it’s not the end of the world if both sides need to be replaced.

The rear suspension is quite primitive and doesn’t give the car great handling characteristics. The general consensus is that the most useful thing you on do is swap the lower arm dampers for telescopics, which will typically cost you £100 per side. But Matt isn’t convinced, as dampers can rub on tyres if the job isn’t done properly (brackets are welded rather than bolted on) and at the front, even if you go for telescopic dampers, the original lever arms will have to be retained. They’ll be drained and not acting as dampers anymore, but they have to stay because they act as a pivot point for the front suspension.

At the rear its also worth checking that the leaf springs are in good order – especially their front mountings. If you do decide to convert the front suspension to telescopic dampers, for which you’ll expect to fork out £75 per side, it’s also worth opting for an uprated anti-roll bar. But  if you’re strapped for cash then the first upgrade should be to the rear suspension.

WHEELS & BRAKES
Pressed steel wheels were fitted to all Minors as standard, and they don’t give any problems. A common swap is the 13in unit fitted to Midgets (Minor wheels were 14in diameter), but using the MG wheels doesn’t give problems.

Drum brakes all round was the norm for all Minors, and if in good condition the system is okay for the job. But it’s worth upgrading to disc brakes at the front for around £600 or fitting a servo (for £300 or so) to make things easier in modern traffic.

The brake master cylinder lives under the driver’s footwell and gets attacked by all the debris thrown up front the road. Consequently it suffers after a while and because it’s out of sight it’s also usually out of mind. But swapping old for new isn’t a problem and at just £50 for a new unit its not a costly exercise.

TRIM
Not only is just about everything available for the interior of a Minor, but none of it is very expensive. A new hood for a tourer is just £120 while a carpet set can be yours for £60 or so. Series I and II can were trimmed in leather while the later car had vinyl trim -but if you fancy a bit of hide in your later car it’s easily done, if not cheap at over £250.

Switchgear and instrumentation is also available, except for the Bakelite switches used on early cars. But plastic replacements can be bought which look the same and don’t disintegrate after a few years.
(Continued in Part 3)

How to buy a Morris Minor Pt1

This article first appeared in the March 2003 edition of Practical Classics and is reproduced by kind permission.
Please remember that any prices are obviously no longer current.

Matt Barwick, who helped with this feature, runs Malvern-based Matt's Morris Minor Services. He owns seven Minors, having raced, restored and run little else.

IN THE LATTER stages of World War II Alec Issigonis was working on a new family car for Morris. Called the Mosquito, this was to be an innovative car from one of the most ingenious of all designers. There would be a monocoque construction and a flat-four engine driving the front wheels. Coil spring and wishbone suspension would feature at the front and it would have rack and pinion steering. Then the piggy bank was raided and it was clear that a less adventurous design would have to be substituted – cue the 918cc sidevalve engine seen in the Morris 8 Series E, driving the rear wheels. The first prototype even retained the Series E’s dimensions, which meant that because of the space-robbing wings and sills, there was hardly any interior space. An extra four inches was spliced into the middle of the car and the Minor was born – or the poached egg, as Lord Nuffield called it when he first saw it.

The Minor made its debut in 1948, as the series MM, otherwise known as the low-light because its headlamps were mounted low down in the grille. The press and public went wild, all madly enthusiastic about the Minor.

Half the value of a good Traveller is in its wooden frame, so check carefully for rot.

At first it was available only as a two-door saloon or a convertible (the Tourer), but a year after the Series II had arrived (in 1952) an estate was introduced – the Traveller. The low-set headlamps had been relocated to the top of the front wings in 1949 and the four-door saloon had arrived onto the market a year later, so the main change for the Series II was the adoption of the 30bhp A-series 803cc overhead-valve engine in place of the 27.5bhp sidevalve unit that had previously been fitted. An impressive 176,002 MMs were built and 318.351 Series II’s; 18,000 of the Series II’s being examples of the Traveller.

Door base rots but it can be fixed. Decent replacement doors are now hard to find.

In 1956 there were major changes to the car, with the launch of the Minor 1000. Not only was a larger (37bhp 948cc) version of the A-series engine slotted beneath the bonnet, but the split windscreen became a single piece unit and a larger rear window was fitted.

