Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello fellow Minor owners!... It does feel good to be able to say that.

Well I'm now into my second week of classic car ownership having bought myself a lovely 1954 Series 2. Being new to classic car ownership I'm at that stage of feeling a little out of my depth but trying to learn as much as I can about these wonderful cars.
Although structurally in excellent shape, the car was badly in need of a little TLC so I'm working through a nice big to-do list of things in order to get it back on the road. I decided to set up an online blog of my experiences if anyone would like to take a look here- https://castanley.wixsite.com/mysite

I'm currently in the middle of an oil change (just waiting on a replacement oil filter) and I'm intending to do the gearbox next. I know that gearbox oil has been discussed elsewhere on this forum but I'm struggling to find a definitive answer. Am I right in thinking I need to use SAE30 oil in my smooth cased gearbox (which is mated to an 803cc engine)?
I got the impression that later ribbed case gearboxes can be filled with the same 20w/50 oil as the engine.

Once that is fine I'll have to tackle the non working Speedo and fuel gauge!

Well thank you all in advance and apologies for launching straight into my first question. Hope to meet some of you at a future event.

Chris

KET 136 - 1954 Series 2

Hello and welcome, I like the website. Sae 30 oil is effectively replaced by 20/30 and you can use that in your smooth case gearbox. That Classic Castrol looks expensive though and mine run quite happily on Comma.

Sorry that should read 20/50. 4 cans of Comma 20/50 bought on line work out at £8.50 a gallon.

Hi Chris
just a welcome from me as a fellow SII owner.
Mine is the revamped '55 version, if you're following current activity on the forum, you'll see that I'm still discovering things about my car, even things that were documented are proving not to the correct.

Minor ownership certainly has some surprises!

Thanks for the replies, guys.

That's good to know, 20w/50 it is then! Yes that Castrol oil is really expensive stuff but that's my inexperience showing. I wasn't sure which one to go for so I bought the dearest one. Ah well, it's only money as they say. I'll definitely look at buying some of that Comma oil in the future.
I've just fitted my new oil filter and filled the engine so I might have a go at draining off the gearbox next.

I did just notice that my carb seems to have a little fuel leak and is looking generally quite tired so perhaps a stripdown and rebuild is in order. That will be fun!

Glad you liked my blog, Ian. I thought it would be a good idea to document my experiences to help other people point out my catastrophic mistakes.

Thank you, geoberni. Basil is a fantastic looking car, I hope mine looks half as good when it's finished! Maybe it's time I gave my car a name rather than just referring to it as "it". Haha.

Chris

Hi Chris great blog

Thanks!
I did some more work on the car so I'll be adding another page to the blog this morning.

I've decided to christen her "Gussie" seeing as I bought her in August. Haha.

Chris

Nice to see a new owner on the site. The Minor is a great car and easy to maintain.
Before you drain the gearbox oil make sure that you can loosen the filler plug or things can get a bit awkward.

R.M.

Thanks for the advice, thankfully both the filler plug and drain plug came out without a problem and my gearbox now has 1.3 litres of lovely fresh oil in it.

Chris

Halfords classic oil is the one I use, I'm told it's Castrol in a Halfords tin and that Wilkinson's 20/50 is the same and the cheapest of the three. Having looked at all three they look the same but that doesn't of course mean they are.

Hello and welcome.
I’ve looked at your great blog.
I reckon that shiny new oil can just needs priming, worth a try anyway.
Push the thumb lever down, put finger on the nozzle end, release thumb then your finger and repeat a few times. I have a can that someone said was rubbish, I found it just needed priming and has been working for over ten years and hasn't needed re-priming. If it has been left for a few days it dispenses oil half way down on the third stroke.
Feeling sad right now, never knew I was an oil can expert!!
Regards John

Thanks Leafie, that's good to know. I'll definitely be looking into getting cheaper oil when the car is next due for an oil change. The Castrol was a bit of an extravagance wasn't it!


Glad you like the blog, John. I thought it was the best way to keep a record of all the work I've done and if it helps anyone else then it will be worth the effort.
Regarding the oil can, I really should have thought of that! Oh well, too late now as I've sent it back. It was just to make it a bit easier to top up the dashpot but I'm sure I'll manage without it. I've since decided that I might actually do a proper stripdown and rebuild of the carb as it's looking a bit tired and leaky. Quite apprehensive about that as I've never done one before. Hoping those SU rebuild kits have some good step by step instructions!

Chris.

If you are using the modern dark blue oil filters for your 803, ask Declan Burns for one of his oil pressure restrictors. The 803 engine needs it.

Does it? My A30 doesn’t seem to have any problems.