Rob
Some excellent advice so far. We've owned a Minor for over 20 years, but would I use one as a daily driver - No. My wife used ours regularly until about 1987, when it came of the road for 10 years for some serious renovation.
No question they are an excellent classic. Easy to maintain, spares availability is excellent and most items are very reasonably priced. Apart from the earlier cars (up to and including Series 2's with the 803 unit) they are quite 'useable', although realistically 60 plus cruising is only there with the later 1098 models. The key wear items are mentioned - chassis rust and lower trunnions. With the suspension bushes in good condition and with decent dampers handling is excellent for a car which came out in 1948. Steering is lighter than most non-PAS modern superminis, especially on radials. I found that changing to the correct size of radials made the steering lighter than crossplies. Well maintained brakes are adequate, but feel weak compared to servo assisted brakes of modern cars.
So, why don't I suggest it as a daily driver? They key items are safety, reliability and durability. The car will be at least 30 years old, and won't be as safe in an accident as a modern car. It hasn't the demisting of a modern car and can be a pain in the wet weather. The rush hour is not the time to be on the road in a Minor. You'll find some other drivers desparate to get past and get to work and will drive on your bumper on principle. With the best will in the world it will need considerably more maintenance than a modern car to keep it reliable on a daily basis.
The other factor is durability. For £3k you'll buy a really top class Minor, probably too good to use in all weathers. It won't stay that way if you use it every day year in year out. They don't have the rust proofing of a modern car.
My suggestion - buy a Minor for half that money. It will still get you a good car. Zero road tax, classic car insurance for about £70/year and no depreciation. Keep it in a garage, and by all means use it to go to work on sunny days. When I commuted to work there were a number of Monor owners, and we sometimes managed a small row of cars in the car park. great fun, but they stayed at home in the winter! With the rest by a secondhand supermini for going to work.
Regards
John S
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Hi John, as a long term Minor owner I'd disagree with some of your points.
Safety, yes. It won't be as safe as a modern car in a crash. But they are heavily built compared to a modern, so minor bumps (no pun intended!) will be shrugged off.
Demisting I don't find a problem. Keep the window open a crack and fit a heated rear window. Flush the heater out and it should work well. Mine does.
Durability. If you dinitrol every year, it'll last, with the possible exception of the wings. But they're cheap and easy to replace and why not fit fibreglass?
Reliability. Yes you will need more maintenance, but it is cheap and easy diy, or cheap garage stuff. I would maintain they're more reliable than a modern if you look after them, there just isn't all the stuff to go wrong.
By all means by a superb one for sunny days, but have a cheap and tatty one for every day. It really is no problem running them. I've found other road users are more friendly when I'm in the Minor, they just aren't an agressive car by any stretch of the imagination.
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Don't know if my question got lost in the middle, or nobody knows! Any advice on convertibles?? A pain compared with the saloon for any reason, or just more pricey to buy?
Thanks
Andy
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Andy
Convertibles are very popular,and so pricey.
Even the factory built models were to all intents and puposes conversions of the 2-door saloon, hence the popularity of after-market conversions. Extra bodywork stiffening was provided by fillet plates between the A-pillar and the base of the dashboard, an extra stiffener between the base of the B-pillar and the door sill and extra layer in the door sill - the last being one of the things missed by the poorer quality conversions.
Factory 1098 convertibles have chassis numbers starting MAT (T for 'tourer') I believe. Earlier cars have an MAJ car number.
Convertible production stopped in about 1969, so anything later is probably a conversion. Join the Morris Minor owners club, and they can advise.
Being effectively the same as the saloon, there are no spares problems (except for the very early MM series and Series 2 cars, where some spares can be difficult, which applies equally to saloons.)
They drive much the same as a saloon, with a hint of body flex. Like most convertibles, rust can be more of a problem due to hood leaks, and a 100% bodyshell is a must. Avoid anything where the doors don't fit well! Because of their value, good thiefproofing is wise if it's left parked anywhere. Otherwise, they provide excellent, fun, open topped motoring, with zero tax and low insurance as bonuses.
Regards
John S
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Thanks! That's really helpful
Andy
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nick
The original question from Rob was about buying a £3k Minor as an everyday car, doing 80 miles/day, and I don't think we disagree that you need a much cheaper Minor for that sort of use. To quote your post 'By all means by a superb one for sunny days' - and that's what you'd get for £3k.
I guess you have a 1098 car with the better heater - the 'circular' one fitted to the earlier cars doesn't do much for demisting, although it puts plenty of heat into the cabin.
A 1098 will also have more realistic performance too - we had a lovely 1098 convertible for a while. With a mildly tweaked engine it went quite well. Trouble was it got little use as my wife never liked to park it anywhere in case it was stolen. Sold it on for a big profit in the end!