By the time the 1098cc engine arrived in 1962, 644,679 Minor 1000s had been produced, of which 89,000 were Travellers. This includes 350 of what are some of the most collectable of all Minors – the lilac-painted Million of 1961, which was built to celebrate a million Minors being produced. The 1962-on Miller 1000 used a 48bhp version of the 1098cc A-series powerplant and the front drum brakes were increased in size to rein in the extra power. By the time production ceased in 1971, 480,825 copies of the 1098cc Minor had rolled off the lines, I08,000 of which were Travellers.

Check for sagging doors. It might be worn hinges or it could be due to rot in A-posts.

BODYWORK
It doesn’t matter how good a Minor looks on the surface – there’s a good chance it will he hiding major structural corrosion somewhere, because they rot from the inside out. It doesn’t really matter how good the car is elsewhere; if the car’s structure is shot its fit for parts only.

Thanks to excellent panel availability, if the outer panels look a bit ropey you needn’t be too concerned about sourcing replacements, although the cost will add up if a lot of work is needed. But if it looks tatty on the outside, there ’s a good chance that the monocoque to which they bolt is in need of some serious TLC – work that’ll be expensive.

Most panels available at decent prices so dont fret if the car needs the odd one.

Things potentially get even worse if it’s a Traveller you’re looking at, because the woodwork that gives the car such character is also a very expensive thing to fix when it starts to rot away. Because the timber is structural, repairing it can’t be put off and it’s not really possible to patch it up or do a section at a time. That means doing the whole lot in one go, which costs around £2000, so make sure there are no discoloured areas that suggest the work will need doing imminently. The wood should be rubbed down and revarnished annually.

This crossmember is crucial for strength. They rot but replacements are available.

Whether it’s a saloon, convertible or estate, the Minor has a lot of rust traps that need careful checking. The rear spring hangers arc one of the most important things to look at because repair is so complicated. A lasting repair can take up to a day for each side, but the whole underside needs close inspection -especially the rear chassis extensions and front chassis legs.

In the latter case these extend either side of the engine and have a habit of rusting from the inside out. Once you can see evidence of rot it’s time for the whole leg to be replaced, at a cost of £100. For some reason, cover panels on the underside of the floorpan were popular in the 1980’s – great for hiding problems but not so good at solving them. These will probably have been replaced by now, but if they haven’t, whatever original metal was behind them will probably have rotted away a long time ago.

Other common rot spots include the sills and the doors, the latter rotting along the bottom edge and across the underside. Finding original replacement doors for any Minor is difficult, although they can be rebuilt because good quality repair panels are available. Vans, pick-ups and four-door saloons used the same doors as each other while a different version was fitted to tourers, Travellers and two-door saloons. Whichever version you need you can expect to pay around £150 for a decent door.

There aren’t many panels that aren’t available for the Minor, so just about any car can be saved if it’s important enough – but the restoration of a really rough car would cost more than the car will be worth afterwards. That’s why many Minors are fit just for parts – there are so many about that unless they can be saved relatively cheaply its preferable to just buy a better example.

Most of the panels that are on offer are from the original tooling – crucial pressing, like the floorpans and crossmembers, which braces the whole shell, are common rot spots.

Because we Brits have a love of convertibles, and with an ever dwindling supply of good genuine examples, it’s possible to buy a kit to convert a two-door saloon into a drop-top. Done properly there’s no cause for concern. But not all cars are converted safely, and the other catch is that sometimes such conversions are passed off as genuine cars. To make sure you don’t get caught out, read the section on identifying marks.

(Continued in Part 2)

Winter Minor foibles

t’s not over yet! I was called out the other night to a Moggie that wouldn’t start. Winter Blues. It was very frosty, I suspected a flat battery and very little else. I packed the jump leads because my back won’t swing a handle these days and took the every day car so the 56 amp alternator would charge it in no time.

Sure enough, the beast wouldn’t start. The battery had had it, the owner told me. He’d been using the handle for weeks but this time she just wouldn’t go. No kick, no nothing. I looked at the ignition light and it looked healthy enough but while I was there I noticed there was no ticking of the fuel pump. I opened the bonnet.

There was a veritable cauliflower of growth – something like the crystal gardens we used to grow in glass bottles as kids, blue and green and white, all over the battery terminals, the steady bar, the J-bolts, the battery compartment, the earth stud – and most important of all, the mounting bracket for the petrol pump and the pump itself. Under torchlight it looked scary. Like Topsy.

Oh! Said the owner.

