Morris Minor Owners Club

Have just purchased my first Morris Minor so apologies for the questions it all a bit new to me.

On the first road trip the brakes seized, but luckily my mate new what to do and altered the brake pedal adjustment. But the cover screws to the master cylinder had damaged heads. Does anyone know the thread size so I can buy a tap and new ones. Should there be a gasket between the plate and the floor.

Looking for a secondhand Lucas heater which I can restore and refit into the car. Do not need the matrix only the body and fan unit. Anyone know where I can get one from.

Also looking to find some fixed set of front seat belts and would like some that are 1960 period correct. If I can afford them

Lastly the gearbox is a bit load any maybe in need of some new bearings. Therefore does anyone know someone who could refurbish me a spare unit or help and guide me to recondition one in the Midlands but happy to travel.
Not looking to buy one of these recon units as I have a concern they will only change broken parts and would prefer someone that does it as a small business or hobby.

Many thanks and apologies if the question are about random.

Welcome to the world of Morris Minors! You will find a lot of help on here, best to use the search facility before asking, but there are usually very knowledgable people able to help.

The gearbox cover and mastert cyclinder cover screws are 1/4 BSF and are brass and it is normal for the heads to become damaged. Specialists such as ESM sell them, though. Most thread sizes are listed in a sticky at the start of the Mechanical section viewtopic.php?f=4&t=51709
I don't think a gasket was ever fitted, mine had "Dum dum" type bituminous sealant.

Others will answer you other questions better than me!

Mark

Hello and welcome, don’t apologise for asking questions - that’s what we’re here for.

The floor plate screws are 1/4 BSF, special brass ones with countersunk heads. They are available from the parts suppliers who advertise in the club magazine. There isn’t a gasket, the factory applied black mastic but nowadays people also use thick black tape instead.

Someone on here might have a heater or you can find used parts on ebay. Some owners fit Mini heaters which are reckoned to be better.

Seat belts are available from the usual parts suppliers as above.

Gearbox noise is a more complicated question. Minor boxes were never silent and compared to modern boxes can seem quite noisy. Have you been in other Minors to compare? The box can be stripped and overhauled by owners without needing special tools but personally I’d only dismantle it if it didn’t work.

On the subject of thread sizes. The brake pipe unions also use different threads which is very confusing i.e BSF and UNF. Declan kindly did a sketch of what goes where sometime ago and I copied it. sadly I am unable to download the Information here.

The gearbox cover screws have Philips .... PH 3 heads.

I would advise against using a posi-drive screw driver as it will ruin the heads.

This what you want:-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-Brit ... s3ahfk6fhA

If you can find one of these you will be well pleased:

Sykes Pickavant Power driver with NO: 3 cross head & tommy bar 040390.

Many thanks for the replies much appreciated

Many thanks for the replies much appreciated

Is the gearbox noisy in all gears, or just first/reverse (which are straight-cut, and don't have synchromesh - so are a bit whiney)?

It could be worth changing the gearbox oil (use normal 20W50 or similar engine oil) to see if it makes any difference, and inspect for any swarf/metal bits that come out with the old oil, which may give you a clue if something's up with it...

Can I suggest you buy this from abe books.
Used with a blue morris manual and the picking of experts brains here, it is extremely useful
https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/Sear ... &kn=&isbn=