Daily drivers!

Discuss anything Morris Minor related.
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laneychief
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Daily drivers!

Post by laneychief »

Good morning Ladies and Gents,

Some of you know my Morris had to go to the heap in the sky after finding some monumental bodges, missed or ignored by years and years of MOT men and not found by me until a routine handbrake cable change.....

Anyways, I've got a bit of cash saved from selling the decent/half decent parts of Morris and I'm daydreaming about my next Morris!

I'm thinking four door saloon, got two kids who will want to come to shows and things in the summer!

So my question to all you daily drivers are, how do you find it? How many miles do you do a week, what sort of MPG you looking at? I'll be doing a fair bit of dual carriageway driving also and I don't have a garage for storage but do have my father in laws for working on and I will cover it and look after the paintwork well and wax sections and such.

This is prompted by my Van breaking down and I hate having a modern I can't fix.


So this is an open lengthy discussion for all you daily drivers out there! Help a man daydream!

Hope you're all well, missing the scene terribly.

Edd
'If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same'

Edd, 26, Devon.
SteveClem
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Re: Daily drivers!

Post by SteveClem »

Welcome back Edd. I'm sure a 4 door 1098 would be fine. You should get close to 40mpg depending on road conditions. They're easy to live with on a daily basis when well sorted
I would avoid a trav if you don't have a garage.
laneychief
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Re: Daily drivers!

Post by laneychief »

Thanks Steve,

Yes the extra doors on a 4 door for the kids are an essential really, I want to encourage Morris love from an early age!

Edd
'If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same'

Edd, 26, Devon.
greendefender123
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Re: Daily drivers!

Post by greendefender123 »

Hi edd hope your doing well? Good luck with your search for a 4 door. I'm sure a well maintained is upto daily driving. That's all they had in the black and white days. Lol.
laneychief
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Re: Daily drivers!

Post by laneychief »

Hiya!

Doing well thanks! No sleep thanks to 5 month old son Logan but great else!!

Haha yeh I suppose so! All depends what state my van is in when I get it to the garage tomorrow, on my birthday. Great treat ha!
'If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same'

Edd, 26, Devon.
simmitc
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Re: Daily drivers!

Post by simmitc »

I've had nothing but Travellers as daily drivers for 35+ years, and also 2 & 4 door saloons. I used to do 18K miles per annum, much on dual carriageway; now around 8K pa. 948cc you should get 40 - 44 mpg depending on driving and conditions. 1098 probably 35 mpg. Low insurance, no tax, easy to work on, good spares availability at mostly reasonable prices; no depreciation. Your plan sounds like a perfectly good idea to me.
laneychief
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Re: Daily drivers!

Post by laneychief »

Incredible!

Last year I did 10,800 in my van and that was quite a heavy year for me. We use our family modern estate for everything else really!

I'll be doing a 52 mile round trip on a dual carriageway, three times a week, to get to work.

My van gets about 380 miles out of a tank and a tank costs about £48 I think. I'm not expecting fuel economy to be comparable, just as long as it's not far far far worse. My van tax is about £250 a year!

Happy to hear any more daily driver tales!
'If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same'

Edd, 26, Devon.
jagnut66
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Re: Daily drivers!

Post by jagnut66 »

Hi Edd,
Any thoughts on what your budget for buying would be?
Best wishes,
Mike.
1954 Series 2: 4 door: "Sally" -- Back on the ground with (slave) wheels and waiting to be resprayed......
1970 Triumph Herald 1200: "Hetty" -- Driven back from Llangollen in Wales (twice.....)
laneychief
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Re: Daily drivers!

Post by laneychief »

Not hugely at this stage, that was a question I wanted to ask really. My main criteria is sound bodywork (had enough welding to last a lifetime) and I'm happy to have a part rolling resto you know? It would be no fun if I couldn't take it off the road and put it in my father in laws garage for the weekend and do a job on it you know?

What sort of range do you guys think?
'If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same'

Edd, 26, Devon.
greendefender123
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Re: Daily drivers!

