Today I picked up the car that should take me across the UK and back on my Lands End to John O’Groats adventure. The car is a 1968 Morris Minor in smoke grey. She has an 1098 cc engine and at her prime was good for just over 70mph- although that was a while back and like us all she is probably not as spritely and energetic as she used to be!
There is something very exciting about buying a new car, firstly there is the nervousness that it may not be as good a s you think, then there is the excitement of giving over the cash and getting the keys and finally the joy of the first solo drive- and in the case of classic cars the risk that you won’t make it home!
We collected the car from Eastleigh and drove it down the M3 and onto the A34. On the test drive and around town she behaved fine but once onto the motorway I noticed a distinct reluctance to perform.
If she was going any faster than 60 or under load (going up a hill for example) she started to pop and fart in the most disconcerting way and lose power.
At one point I had to pull over and let her have a bit of a rest and this is on a 20 mile journey so I don’t think she is quite ready for the big one!
That said with such a simple engine there were only a few things that could be causing this problem- either fuel starvation or ignition problems.
When we arrived home after a journey where our fingers were tightly crossed I popped up the bonnet to see which one of these was most likely.
From what I could see the plugs and leads and presumably points and distributor had not been replaced for a while so these seemed like likely candidates. While I had my nose under the bonnet I also noticed some oil leaks and a blowing exhaust.
Add onto this the repairs that need to be done to the seat bases, the rear tie bar bushes and the fact that the MOT expires a day after we start on our journey and you may think that I have bought myself a whole heap of trouble.
But fear not- none of these things are expensive to fix and the seller was very honest with me about the leaks and bushes and to be honest you would be mad to consider taking any classic on a long drive without a full service- add to that the bargain price I paid (£1350) and I am confident with a few days work she will be running sweetly.
Parts for the Morris Minor are really cheap and I was able to secure all the bits I needed plus a few cosmetic parts for just £127- this included plugs, leads, filters, condenser, coil, seat bases x2 seat webbing x2, seat clips (40), rocker cover gasket, sump gasket etc etc.
A quick jump onto Amazon and I had a Haynes manual sorted and I have already persuaded my brother to help me do all the work in a couple of weeks.
I have already started compiling a list of jobs to be done which I will publish shortly- the biggest challenge will be ignoring the cosmetic jobs as she could use a re-spray . I keep telling myself that the car may not be any good after the trip so I mustn’t do too much tarting up.
Plus I hope she will be smothered in corporate sponsors logos which will cover up the holes and filler any way!
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