Yes, you can make it last by regular rustproofing, but it takes time and effort for that and the maintenance. I was pointing this out to highlight the major differences between a modern car and a Minor. OK, I can do all this myself - but Rob needs to consider whether he wants to spend his time that way.
They don't really 'shrug off' minor bumps - bumper chromes and blades bend very easily, and have you seen the price of bumpers! You can crease the wing or door as easily as any modern - I'm very careful where I park. Plus you don't want fibreglass wings (which usually fit very badly) or bent bumpers on your immaculate Minor.
So, I'd stick by my original answer - an expensive Minor isn't a realistic everyday car, and for my money - neither is a cheap one!
Regards
John S
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They are great in the summer, no need for air con with those superb front opening quaterlights!!
My old 1961 948cc also used to be very economical, over 50 mpg if you took it steady, those old SU carbs were efficient. Fuel pump was always a pain, this was situated above the passenger footwell, I freqentley had to boot it whilst driving to keep going!(I've got long legs!)
If you ever are looking at one to buy ask too look inside the removable sill panels if possible, this is the worst rusty bit. If you find a good one they are easy to then properly rust proof.
Check also the lead filled seams running down the back of the car, they are easilly damaged whilst welding (they melt) and some people relace with horrible filler paste!!!
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FWIW: I saw one in California two weeks ago. I had to do a double take. It looked tatty but it was going OK.
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Well we'll agree to differ then John. I have one as an everyday car. It cost £2k and was/is virtually perfect with no welding. It hasn't been much trouble to keep it so. The rust proofing takes me 2 hrs a year, a little maintenance every month or so, no problem to me. Wings, doors and bumpers (although dear for a minor, cheap compared to a modern) are easily replaced at home, so minor accident damage is less of a problem. I know, it's happened to me twice! My van has fibreglass wings and without touching them I defy anyone to tell the difference. Still, each to their own. If Rob doesn't mind a bit of maintenance and enjoys the old car driving experience then he'll be quids in. I stand by my original answer, buy the best bodywork you can afford. Compared to any modern, they cost pennies to run. For the price of a cat or ecu you could buy a new engine!
I had a 1300 Toledo for a few years as a commuter car, 15 miles each way every day. I paid £250, ran it for a few years and the only repair was a second-hand gearbox for £75 which I fitted myself in a day. When I came to sell, nobody wanted it at any price so I gave it free to a friend. He has run it for nearly 3 years at the cost of around £200 in repairs, mainly plating the sills. It has never broken down (touch wood).It looks tatty, nobody will steal it but it is still fun to drive. If you are not status conscious then old cars like this make huge sense for the daily grind. Still nice to drive a pretty one though.
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Nick - your enthusiasm and obvious knowledge has been totally inspiring! I was going to buy a modern 'eurobox' for everyday and a Minor as a 'toy', but now, I think I'm going to take the plunge and buy a Minor as my (gasp!) sole car. To be honest, I'm sick and tired about worrying whether the complicated (to me!) engine management on my 17 year old Granada is going to go t*ts up. I suppose, though, running a 17 year old Granada means that I'm already a wee bit down the road towards classic ownership. I suppose I'll have to hire a newer car to do our bi-annual two week trips to the Scottish Highlands though!
Thanks, Nick, for all your advice. The same goes for all you back-roomers out there. You have all been more than helpful, and I couldn't have made my decision (not matter how loopy some of you may think that it is!) without you.
Cheers all
Rob
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Good luck Rob,
Have a good test drive to make sure you can live with the 'old car feel' and my advice is to go and look at a couple of rusty ones so you can see where they disintegrate. Try and take someone familiar with the car with you, though really it's only the usual checks.
Also don't assume high price = good condition. When I was looking I saw cars at £3k which were badly restored and in much worse condition then the one I found at £2k. Don't be fooled by a good paint job. If there are patches underneath then with the best will in the world it is only condition 2. Properly repaired to me means repair sections let in, not plates with pigeon poo welding.
Take a peek at the Morris Minor Owners Club website www.MorrisMinorOC.co.uk, there may be a buyer's guide. In fact if you are not in a hurry, join the club first as there are lots of cars advertised for sale, though I my opinion, club valuations are only good for insurance purposes and don't reflect real world selling prices, which are lower.
Let us know how you get on,
Good Luck again and many happy days of raspberry exhaust notes!
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driving old cars can be good fun.just remember its old so it will need keeping an eye on.if its making a funny niose dont just turn the dodgy old am radio up!investigate.i drive a 1980 dolomite every day for my business and it gets a lot of admiring remarks wich is quite satisfying but i just use it localy,you wuold find it reassuring if you had a back up car.
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