Minor Diesel?

[charlie_morris_minor]

But then I would have breakdowns.......

and lose some traction in the bends

[bmcecosse]

It was an old car -with drums 'dp'.

[TomLS]

The LPG idea is a good one, although you need to use a certified (expensive) person to fit it for it to be legit.

Actually this can be successfully and legitimately worked around.
I fitted an LPG kit to my Land Rover, with no previous experience of it, just a lot of research. I reckon I saved £500 doing it myself! And that includes the inspection by a registered fitter who provided me with a certificate of safety, which my old insurance company accepted without question.
My current insurer, however, sent a form to be filled in about the modifications, who fitted them, and their qualifications. The LPG and numerous other items were all listed as fitted by myself, with a qualification in 'common sense'. They didn't ever question it.

I was thinking about a diesel Minor recently. I can vouch for the ford TD engines economy, my dad had a Mondeo and an Escort as company cars in the early 90's. The Mondeo was regularly over 60mpg, great... if it could be made to fit, and wasn't too heavy!
If you were fitting a sufficiently more torquey engine, would it not be unwise to retain the original gearbox as they can be made to go bang easily with the std engine. Would a type 9 and 3.7 diff not make more sense? And disc brakes.

[bmcecosse]

Well - certainly not the disc brakes !

[welshrat]

How many LPG conversions are out there then, a chap close to me has had the conversion on his van and informs me that he saves a fortune on fuel. Space for the gas bottle is the big negative, my boot space is already full of bits.

[bmcecosse]

Put it where the spare wheel sits (toroidal tank) - and either carry a can of gunk to fix punctures - or put the spare (maybe an emergency spare) under the bonnet.

[jaymo]

I really dont want to rant, but I'm going tin have to, and I know (before anyone says) that I'm young and really new to minoring, but I do not see the point in people changing their minor so much that it almost becomes a different vehicle. I mean when buying one, you know roughly how many mpg it will do etc. Surely then going about changing them and altering the heart of the vehicle, is not preserving them, it's ruining them, there is a lot to be said of those who keep their cars in much of an original way. I'm sure it's just me, but when I hear of people putting diesel engines or much larger engines in it make me feel ashamed that these people are allowed to have a piece of living british motoring history, I for one chose, when I bought my Shirley, that she would be as original as possible.

Rant Over.

[Alex'n'Ane]

These cars are designed to be used everyday, and as a car, should be driven everyday/regularly. There are still enough minors about that its often uneconomical to repair, hence some getting scrapped. Whilst we are still at this stage the preference surely needs to be keeping the cars on the road. If this is done by fitting a better engine then it seems sensible.

[plastic_orange]

I really dont want to rant, but I'm going tin have to, and I know (before anyone says) that I'm young and really new to minoring, but I do not see the point in people changing their minor so much that it almost becomes a different vehicle. I mean when buying one, you know roughly how many mpg it will do etc. Surely then going about changing them and altering the heart of the vehicle, is not preserving them, it's ruining them, there is a lot to be said of those who keep their cars in much of an original way. I'm sure it's just me, but when I hear of people putting diesel engines or much larger engines in it make me feel ashamed that these people are allowed to have a piece of living british motoring history, I for one chose, when I bought my Shirley, that she would be as original as possible.

Rant Over.

You are entitled to your opinion, but a minor is not a rare vehicle, and once purchased, the owner can thankfully do as they please.

Pete

[bmcecosse]

^^^^ Exactly -so it's up to individuals whether they want to up the performance - or the economy - of the vehicle. The price of petrol these days in this country (all of Europe actually) is just ridiculous, and I read today that because consumption of fuel has dropped so much the Government is losing too much revenue - and so the tax on fuel will have to be increased so the rest of us still burning fuel will have to pay even more! So - a nice small diesel engine won't change the car too much, and an LPG conversion will almost be invisible, and if that allows folks to have more affordable motoring and to keep using their otherwise unchanged Minor - that's a GOOD THING in my book. Personally - I would prefer to see a good affordable electric conversion with a range of say 100 miles and a top speed of say 60 mph. That would suit me nicely, Is anyone working on such a conversion???

[jaymo]

I'm not arguing about people's right to do what they want with their cars, I was saying my opinion, and I know it's very much an old hat view, but I do think a minor with out it's original size and style engine isn't a minor.

@bmcecosse there is however one exception I make is that Issigonis was very much an innovator, a futurist. And I think if an electric or hydrogen fuel cell could be reliably and cleverly designed then I don't think I would have as much a problem.

I know that is a contradiction, but life is a contradiction. Now I think however that should one want an economical, practical and etc car, then something modern is better, a classic vehicle should be about love and passion, not practicality, etc.

It is just my opinion.

[Alex'n'Ane]

Issigonis also designed it to have a flat four engine, so is fitting one of these better than the standard minor one? Or is this a transplant you would like?

[jaymo]

I don't think it is better, but it's a transplant I would have less of an issue with personally. I don't like any transplants, however some are worse than others