Service Bay – Common MoT fails Morris Minor

Credited as the car that kick-started the modern classic car scene, the Moggie Minor is a straightforward car to keep in tip-top condition, once you get to grips with its foibles

It may be a simple car to maintain, but there are a few points to keep an eye on if you decide not to MoT your Moggie.

Launched in 1948, the Morris Minor was a huge success and if properly marketed and supported by BMC during the ‘Fifties and ‘Sixties, the UK’s very own ‘Peoples’ Car’ could have sold five times as many as it did.

Great to drive and easy to maintain, the Minor was built until 1971 and thousands have survived into classic ownership. Starting off with a two- door and a Convertible ( Tourer), the MM was powered by a modified version of the 918cc sidevalve from the previous Morris Eight Series E. The headlights were raised up into the wings for the 1951 model year to appease the US market and a four- door version was added. Following the Austin Morris merger, the Series II arrived in 1952 with the Austin A30 803cc A-Series engine – a pity, as Morris had built a prototype with an OHV Wolseley-type engine that was judged to be far superior.

The Series II had problems in service and wasn’t very good to drive on a long trip due to very low gearing – many engines threw a con rod when they got to 60mph. So the vastly improved Minor 1000 with a larger and stronger 948cc engine, proper

gearing and bigger windows arrived in late 1956. The Series II had been facelifted in 1954 with the grille and centre speedo that the 1000 carried over. The Minor 1000 received an 1100 engine and taller gearing plus better brakes in 1962. A mild facelift in late 1963 (1964 MY) included bigger indicators, a black speedo, Mini heater and Morris 1100 steering wheel and, with a couple of tweaks, the car continued to sell steadily until saloon production ended in late 1970. A Van, Pick Up and Traveller arrived before long – the Commercials in 1953 and the wood framed Traveller very shortly after during that same year. These derivatives were the last Minors to be built in 1971 when the Minor was replaced by the Morris Marina. A well sorted Minor makes an excellent entry-level classic, although finding a good garage to repair these cars can be a hassle, but either any of the well established Minor specialists or a very good welder such as The Classic Mechanic (01925 404825) can fix any of the issues mentioned in this feature.

On a Minor the suspension torsion bars bolt to a crossmember that runs across the middle of the car. The beams rarely rot badly enough for a torsion bar to break away, but the outer sections certainly can and that is an instant MoT fail on the old rust within 30cm of a suspension mounting rule. Replacing the entire crossmember is a nightmare of a job but end repair sections are not too difficult to fit. 4 TORSION BAR CROSSMEMBER:

3 DRUM BRAKES:All Minors have these – well, apart from those converted to Morris Marina discs, which to be honest is about the best thing you can do to a Minor. The hydraulic cylinders inside drum brakes will eventually leak and the fluid will eventually find it’s way onto the shoes, causing uneven braking and if a cylinder pops, you’ll have zero braking. Every few months, remove the drums and give everything a good check over.

2 SILLS:Morris Minor sills are rust prone and this area can be a devil to repair. So many survivors had basic MoT- style plating over rusty sills in the past and whilst more of the same might well scrape your Morris through another annual test, it won’t exactly hold up in the event of a collision. Doing the job properly is a pretty major task, so if you suspect a plethora of patches is the only thing holding this area together, sort it out now before the hidden corrosion spreads and writes the car off.

These were always pretty prone to rotting out on the Minor, so you need to give them a good jab with a stout screwdriver on both sides. Even if the area looks sound and is coated with underseal, any weak metal will give way to a good prodding However, this isn’t a difficult area to repair on these cars and dropping the rear axle down and cutting the rusty section out before welding new metal in is an easy enough job for anyone proficient with a MIG welder. 1 REAR SPRING HANGERS: