best modifications? - Morris Minor Owners Club (2024)

Hi all

Currently thinking of moving away from original to a more modified moggy to cope with everyday pressures slightly better.

Can anyone advise on the better mods or even the crucial ones over the just cosmetic. Not to bothered about changing the unit currently. A comfy seat would be lovely.

What do you find deficient about the car at the moment? Your answer to that question will determine what modifications (if any) you should look at making.

There are various options for seats, but perhaps your first port of call should be to check the condition of your current ones. If the foam is broken down and the straps are baggy, the standard seats can be pretty horrid. In good condition, on the other hand, many people find them perfectly acceptable.

Hi Chris,

Fair comment I must agree. The seats are certainly better than some especially when newly padded/strapped, but still for back problems ache after a while.

For me any mods would be for reliability first and comfort second. Not bothered by cosmetics.

I have to agree with Neil. The moggy was made to be maintained -- as opposed to tossing out parts and replacing with new ones. The most often mentioned mechanical items seem to be converting to an electronic distributor, replacing the points driven fuel pump and switching to an alternator. In each of these cases the original equipment is unlikely to fail if maintained -- and there are maintenance instructions for all these items in the original BMC manual. In fact, that's one of the things I like -- you can actually rebuild/repair most of the important bits as opposed to throwing them out. If a solid state fuel pump fails while your off camping there's not a thing to be done about it -- whilst the good old points type will often respond to emergency treatment. Same with the distributor and the generator. Carry a few tools and spares and you're unlikely to be truly stranded.

For me -- and this is personal of course -- two mods I am considering is replacing the seats and fitting disc brakes. The seats are fine for short drives, but anything longer gets to my back. Also, an updated seat will have a headrest and limit the damage to your neck if rear-ended. Although I'm currently managing to stop at all the important times with all-around drum breaks, I can definitely see the advantage to front discs and a booster, so I may well do that at some point.

I am as attracted to shiny objects as most of my gender, but I've mostly managed to fight off the urge to start throwing new parts in, instead occupying myself with maintaining/adjusting what's there.

Generally, during my rebuild of Mog (and it's been a total rebuild), I've been endeavoring at all points to keep the car as original as possible. I decided this because it was the first time I'd stripped out the innards of a car, and I wanted to make sure I didn't fudge everything up. Now, I'm going to fit polyurethane bushings, headrests (the seats are already different, but that's not my doing), seatbelts, hazard lights, windshield washers, gauges, a reversing light or two, lights under the bonnet and boot lid, and perhaps a spin-on oil filter conversion and a two-speed wiper motor, and maybe a radio and speakers. If I can find a pair, I want some of those delicious 9" Wolseley drums to put on the front. None of this dramatically changes the car, and most of it is for safety or convenience. I think, if you're going to bother to have a classic car, you may as well keep it as classic as possible; if you want all the modern stuff, get a modern car.

However -- as has been stated -- it's your car, do what you want with it. At least another Minor will stay on the road! That's my overriding concern in every case.

For what it is worth...

I would add the following to my list.
Halogen headlights. New bullet connectors and preservative for all of the wiring terminals at the front of the car. Poly bushes. New rear view mirror glass plus good side mirrors. New front screen (if scratched and used at night/in the rain). Small LED high-level brake light in rear screen for the benefit of the numpty driving behind you. Fuel pump cut-off switch (Edit: actual location of switch removed for security reasons - LouiseM) . Drip tray in the garage.

i've added a few modifications to my A30 and some of these to my split screen as well

disc brakes
servo
lower profile wheels/tyres
smaller steering wheel
chubb door locks
stainless exhaust
halogen lights
su carb and k & n filter
fuel pump
948 engine (duplex, unleaded etc)
3.9 diff
hydraulic rear brakes
alternator
electric washer pump
cd radio
cigarette lighter
battery cut off in emergency

but i have left points and condensor in for now. couldn't get the electronic to work for some reason. i did try 2 sets and sent them both back. maybe it's me......

i've probably added loads of other stuff that i have just forgotten about.

On an early car:
Seatbelts!
Radial tyres
Security switch
Uprated locks

On a later car (already has seatbelts and the BMC steel pole deckchair seats)
Radial tyres,
Decent seats (SAAB are my fave's)
New locks (if original barrels are worn)
Steering column lock (from late traveller or Van)

Ray. MMOC#47368. Forum moderator.

Jan 06: The Minor SII Africa adventure: http://www.minor-detour.com
Oct 06: back from Dresden with my Trabant 601 Kombi
Jan 07: back from a month thru North Africa (via Timbuktu) in a S3 Landy
June 07 - back from Zwickau Trabi Treffen
Aug 07 & Aug 08 - back from the Lands End to Orkney in 71 pickup
Sept 2010 - finally gave up breaking down in a SII Landy...
where to break down next?
2013... managed to seize my 1275 just by driving it round the block

[quote="RobThomas"]For what it is worth...
. Small LED high-level brake light in rear screen for the benefit of the numpty driving behind you.

How many people have fitted one of these to their minor? Sounds a sensible mod - where is best location? Would it be better to fit high in saloon bootlid/traveller rear door rather than inside rear screen?

I've got a brake light in my rear window:

The brackets are just bent steel which is tucked under the removable trim panel on the parcel shelf. the wiring just feeds down to the loom across the rear and piggy backs one of the brake light bullet connectors.

Certainly very pleased with it. It's a lot more visible to motorists following you, and i find i can see if it's on if i look in my rear view mirror. Very handy when my brake light switch packed up!

Chris

www.birmingham.mmoc.org.uk

Chris

www.birmingham.mmoc.org.uk