Post by greendefender123 »

Edd you might be better off buying one that's been used daily as it should be reliable and of been looked after. Tho expect a slightly worn interior and possibly paintwork. Atleast you know where to look on these now!
jagnut66
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Re: Daily drivers!

Post by jagnut66 »

1954 Series 2: 4 door: "Sally" -- Back on the ground with (slave) wheels and waiting to be resprayed......
1970 Triumph Herald 1200: "Hetty" -- Driven back from Llangollen in Wales (twice.....)
laneychief
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Re: Daily drivers!

Post by laneychief »

Thanks guys, yeh that does sound like an idea getting a daily already.

I've got a 1098 engine completely stripped down and waiting for me to learn how to rebuild it so hopefully I can have a spare engine should anything go wrong.

I'll get the verdict on the van tomorrow and then I'll start the long and gentle process of introducing this idea to my wife....


Cheers all!
'If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same'

Edd, 26, Devon.
myoldjalopy
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Re: Daily drivers!

Post by myoldjalopy »

If you want a Morris - unless you want to get into a big restoration project - get one in good condition that appears to have been well looked after. Given the age of these vehicles, old components can fail almost at anytime. And new parts are not always as durable as the originals. Any surviving old bangers which have not been maintained and serviced regularly are going to cause trouble, it will be one thing after another.
So, I would search long and hard to get the best condition car you can afford. Then driving and maintaining it will be a pleasure.
laneychief
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Re: Daily drivers!

Post by laneychief »

Thanks gang, Van lives to see another day. Just a hose in a stupid place £40 and two litres of antifreeze.


Subject of Morris raised with my wife.....

I'd like to do it eventually, please keep posting about it, I'll figure out what my van costs to run and post it up.

Could I take the passenger seat out put the back seat down and make a wooden support that goes over the back seat and into the place where the passenger seat was to put tools in the boot and through onto this? Like a grass strimmer. Not sure if I could fit my push lawn mower in though....
'If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same'

Edd, 26, Devon.
JOWETTJAVELIN
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Re: Daily drivers!

Post by JOWETTJAVELIN »

I don't bother as much as I used to running old cars over winter as the amount of corrosive grit-salt spread on the roads seems to increase year on year. It's too labour intensive to be chasing every paint chip and rust mark (as you must do). And as we know the Minor can be quite a rot-box.
simmitc
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Re: Daily drivers!

Post by simmitc »

Ref tool carrying in box, yes that's perfectly feasible, obviously with the loss of seating whilst the box is in use. A lawnmower will fit in to both a van and a Traveller. but a saloon would be pushing it a bit. For info, yesterday one of my Travellers compelted 300 mile round trip M11 - A14 - M6 with no problems at all, standard 1098.
firehor5e
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Re: Daily drivers!

Post by firehor5e »

Nice to hear from you again Edd.How about getting a tow bar and box trailer?
1968 2 door 1275
Lurch
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Re: Daily drivers!

Post by Lurch »

I alternate with a 4 door moggy and an old Land Rover, tbh you can't get a lot of stuff, tools and equipment wise in the mog , that I'd do in Land Rover.
I don't have any modern cars at all, newest is 1968, provided you have the right mindset for old motors, and are ok with fettling stuff yourself, they are fine as everyday cars.
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Monty-4
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Re: Daily drivers!

Post by Monty-4 »

I've used a 4-door as a daily for over two years and 20,000 miles, it's now coming off the road for an engine rebuild as it's burning oil (piston rings) or being sold, but only if another member takes it I think.

Remember with the 4-doors all the doors are smaller!
68' 4-door Saloon, another 'Monty'.
tammy
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Re: Daily drivers!

Post by tammy »

Hi guys, New member this week!
I own a daily driver I bought October last year.
A 1968 2 door saloon 77k miles. Loads of receipts presently having bodywork sorted at West Riding Classic Cars near Halifax.
Usual oil leak from rear crank seal!!
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