Disc brakes

[geoberni]

I think it’s horses for courses.... we can do ,or not do, whatever we choose to our cars. Provided it’s legal of course .
And the degree to which we ‘improve’ them depends upon personal taste and how the car will be used.

Exactly.

[KeithL]

For my wife and I the pleasure of driving our Morris Traveller is because it is 'old' and a bit quirky and needs a bit of effort and concentration. Drum brakes, synchromesh on 1st, heavy steering, a slightly leisurely approach to acceleration and a pervading smell of hot oil are all part of the charm. By all means people should go for disc brakes, servos, a 5-speed gearbox, reclining seats with head restraints and seat belts if that's what they want, but equally they should respect the decisions of those who want to drive the cars as they came out of the factory.

And as for the mobile phone, we could use our Nokia 3210 in the Morris but of course it has no cigar lighter socket through which to charge it.

[philthehill]

No problem not having a cigarette lighter socket. When I had my ser 2 way back I used one of these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12-24V-DC-Ca ... SwamZe0v8W
attached with a nice chrome jubilee clip to a classic mini exhaust hanger https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Classic-Mini ... SwcONejhCa which was bent and bolted under the drivers side glovebox. It worked very well and was discrete. The cigarette lighter socket was wired through the fuse box and was live when the ignition was switched on. The socket was used purely for the mobile phone as I do not smoke.
Phil

[millerman]

What mileage does the average cover in a year? Say 3000miles at a sedate 45mph and probably parked up in the winter

What happens to the brake cylinders, especially the front - seized

Answer - fit front discs! Cuts maintenance, pads easier to fit than shoes, cheaper, cylinders don't seize

Perversely I expect the regularly used Minor doing 8-10k miles per year probably has less brake problems than than the 3000 miler

[philthehill]

The calliper pistons do seize in the calliper and if the pistons are chromed the chrome can flake causing the seal to fail even with original factory fitted pistons.
Fit stainless steel calliper pistons and good quality seals and you will have no problems.
Stainless steel pistons can be obtained from BIG RED for most applications.
The better stopping and less likely to fade brake shoes are in the main much harder than standard shoes and do really need the assistance of a servo to get the best out of them.
I have standard Unipart Marina pads fitted as I consider that they are the right product for my use.

[myoldjalopy]

Another answer to 'millerman's' dilemma is - drive the car regularly!
Seriously, though, a number if issues can affect a lain-up car, seized brake cylinders, stuck clutch, corroded points to name but three. One of my great aunts had two Morris Minors and always impressed upon me that running a car regularly is much better than leaving it stand idle for a long time. "They need to be driven" was her watchword.

[MorrisJohn]

I don’t have a problem with anyone putting discs on their car. All I’ll say is I run 8” drums with a servo and I’ve never had a problem with their stopping power when properly adjusted. I drive the car on urban roads, including motorways, fairly regularly and they’re perfectly adequate.

Unless suffering brake fade I don’t think discs would stop my car any quicker in regular driving conditions given it’s limited by the capability of the tyres.

[geoberni]

I don’t have a problem with anyone putting discs on their car. All I’ll say is I run 8” drums with a servo and I’ve never had a problem with their stopping power when properly adjusted. I drive the car on urban roads, including motorways, fairly regularly and they’re perfectly adequate.

Unless suffering brake fade I don’t think discs would stop my car any quicker in regular driving conditions given it’s limited by the capability of the tyres.

Well said.
I don't have a problem with people putting Discs or anything else on their car; they can have 1970s fluffy dice for all I care about 'their car' but I do have a problem with people who basically ridicule anyone who doesn't fit discs, or any other change of spec.

[liammonty]

Well said.
I don't have a problem with people putting Discs or anything else on their car; they can have 1970s fluffy dice for all I care about 'their car' but I do have a problem with people who basically ridicule anyone who doesn't fit discs, or any other change of spec.

That’s nicely put and I agree totally.

[irmscher]

Its all down to the individual that's why we drive Minors

[MorrisJohn]

...I do have a problem with people who basically ridicule anyone who doesn't fit discs, or any other change of spec.

Yes. I fail to see how anyone can ridicule, or criticise, a person for running standard equipment on a historic vehicle.

Each to their own.

[ampwhu]

It's fairly obvious that ampwhu is not going to accept any view that doesn't match his own.
I found the phone analogy quite laughable, since he was comparing phones to brakes, the older generation of phones to Drums and the newer 'smart phones' to Discs.

In reality the comparison should be Phones to Cars.
Should you get an old Nokia or Motorola and try to upgrade bits of it like the processor, or add bluetooth to it, or if you want all those new features, just buy the smart phone....

ampwhu clearly has a poor opinion of me and anyone else who doesn't agree with him.

have you ever seen any of my modified vehicles? i read you list and laughed in all honesty. my persistence is based on common sense and safety for myself and anyone travelling in my car with me.

people have been modifying classic cars for the last 50/60 years. pretty much after they were built. They kind of saw the downfalls that the manufacturers didn't see. Not a lot of different to todays society with modern cars.

i look at it like the rat race. You snooze and you loose. Meaning you'll be bringing up the rear.

Quite frankly, I don't give a damn about what you do to your vehicle, not do I care what you think about mine.
Do you look at other Minors at Rallies and other events and spend all your time ridiculing the owners for not having upgraded to 'your' specification?

A great many people have Minors because they like Minors.
A miniscule percentage of car owners ever modify their vehicles from the technical standard they were built to.
You are in a 'Rat Race of one.

You don't accept that anyone can have an opinion that differs to yours and seem to always want the last word, so I'll just leave you to carry on.

so on that basis, do you drive around on cross ply tyres, have the same battery or still use your 50 year old brakes lines? are your suspension joints still in tune with how it was built?

My advice is leave your car in your garage so it never wears out. That way you can drive it like it was 50 years ago.

here to help.