We carefully prised off the metalwork without allowing crystals to fall all over the engine compartment and into a plastic bag. The battery went onto the garage floor and had several kettles of boiling water poured all over it. Likewise the petrol pump. Then all went back to my place for a revamp.

The metalwork was scraped with a wallpaper scraper and then into the washing up bowl full of very hot water. This takes off the worst of the crystals. A little Fairy liquid helps it to get under any paint that might be left behind. All the nuts and bolts and battery connections. Thoroughly scrub with the washing up brush and leave to dry on the draining board.

{My proof reader is quite horrified by this! He says it’s because he’s a married man which I don’t understand but he’s absolutely made me take out the bit about the tea towel!]

Anyway, once all this is dry it can be red-leaded thickly with a brush. I have hot air central heating and it’s quite quick. Hammerite and the like doesn’t repel any further attacks but there’s a product called Aciderm made by Crosby Coatings whose telephone number is well out of date. If anyone knows of them please e-mail the site.

Paint the lot and re-assemble. In my case, the acid had eaten too far into the petrol pump and we had to fit a new one. The problem at the end of the day was that the battery had been well over filled, the car used on short journeys and left to stand long periods between, The control box was set too high. One thing leads to another and my new acquaintance had a hell of a problem.

Nuts and bolts and unpaintable bits should be smeared with Vaseline or anti corrosive gel, available from www.vehicleproducts.co.uk It’s a small tube but goes a long way. It’s an endless task especially in damp winter weather.

Historic Rallying in the Minor

Historic special stage rallying continues to grow in popularity in the U.K. Events regularly see entries of 90+ cars of varying ages. Cars are grouped into classes depending on age and engine capacity.The Historic class is for cars first registered before December 31st 1967 , Post Historic is for cars first registered between 1st January 1968 and 31st December 1974 and Classic is for cars first registered between 1st January 1975 and 31st December 1981. These sections are further divided into engine capacity classes. All cars must use a tyre of 70% aspect ratio or more and the only modifications allowable are those that were used at the time of the cars original motorsport use and must have been used in rallying. All of this means that costs are kept down while the closeness of competition is maintained.

Events are predominantly loose surface forest rallies with some ashphalt rallies included for an even better championship.

Events for 2007 are :- Robin Hood ( forest ) Astra Stages ( forest ) Pirelli Rally ( forest ) Severn Valley ( forest ) Mid Wales Stages ( forest ) Isle of Man ( tarmac ) Harry Flatters ( tarmac ) Tour of Flanders ( tarmac ) Rally Yorkshire ( forest ) This is a full blown rally series not a leisurely drive in the country the cars are driven as fast as possible the only difference between them and modern WRC cars is their age! The season is rounded off niceley by the R.A.C. ( Roger Albert Clark ) rally which lasts 3 days in takes in yorkshire, cumbria , scotland and kielder much like the old Lombard RAC rally. More info can be found in my blogs or goto the Historic Rally Car Register website www.HRCR.co.uk

Philip Glenister on Morris Minors

If you ever need to give a French acquaintance conclusive proof that les rosbifs are completely bonkers — they will already suspect this based on our penchant for Marmite and driving on the left — then take them to see a Morris Minor Traveller. The sight of a half-timbered thatched cottage on wheels will clinch it, and send them into a paroxysm of shrugs, “incroyables” and pitying glances.

The tarmac of yesteryear was pounded by a fleet of odd little cars. The Traveller was so left-field that if it had been designed now, you’d think it was a wacky promotional idea for creosote or double glazing. The Reliant Robin three-wheeler not only looked as if it was about to topple over at the slightest bend but was legendarily slow. Jasper Carrott had a sketch where he played a traffic copper taking the details of a Robin as it inched past. “Did you get the registration number?” “Yeah,” said Jasper, “and the chassis number.”

Some small cars were funky, though. The Fiat Cinquecento was tiny but had enough residue of la dolce vita about it to be considered a style icon in the same way a Citroën 2CV had Gallic flair. And the Mini came complete with the smart cultural heritage of the Monte Carlo Rally (Scalextric even had a special Mini Rally set), The Italian Job and leggy birds from the King’s Road.

I’ve saved the best of these motors till last. The bubble car. Haven’t seen one on the road for many a year. Perhaps they’re no longer street legal. Many of them were built by Heinkel and Messerschmitt, which explained why the bubble looked like the cockpit of a bomber popped onto a few bits of left-over undercarriage. Didn’t even have a steering wheel — just a joystick.

