Practically Classics Forum

Thanks for the alternative suggestions chaps but I'll be sticking to a 50's / 60's motor within the £2k budget.

That will at least ensure good spares back up I confess I mentioned the VW Beetle but, these days, would favour the two models of car you are considering (Though the Minor would be my choice). Back in the 1960s (If I had been old enough to drive ), I may well have gone for the Beetle, due to it's superior build quality but unless you find a mothballed example (That would surely cost over £2K ), today that's irrelevant. Do let us know what you buy.

Steve76 wrote:Thanks for the alternative suggestions chaps but I'll be sticking to a 50's / 60's motor within the £2k budget.

2K minus £200 would buy you this example of one of the cars you've thought about, click the image for the link:


I've seen this car at events before it moved across the water and can confirm that it's absolutely rock solid underneath and, being an OHV one, well up to a trip back to yours wherever that is, without running an end or boiling.
The seller is as genuine as they come. I know you said 100E, but the 107 is so much easier to live with and looks the same. It's really only that cheap because the paint needs a darned good mop and the plate is - as you can see - a new one, the car having been a registration donor.

(If you can't see the whole car, switch your profile's theme setting to subsilver2)

I think I'll keep my eyes peeled for a Ford 107e as recommended but he Minor and Herald are still contenders. I would, dare I say it, consider upgrading the engine and gearbox. I've heard that a Morris Minor goes quite well with a Ford type 9 gearbox and an engine from a MGF.

I appreciate this may offend some eyes but this would be my ideal Minor



I would love to see Nora Batty cruising in this!

The Type 9 gearbox is a well known conversion and http://www.frontlinedevelopments.com/ do a shortened remote, so the stick comes out in the normal position (This is more important to the owners of Spridgets).

As to the K Series, no doubt it's more powerful but I would add more complex and more of a squeeze (They have a reputation for head gaskets). There is possibility of a Q plate and loss of historic status with a modern engine (Possibly the gearbox but I think that's less of a risk) and the long term consequences of that are as yet unknown. In lots of ways a 1275 A Series is a good compromise and if I was looking for more power, would look to supercharge or turbo charge (See if there were any Metro turbo systems available, as that was a good system) a suitably built 1275. That would provide the power but without peakiness (The Minor, being heavier, is less tollerant of peaky engines than a Mini or Spridget). MGB engines have been fitted and provide an ideal type of power but they upset the balance of the car and there are problems with the cooling.

In the case of the Triumph, there is already the Vitesse option.

I've heard that a Morris Minor goes quite well with a Ford type 9 gearbox and an engine from a MGF.

...it no doubt would go quite well but it would be a dreadful drive without a huge amount of other work! The Minor's underpinnings worked fine with Minor type power but once it became the Marina 1.8 with a heavier bodyshell and an MGB engine it was way out of it's comfort zone. If you put a K series in the suspension would require a lot of work to make it safely driveable and it wouldn't be an old car any more either, it'd be a pastiche. If you want a K series engined car, there's tons of Rovers out there for next to nothing money with the chassis already engineered to suit....not quite in the classic zone yet though!

once it became the Marina 1.8 with a heavier bodyshell and an MGB engine it was way out of it's comfort zone.

The Riley 1.5 suffered from the same sort of problem. The problem is that unless you do a Nick Mann (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUu5eJPEigw) and cut into bulkhead (And sit on the way to being in the back seat), there is no room to move the engine back, so a bigger engine has to go forwards, with consequent effects on weight distribution. I don't know what the Marina shell was like, as it only shared Minor style suspension and was presumably designed to take the 1.8 engine from the start (Without needing two radiators either side of the motor). I am aware that the 1.8 model didn't handle so well as the 1.3 and that the suspension had not been beefed up enough to handle a heavier car.

As above, drive a standard Minor for a while and then you might realise why driving one with 3 or 4 times the power wouldn't be quite so much fun as you might imagine. Also as above - if you want a K-series engined car, why not get a Rover, which will be far nicer to drive than a modified Moggie. Sorry, but I just can't see why people want to take a classic car and then make it into something that it isn't.

Cheers

I dunno, I have had a 1275 powered mog traveller and it was great to drive. If I could have afforded the work it needed to keep it on the road I would still have it. I would definitely like another one eventually.
If you want to cruise on A roads / motorways then a 5 speed gearbox would be a worthwhile addition and it is completely reversible. I would love to fit one to my saloon as it would mean it would get used more as I could drive on the a50 without ear defenders. I'll be keeping the 1098 though as it is powerful enough.

TerryG wrote:I dunno, I have had a 1275 powered mog traveller .

Fair point Terry, but that's not 3 or 4 times the power, and would actually be quite nice as it would retain much of the original character of the car, as it's an "A" series - I had in mind the kind of "drop in a V8 or a twinc (or a K-series)" sort of modification - can't see the point.





But then I'm the sort of old duffer who likes bimbling around in kit more suited to the steam age.....