I just bought the one owner for 53yrs Minor!

[56minor948]

A couple of weeks ago I bought a 1956 (57 regd) Minor 1000 4-Door in black with a red interior. This car was previously registered as 7285TU I believe, and originated in the Manchester area where the first owner kept it until 2010 when he died. It isn't in great condition, never having been restored and with a mileage of 102000, but has a Gold Seal engine and a replacement gearbox (in blue paint) which may be a later baulk ring box judging by the perfect synchromesh. I've had no Minors since about 1980, but from what I remember they were very rust-prone underneath (perhaps no worse than most old cars) so I am surprised that the front end of the chassis is perfect, never having been repaired. The only obvious repairs are to the sills, the rear end being pretty good too. Cosmetically it is pretty ghastly although the seats aren't bad, only the base of the driver's seat being rather worn (anyone got one - with the curved backrest and narrow pleating/white piping?). It drives well but needs a carb. overhaul (H2) for which I have the kit. If anyone knows the car I'd be pleased to know more of its history. A nearside front wing could be useful too. It is till on crossplies and I intend to keep it that way. My intention is to improve it but not to restore it in the proper sense as I want to use it rather than store it in bits![frame][/frame]

[ASL642]

Congratulations! a nice genuine car.

[DAVIDMCCULLOUGH]

Welcome to the messageboard! There cant be that many one owner cars still left, especailly from the 50s, good luck with it

[beero]

Welcome! That's a nice looking original car, but why do you want to stick with crossplies?

[56minor948]

Thanks for the welcome and to answer Beero, it just tickles me to have a car on crossplies after so many years of radials and I picked up 3 really good spares at an autojumble a few days after I bought the car so I might as well use them. The tyres on the car are pretty good too. I have no intention of updating the car at all. I like the fact that it is so original in specification with the possible exception of the gearbox which changes very slickly. I do have a set of Midget Rostyles and 175/70/13s which I might try out when I've refurbed the wheels but I think now that'd spoil it. The picture flatters it as the other side is very patchy, the headlining is shot and likewise the carpets. I didn't pay a fortune for it and it's just the sort of car I like as it will quickly improve without too much expenditure, being essentially sound. I'd forgotten just how good the Minor 1000 is to drive.[frame][/frame]

[beero]

Good number plate too!
But do beware of old tyres with good tread. They all have a date code on them and I would be wary of anything more than 8 years old.

[56minor948]

Yes it is a nice number even if it isn't original. As for the tyres they probably are a bit old. I've removed one that was quite perished. I suppose the risk is that the lovely deep tread can fall off the tyres completely. Have you known this to occur on tyres with no sign of perishing? I imagine that sunlight plays a part in the degradation of old tyres.

[DAVIDMCCULLOUGH]

I know of a 1962 car that still had 2 original dunlop goldseals on the back and on the way to the 50th at Blenheim Castle it had a blow out on one of them. The owner changed them all as soon as he came home. My lowlight is still running on 2 of them, though not the goldseals!

[beero]

When I bought my MGB it had all old tyres with very good tread. They were all over 10 years old. A new set transformed the car both in grip and comfort. I think rubber gets hard as it ages. This site may help you identify how old your tyres are.
http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html

[Fingolfin]

That is a really handsome Minor! The one owner must have taken excellent care of it. You're right that Minors are particularly prone to rusting on the bottom (at least in my limited experience), but it's nothing that can't be repaired with some skill and love. I hope you get many years of enjoyable motoring out of it!

[56minor948]

Thanks for the kind words Fingolfin, but it just goes to show how dangerous it can be to buy a car on the basis of a photograph or two as this is a very scruffy car indeed as this photo shows. The first owner must have taken reasonable care for it to have survived at all I suppose, but he fitted various 'extras' in the most amateurish way imaginable and there are about ten holes drilled in the dashboard, many with no obvious purpose. At the weekend I removed yards and yards of appalling wiring and a ghastly homemade switch panel, not to mention a white household light switch at the bottom of the 'b' post which controlled a horn in the boot! Any paintwork defects appear to have been 'touched in' with matt black aerosol without the benefit of any preparation or masking. Quaint! However he was clearly not much of a mechanic as a proper Goldseal engine and recon gearbox seem likely to have been fitted by a garage, and the bodging is not evident under the bonnet with the exception that the air filter, which should fit with a rubber collar has had the joining piece crudely crushed so it 'fits' without one, metal to metal. Ugh! It is awesome that the car was used for so long without restoration and without any particular care other than the fact that it cannot have been used very much each year, and, judging from the numerous bangs and scrapes on the bodywork, it must have been garaged![frame][/frame]

[Chris Morley]

Ah well, a car can't be on the road that long without having some bangs and scrapes. View the imperfections and bodges as living history, and fix them yourself if you can't live with them.....

[56minor948]

I'm gradually sorting it out and I'm really tickled pink with it! I wish I'd bought one like it years ago. I've had loads of classics including 3 B series Farinas, a Wolseley 1500, Riley 1.5, 2 Vanden Plas 3 Litres, Riley 2.6, Rover 110, 4 Beetles etc. etc. but this Morris has really got under my skin. I had thought I was finished with old cars but my enthusiasm is back as it hasn't been for decades![frame][/frame]

[Chris Morley]

There's something about Minors that brings you back....