As car design has become more homogeneous, it’s good to see there’s still room for quirky small vehicles — the various Smart cars, and the G-Wiz, which you hook up to the mains overnight (golf carts for city folk).

Though, as the joke goes, you would need a bloody long extension lead to get you round the M25.

Extracted from Things Ain’t What They Used to Be, by Philip Glenister, published by Sphere, £14.99. Copies can be ordered for £13.49 with free delivery from The Sunday Times BooksFirst on 0845 271 2135

Meldrew in a Minor

Richard Wilson, who played grumpy OAP Victor Meldrew in BBC1’s classic comedy series One Foot in the Grave, drove from Scarborough to Whitby for the first episode of Britain’s Best Drives.

The actor, who made the trip in a classic Morris Minor Traveller, was recreating the most popular journeys of the 1950s using only guide books and maps from that period.

During his trip via the North Yorkshire Moors, Wilson learned about the rise and fall of Britain’s seaside resorts as well as enjoying an ice cream outside Scarborough’s famous Harbour Bar; taking a toll road through Dalby Forest and checking out the Hole of Horecum, a mythical roadside wonder.

He also hears how the village of Goathland now lives a double life, thanks to the success of Heartbeat, and even takes a carload of Goths to Whitby’s historic abbey.

Other drives coming up later in the series are set in the Lake District, the Cornish coast, the Scottish Highlands, the Wye Valley and Snowdonia.

Canadian Million article

Jim Marr of Moncton will never forget his first car – a 1961 Morris Minor One Million, an anniversary model to commemorate the one millionth Minor built since production began in 1948.

The actual millionth Morris Minor was completed at the factory on Thursday, Dec. 22, 1960, and was given serial number 1,000,000. It was the first British car to reach this production total.

The next 349 Morris Minors were replicas of the original one millionth. All were given a lilac exterior, white leather interior, a silver commemorative plaque on the dash, and bonnet and boot (hood and trunk) badges with the number 1,000,000 replacing the customary “Minor 1000.” Otherwise, these cars were identical to the regular production two-door Minors with the 948 cc four-banger under the hood.

Of the “Minor One Million,” 320 were sold on the British market after being on display in dealers’ showrooms, 21 with left-hand-drive were shipped to Canada, and the remaining nine (also left-hand-drive) were shipped elsewhere.

Jim Marr might have owned the only one in New Brunswick. He bought his in 1966 and drove it over 200,000 miles. The actual millionth car is owned today by someone in Warwickshire, and probably the best preserved (#1,000,257) is the one owned by Bradburn & Wedge Ltd., a garage in Wolverhampton. It shows only 1,500 miles on the odometer.

The one million Morris Minors built between 1948 and 1961 represent a million stories waiting to be told. Toronto historian Mike Filey’s first car was a 1949 Morris Minor purchased for $50 when the car was 10 years old. It had only one option, “a heater, the fan of which was under the passenger seat. Turn the device on and the person sitting beside me would rise two or three inches. The car also had mechanical brakes, a set of flipper directional signals, and a constant aroma of burning oil.”

Now almost broke after paying for the car, Mike did manage to scrape together enough money to buy several cans of paint from Canadian Tire for a flashy do-it-yourself paint job. He mixed the paints together to create a unique shade of turquoise.

“As it happened the colour turned out okay, but the amount I had to work with wasn’t quite enough. When I reached the trunk area I realized I could never reproduce the colour I had created. What to do? Simple. I went back to the front of the car and pushed the paint toward the back of the car, hoping to move enough along to cover what was left of the original maroon colour.”

