Morris Minor rear anti roll bar brackets / rear Hub seals

[IslipMinor2]

Hi All,

I have inherited a very highly modified Morris Minor. Some of you will already know it or knew my Father (IslipMinor).

Although I have worked on this car for most of my life and know the car very well, there are some details/parts that I am struggling to identify. I took it for an MOT today, yes it does not need one but I felt that a professional looking over the car would help me check that the car is road worthy and reliable for the next year.

On the way to the garage the speedo stopped working. I checked that the two ends were secure and they were. So I believe the issues is the speedo cable. This is where the fun starts. The speedo is a standard Minor speedo well recalabrated to 120MPH with a 120KPH dail. This I don't think is as issue and should work with a standard cable. The other end is the complicated part, the car has a Toyota Celica 5 speed gear box. Question - first does any know the length of the standard speedo cable? Second does anyone know were I could purchase a speedo cable with the two correct ends?

The Minor failed the MOT on two points:

1 - NS rear bake efficiency. The NS hub oil seal is leaking oil into the brake drum. This is a simple case of replacing the hub oil seal and replacing both NS and OS rear brake shoes after cleaning out the oil. Question - The car is 1958 but I don't know if the original rear axle is in the car, are there different types/sizes of hub seal and if so how would I tell?

2- The car has a rear anti roll bar, and one of the mounting brackets is broken. Question Did the Minor ever have an anti roll bar fitting in its production life and if so does anyone know where I would find a new bracket? If it did not, does anyone know were the anti roll bar came from or the car it may of come from.

Thank you so much for your help with this.

Many Thanks

Jules

[IslipMinor2]

Hi,

I have been reading though a number of posts and found one from my Father who was explaining how to make a Morris Minor handle. In that post he mentioned that the rear anti roll bar came from an Ital.

Does anyone know where I could get an Ital rear anti roll bar bracket?

Thanks

Jules

[philthehill]

Joules
If I read this correctly your father has passed away. If that is correct, I am very sorry to hear that, and you have my condolences.
I have been wondering why there had been no postings from him for some time.
Your father visited me here in the Test Valley and gave me an exhilarating ride in the Minor you have now inherited. It certainly did not hang about.
Your father was certainly absorbed in Minors and his loss and knowledge will be sorely missed.

Back to the anti-roll bar.
The Minor was never fitted ex-factory with a rear or front anti-roll bar.
The rear anti-roll bar fitted to your Minor originally came from a Morris Marina/Ital and I believe the rear axle is also from a Marina/Ital. The PCD of the Marina/Ital wheel studs is 3.75" though the hub flanges could have been changed.
What part/bracket of the anti-roll bar do you require? Is it the bracket that fits on the underside of the body or the bracket that fits onto the rear axle?
Whatever part you require I suspect that it will have to be a S/H unit.
I have a Marina parts list and have found the rear anti roll bar but not so far, the mounting brackets. I will try and find the part numbers of the mounting brackets and/or scan the relative page. The Marina and Ital rear anti-roll bar and mounts are one and the same.

rear sus 2.jpg (1.1 MiB) Viewed 891 times

You could contact Steve tel: 07767895855 who has a very large supply of good used Marina/Ital spares. He is based in Cheddar.
Failing that you could always try 'e' bay.
Here is the bracket/mount for the anti-roll bar where it is attached to the axle casing.

anti-roll bar mount 3.jpg (92.14 KiB) Viewed 860 times

The rear hub and seal arrangements on a Marina/Ital axle are different to a Minor and require different seals. If the axle is as I believe a Marina/Ital item, you will need a heavy-duty puller to get the flange off the half-shaft.

Marina rear axle 3.jpg (1.15 MiB) Viewed 873 times

Phil

[IslipMinor2]

Hi Phil,

Thank you for your help with this.

Dad died 19th August 2020, It was only yesterday that I created my account on here and posted. Then looked through the list of posts, I did not realise he spent quite as much time here as he did.

Thank you for the parts diagrams, the part I need is number 22 in anti-roll bar mount 3.jpg the body bracket. That bracket is mounted to the body. Do you have a part number for that?

Many Thanks

Jules

[philthehill]

Jules
I and no doubt many others on here will be very sorry to hear of your dads passing.
He brought a lot to the world of Morris Minors.
He was always talking about you and him participating in track days.
I hope that you will get as much enjoyment out of the Minor as he did.

The front of Item No: 22 shown in 3 jpg is retained by a hook which forms part of the anti-roll bar mount bracket welded to the upper part of the axle casing. It is retained at its rear by the bolt shown. It has no contact or relationship with the body.
Currently I do not have a part number for item No: 22 but will try to find one for you.
In the meantime, I would suggest that you ring Steve at Chedder as I am certain he could find you one from his Marins/Ital parts store.
Below is an illustration of the anti-roll bar as mounted on the axle casing. If you look carefully, you can see item No:22 wrapped over anti-roll bar rubber mount bush and fixed to the axle casing anti roll bar bracket by the hook and bolt.

anti-roll bar 7.jpg (842.21 KiB) Viewed 836 times

[Chipper]

Hi,
I have been reading though a number of posts and found one from my Father who was explaining how to make a Morris Minor handle. In that post he mentioned that the rear anti roll bar came from an Ital.
Jules

Sorry to hear of your Father's passing. Would you happen to have a link to your Father's post on how to make a Minor handle?

[IslipMinor2]

Hi Phil,

Thank you for the details, I will give Steve a call.

I have found this:

"I made the equivalent of Marina/Ital axle brackets and welded them to the standard Minor axle casing and fitted a standard Marina/Ital rear anti-roll bar (as well as the Owen Burton one fitted to the front!). The front rubber bushes for the rear roll bar are the same as the later MGB GT and are currently available."

I wondered where my MGB roll bar bushes went!

From the sound of it he modified the original axle, so this means that the hub seals are standard! That God there is at least one stand part on the car

I have promised the car no more track days. I think it has done it's time at 8.5 thousand revs with valves bouncing, tyres sweeling and the wheels braking up under the strain! Time to enjoy summer days and country roads.

He spent a lot of time either in the garage working on the next modification or at his desk writing posts.

[IslipMinor2]

Sorry to hear of your Father's passing. Would you happen to have a link to your Father's post on how to make a Minor handle?

Thank you, here is the post:

viewtopic.php?t=57969

The 13" wheels have now been removed as they kept braking up under the stain and one felt apart and fell off at Spar. It now have 13" mini lights.

[Chipper]

Thanks for that - makes for interesting reading.