A saloon, a Traveller and a van...
No doubt by the time you read this it will be warm and sunny, but it’s currently freezing and there’s been heavy rain – perfect weather for driving a classic car! In weather like this, I do sometimes get mixed feelings about driving a Morris. Many cars are lucky enough to be pampered in a garage, doing a few hundred miles a year on dry roads. I’ve definitely got a lot of respect for those sorts of owners and it probably takes a whole different set of skills and commitments to get your car into show-worthy condition, but it’s never really been for me. I get much more enjoyment out of using a classic and taking it places, whatever the weather.
This winter has been no different and I have racked up many hundreds of miles across the south coast. The first adventure was down to Totnes, which happened to coincide with one of the heaviest rain storms I’ve ever driven through. Before setting off in Lily, my 1967 Morris Minor four-door, I checked all of the fluid levels and tyre pressures and made sure the tool kit was well stocked. All was going well until just past Dorchester, where the rain started to really pour down. A lorry coming the other way drove through a massive puddle, covered the car with spray and within 30 seconds I had a slight misfire. Bother!
I pulled into the nearest side road and lifted the bonnet to see if I could find anything wrong. There was nothing untoward, and so I gave the fuse box and ignition components a liberal spray of WD40 to force out any moisture. Back on the road, Lily’s engine was restored to its smooth purr. Well, as smooth as the 1275 A-series can be, at any rate. Totnes was reached without further incident. On the way, I swung into the South Devon Railway, where I was able to pose Lily on the station forecourt for some rather nice period shots. Thankfully the return journey went without trouble and with much less rain.
Unfortunately, there was no rest for the wicked, and a weekend away planned in Deal which coincided with some train strikes meant taking a Morris was the only option. This time I borrowed dad’s 1968 Traveller, (painted in bomb disposal livery,) for the primary reason that I had to deliver a table on the way and it wouldn’t fit in my saloon! Although I was sad to be leaving Lily behind, it was a nice opportunity to compare two very similarly modified Minors, both with 1275 A+ engines and Marina/Dolomite hybrid overdrive gearboxes. Lily’s upgraded heater is great, whilst the Traveller’s twospeed wiper conversion was welcome. Overall the vehicles compared well, although I do think the saloon has slightly less exhaust noise. The rear springs and shock absorbers on the Traveller seem much better at taking bumps than mine, though. Following the trip, I’ve given Lily’s front shocks a slight adjustment to
make them firmer, but I am not convinced that the Spax conversion on the back is right. The rear springs are also quite tired and could probably do with replacement.
Back at home, we’ve been slowly working on a host of finishing jobs on the 1970 Morris Minor van. Sorting the interior out is taking some time, but we are making progress. Fitting a new headlining could be described as an interesting job! It's glued to a wooden piece at the front and has a metal support in the middle that tucks into the top of the bodywork and threads through the headlining. The sides are retained by thin wire cables held in tension by washers and self-tapping screws. It was a right fiddly job working against gravity getting this all in place, and took us four attempts in total.
At first it seemed impossible to get the metal loop in place, probably not helped by where the old hole from a sunroof had been welded up many years ago. Removing about a centimetre from each end sorted that out, and all seemed to be going well until I discovered the front retaining clips were the wrong way up. Once this was rectified and I remembered to thread the interior light wire through the hole in the front strip, it was ‘just’ a matter of tensioning up the sides and tacking the rear into place, stretching the material so there were no creases or wrinkles. Trying to stop the headlining from getting covered in the Waxoyl that we injected behind the gutters was impossible, but fortunately this came off easily with a paraffin-soaked rag.
The interior light was in dreadful condition and a spare I found was not much better. Original ones are hard to come by and expensive, but luckily I found a similar style light cover, without an internal switch, online quite cheaply. I've fitted this with a remote switch and it looks perfectly acceptable; it would have been easy to fit a modern light fitting, but that would just not have looked right.
We are also refitting the parcel shelf, something the van lost many years ago. Dad has modified the design so it is more robust, yet easily removable for maintenance. He's also splashed out on some new gloveboxes; because there are no lids, these really do notice.
The brake calipers have been rebuilt and await refitting. I had hoped we could reuse the discs, but the back of the offside disc was too rusty, so some new ones will be needed. It's turning out to be a rather expensive time, because so many items that were OK when we last used the van now seem worn out or terribly shabby.