Brake Servo’s

Some myths about servos have been dispelled over the last couple of months. I always thought that brake fluid disappearing into a servo was due to a torn diaphragm but alas my delusions have been cast a blow and, having stripped a couple, I can now see it is the rubbers in the cylinder that is the problem. The diaphragm in every case of useless servo is intact.
The diaphragm is the vacuum [air] side of the operation. The piston and cylinder is the fluid part of the operation. Never shall the twain meet except that they both need each other to work the damn brakes. If your brakes work but there is no servo assistance, then it will be the diaphragm. If they work but your brake fluid reservoir is constantly being depleted, the
usual problem, then it is the cylinder or the cylinder rubbers. The air inlet valve can get very dirty and this causes sporadic operation or in extreme cases, non-operation, the same as the diaphragm.
Take it all apart.
Most servos are of the same design with slight modifications and differences. A large metal housing and attached a cast metal cylinder and a plastic air inlet valve housing. Undo the band around the large housing and prize it off gently without bending. The two halves will now separate. Inside is the diaphragm and this is simply pulled off over the bakelite head.
Inspect it for tears, cuts etc. Just under the bakelite head is the head of the locking key and this is levered out with a small screwdriver, side to side until you can grab it with a small pair of long nosed pliers and pull. Beware the spring-loaded whoomph…..which will cascade all over the garage floor!
The operating rod is bright and shiny steel and sits, usually in a plastic housing within the cylinder head. Some models have a circlip holding this in place and others appear to have nothing. If you can’t see which one you have, wash it all out with carb cleaner with the little plastic pipe fitted. Remove the circlip or wrap a rag around the rod and pull using a mole wrench. You’ve now exposed the cylinder and the operating mechanism. Look inside the cylinder at the thinner part where it all happens and see if there is scoring. If there is then scrap it. If not, and you have leaks, you’ll need new rubbers. Lo and behold they are only available as part of a kit which includes everything and costs about £56.00 Sterling, no Euros here! [Unless someone out there in readerland knows any different!!]
Reassembly is simply a reverse, Lubricate everything with clean brake fluid as it goes back together and wash out the air valve with carb cleaner and an old toothbrush. Best of luck with getting the locking key back in. Pour yourself a drink and ponder…

Reversing Light Switch

The Automatic Reversing Light [Patent Pending.] Thank you, Mike Dean. When I offered to write a technical article here and there I didn`t realise that the requested subject matter would go beyond my thirty odd years` experience of Morris Minor Tweaking. For this one I had to do some research and I started with DSN Classics who are an absolute goldmine of help and experience. “Ah, you need the turret from a spridget 1275,” they said. That simple. A gear box expert confirmed the diagnosis.

There`s a switch built into this box but the rest of the box isn`t much good to you without the engine and diff. The turret is the bit of gearbox that sits underneath the stick, the bit that comes obligingly out of the floor within reach and allows you to get out of whining first into more agreeable second gear. The piece is happily fastened to the meat end of the gearbox
and the whole lot is fastened onto the back of the engine, on to the floor of the car and into the clutch operating mechanism and starter motor. The idea is that you leave the stick on the carpet inside the car, unbolt some little components like the clutch mechanism, prop shaft, starter motor, gearbox crossmember, probably using an angle grinder, oxy-acetylene and drill on some pretty awkward bolts into the floor, [ the brake master cylinder might also have to come out if two of these bolts are that awkward!! New bolts have to be welded to the chassis member floor etc etc], tip the engine backwards, unbolt the bellhousing and, as they say in the manuals, remove the gearbox.

Now the box for the 1098cc weighs 44lbs. [imperial measures that were once common in the English speaking world.] For those of us without a hydraulic ramp or pit, this represents three stones of metal thick with grime that has to be manhandled inch by gentle inch off the first motion shaft, twisted forty five degrees and dragged out backwards and downwards until it rests happily on the stomach to be wangled out from underneath the car. It can be done and I`ve done it many a time Once out then the turret has to come off.

The control shaft has to be marked and loosened and the turret top unbolted and separated. If I remember rightly there are some jesuz springs in the end of plunger bolts that shouldn`t be touched. The turret top is then replaced with the top from the spridget box and connected correctly to the operating lever and bolted back down on to new gaskets. These gaskets resemble rocking horse manure in colour. The complete box is then manhandled back under the car and supported with neck and shoulders while it is turned through forty five degrees to clear the steering rack while trying to connect the splines of the first motion shaft with the splines on the clutch plate, All the while you must retain nuts and bolts in one hand to pop them into the bellhousing to “hold” it once it`s in.

All bolted up and clutch operator and the like fixed back into position, you have to assemble the gear lever and hope the connecting lever is in the right position to select the right gear at the right place. and that the detent springs on the new turret are of usable length not to make the box feel sloppy. Bet you forgot to remove the heater take off valve and smashed it against the bulkead when you tipped the engine back! And I`ll bet you forgot the earth strap to the gearbox from the body!! Connecting a wire to one terminal of the switch from the fusebox is easy and connecting a wire from your new reversing lamp to the other is just as simple. Remember your lamp has to be earthed. It`s not an easy job!

Mine? Fraid I wired to an illuminated switch fitted on a bracket underneath the dash. Took about twenty minutes!