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shadowmaker · 13-04-2006

hi has no-one got any messages help enquiries or advice to put up on here

**John** · 13-04-2006

The forums is full of messages, help, enquiries and advice

Phoenix · 13-04-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by John

The forums is full of messages, help, enquiries and advice

ditto

greg · 13-04-2006

i know what shadowmaker thinks, it does seem to need a freshening up in the auto chat.

**Bunkerbarge** · 13-04-2006

Perhaps he can start the ball rolling then. It is open for input from everyone.

**wonwinglo** · 13-04-2006

Well,I am not really a car freak but will not see a column under used,come on everyone it is up to you to give this section input,dont just rely on Fred or Joe to do it get writing now ! it is no good moaning that there is nothing here because if you are an automobile enthusiast then you can give just a little input about the vehicles familiar to yourself,here is something to get you going but remember it is up to you to keep things going !

The Morris Minor.
My job in a garage ( yes I have experienced the joys of being a grease monkey !) brought about witnessing a wide variety of cars that customers wanted to part exchange for their brand new Vauxhall,at that time I was looking for a cheap runabout with character,one day someone dumped a very tired looking Morris Traveller onto the forecourt,I fell in love with it straight away despite its ragged woodwork,and worn out windscreen wipers ! a quick word with the gaffa and I was soon being deprived of £10 a week from my meagre wages,I think I paid £150 for this rust bucket,and could look forward to many weekends of filling and scraping to get her up to scratch,hardly a pulling car but to me she just oozed character,I drove her all over and the appeal to me was the ability to carry plenty of model aircraft in the back,she rattled and shaked but never ever let me down,in fact she was to become the first of many such Morris cars that I owned over the years.
I am an absolute fanatic about cars of yesteryear. I don?t mean the old crocs that needed a man carrying a red flag in front of it, what I mean is the cars that were developed and which sold in their droves from the early 1950s until the 1970s. These are the cars that brought the joys of motoring to ?normal? people in this great land of ours. They are the true classics.

The car that I love is arguably the most popular classic car in the whole world. It was the first British production car to sell more than one million examples, and came in various guises, such as two and four-door saloons, two-door convertibles, wooden-clad estates, as well as pick up and van versions. It is the car that has long been considered a joke, associated with district nurses and country vicars. It was the star of the 1948 motor show. It is the Morris Minor, known to its many fans as the ?moggie?.

The Morris Minor was the brainchild of Alec Issigonis. During World War 2 he designed a brand new concept in small car motoring, which was codenamed ?Mosquito?. Lord Nuffield, the owner of the Morris Car Company, hated the car?s design, likening it to a ?fried egg?. A number of changes were made and the finished car was given the tried and tested 918cc-sidevalve engine. This original, ?MM? series Minor is the rarest, the most valuable, and also the trickiest to own as an everyday car, principally due to the scarcity of body parts and parts for the sidevalve engine. The saloon versions of this car are unmistakable, principally by reason of the low-slung headlamps, which were moved higher to satisfy the demands of the US export market. Purists believe that this should not have happened, but as Britain was still going through austerity, the ?export or die? attitude meant that such changes would have to be made if the country was to survive and recover.

In 1952 the Series II Minor was introduced, with a number of changes, not least the implementation of an 803cc OHV engine. The deluxe specification of the car was enhanced, and included a heater, leather seats, over-riders and a passenger sun-visor. The wooden framed ?Traveller? was introduced in 1953. The wooden frame on the rear of this shooting brake is made of ash. It is necessary to look after it, as it is structural and can cause MOT failure if not tended to lovingly.

In 1956 the Minor 1000 was introduced, with a 948cc OHV engine. The Minor 1000 is by far the most widely available and popular model, and is still to be seen, as nearly all body and engine parts are still available and are very reasonably priced (engine £300, brake shoes around £15).

1961 saw the production of the millionth Minor. This was a true motoring milestone, as no other British production car had sold one million. It also saw the first ever limited edition model. Lilac coloured ?Minor Millions? were produced, with white leather upholstery, and badges that sport an extra three zeros. Only 350 were produced, and only around 60 survive to this day.

