MINOR: EASY TO FIX
The Minor is such a simple car to work on that your only problem will be coming across seized nuts and bolts. Everything can be accessed relatively easily, the engine and gearbox can be removed in 45 minutes if there are two of you – for example, fitting an unleaded cylinder head could be done in as little as a couple of hours. We’re so conditioned to modern cars that some jobs on a Minor might be puzzling for first timers – those trunnions for example – and they need a service every couple off months. Get the grease gun out, adjust the brakes, run through the tappets every year, whilst draining and refilling the engine, gearbox and rear axle oil is child’s play. Under bonnet access on these cars is superb of course.
Body repairs are less easy but if you’re proficient with a MIG welder then it’s not so bad. Wings were always rust prone and whilst regular cleaning and rust proofing helps, you may well find the new wings you fitted three years ago are starting to rot again. The secret is to get as much paint into that rear seam as possible and really go to town on the inside – red oxide, a good coat of Hammerite and something like Waxoyl underseal as a top coat. Give GRP wings some thought as well. They won’t appeal to the purists, but the better quality ones fit well, look good and will never need replacing again. Just remember to use a proper GRP primer and plaster lots of thick underseal on the inside to prevent star cracks in the gel coat from flying stones thrown up by the road wheels. WHAT TO PAY? If you’re in the market for Morris Minor, there’s always a decent number for sale in the classifieds, although the most difficult decision is often what model to buy. Early MM sidevalves that have retained their original engines start from around £9000 for a really good car in tip top condition and usable examples will cost around half that amount. Bear in mind that these cars can be slow and don’t tend to mix and match too well with modern traffic. A good 803cc Series 2 can swap hands for around £7500, but the more desirable – and more usable Minor 1000 can cost up to and very often over £10,000 for exceptional examples. Top condition 1000 Travellers can fetch up to £14,000 and a good van will cost around the same. If in the market for a Tourer, or Convertible, make sure it left the factory with a canvas top if paying top money for it, as there are a lot of ‘replicas’ out there. A genuine Tourer will have ‘C’ in the serial number an extremely tidy 1098cc Tourer will set you back at least £12,000. Projects are plentiful and prices range from under a grand for a basket case to over £2500 for what could only be described as ‘a rolling restoration’ in need of bags of TLC.