In 1962 the engine capacity was increased to 1098cc, adding some much-needed power without sacrificing a lot of economy. This was now the heyday of BMC, and so the seating was a choice of vinyl or vinyl (which on a hot day can get very hot!). The last saloon rolled off the production line in 1970, while production of Travellers and commercial vehicles ceased in 1971. In total 1,619,857 Morris Minors were produced, which is a heck of a lot of cars!

So what is appealing about these cars? The first thing that they have in their favour, apart from unparalleled spares availability, is ease of maintenance- they do not require a computerised tuning system and the BMC A Series engine is almost bombproof.

Replacement wooden frames for the estates are widely available, if a little pricey, and the one thing I absolutely love, and something I will do when next I get a Morris Minor, is that 2-door saloons can be turned into open-top convertibles for around £2000. That is a real saving if you really want to savour the rare hot summer?s days that we occasionally get.

So what problems exist? There are one or two- I am not completely blind to the car?s faults! They need to be looked after, and here I go all ?Fast Show? and start writing like Swiss Tony:

?Owning a Morris Minor is like making love to a beautiful woman. You need to pamper her then she will not let you down, you need to make sure she looks good, and you need to make sure that you have got oil on your dipstick, and that your trunnions are lubricated to ensure a satisfying experience.?

The other major problems are on the floor. For some inexplicable reason you will find the brake fluid filler hole underneath the driver'? carpet. The other problem just takes a bit of getting used to. The headlamp dimmer switch is a button located just to the left of the clutch pedal.

Now we get to the tricky bit. How much to pay for one of these little beauties. I will give approximate values for each of the cars in 3 conditions. Condition 1 cars are in excellent condition. While they will not win a concours, they should give trouble-free motoring. Condition 2 cars can be used regularly. They should have an MOT, but will need work to reach condition 1. Condition 3 means that the car will need a lot of work. It will probably be driveable, but major work is needed.

So come on now,no more whinging,I want to see articles by the bucketload on your favourite car,here is a challenge to everyone,what was the first car that your took a girlfriend out in ! I want details of comfort,leg room,speed,finesse,what held it together apart from the rust holding hands,where did you go in her ? did she ever break down,if I can do it and not know much about cars then you can !! Thank you.

flytilbroke · 13-04-2006

My first car, a used Austin A50 or A55 I never can remember. Anyway it cost me £150 in 1961, now that was a good bit of cash back then. No Heater as that was an optional extra, got one at a junk yard. Shear luxury as it could keep frost off the steering wheel, still needed gloves though. Had it back to the garage three times in three months then the big day,,,,, driving TEST. Picked car up from garage (with co-driver) went for test. Did most of it ok till three point turn, *^%$)&&^, no reverse, which the garage was supposed to have fixed, used leg to push backward while explaining to Examiner t'was just out of garage. Nice chap, said just carry on with test. Next, hill stop/start, handbrake let car slowly trundle back, I did heel and toe start, he said, "do that again" so I did. After reaching finish position he asked to see garage receipt which I gave him and he noted. Well you have passed he said, you have shown a higher level of control than is normal. That Garage is not going to be happy though.

The car could just manage 55mph though it was hard to keep where it was meant to be. I had it for eighteen month or so, then bought a Vauxhall Victor Estate. That is for another post

**wonwinglo** · 13-04-2006

Great story Bob ! just the ticket,next please,I am not giving up,so come on I want those old car stories to get this thread motivated.

Phoenix · 13-04-2006

this is my grandads wolsely sadly he died last week so the car may be going or getting kept in the family but it is not known yet

its a 1937 wolsely i think

he bought it some time ago over 20or 30 years, he bought it for £300 for it and since then hes spent thousands on it

he restored it himself all of it and resprayed it aswell

i think he paid something like £1000 just to get the seats reupholstered

sorry i dont know much about this car but he bought it when it was in pieces with all the panels sand blasted etc

the wolsely had the roof had a centre panel that was riveted on i think im not sure (if anyone has any info on this please do tell me ) but he changed it and made some wooden rails for a sunroof he soaked the wood to get the curves right etc

he put alot of work into restoring

this is about all i know about this beauty

anyway here is some pics

enjoy

adzam · 13-04-2006

sorry too hear about your grandad phoenix, it would be a shame to lose something as loved and cherished as this has been.
A bueatiful job, and i do like the suicide doors.

cars dont hav eteh same character sthese days, plastic wood and leather which doesn`t really smell of leather.
nice pics m8