Morris Minor Owners Club

With increasing mobility issues, I've been driving 'Max' my Series 2 saloon less and less, finding an automatic easier and more comfortable.

After careful thought I decided to sell Max. I took him to a local charity car show on bank holiday Monday and put a 'for sale' notice in his windscreen. Much to my surprise, he found a buyer within two hours and has gone to an enthusiastic new owner a few miles away. I was quite sad letting Max go, but it was I feel, the right decision.

I want (and am busy looking for) a 1960s/1970s classic car. Medium sized, under 2-litre, with auto transmission, relatively simple to maintain and with the ability to undertake motorway journeys. My family live in Surrey (a trip via the M42, M40 and M25) and Devon (a tedious and often very stop-start journey down the M5). To give an idea of what I'm looking for, I'm going to inspect a very early Triumph Dolomite 1850HL auto, at a local classic car auctioneers viewing day, next week.

I'll be keeping up my MMOC membership, as I hope to be only temporarily Minor-less. Providing the arthritis doesn't get a lot worse, I intend to look for another Minor, just for local pottering around, in a couple years time when I get my hands on the rest of my pension!

VP 1500 are nice cars.

JOWETTJAVELIN wrote: ↑Wed Aug 28, 2019 9:52 am VP 1500 are nice cars.

On my list too. May get lucky finding an automatic. Went after, but ultimately got cold feet over, a '76 Marina HL automatic with genuine 22,000 miles on the clock... then found out there's fewer than 30 Marina autos still on the road

Sad to hear Max has gone , Hope you find a suitable ‘ classic ‘ to suit your needs and capable of getting you to the ‘ butty bar ‘.

1960's MG Magnette 1622cc (or Riley equivalent) with Borg-Warner Auto was a nice relaxing motorway cruiser with upmarket interior. Or get the Oxford/Cambridge version if you feel like slumming it !

Edward1949 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 28, 2019 11:28 am 1960's MG Magnette 1622cc (or Riley equivalent) with Borg-Warner Auto was a nice relaxing motorway cruiser with upmarket interior. Or get the Oxford/Cambridge version if you feel like slumming it !

All these and more on my ever-lengthening wish-list. An auto Farina would be great... a Wolseley 16/60 preferably. I've got Austin/Morris/Wolseley 'land-crab' cars and 'wedge' Princesses on the list too as well as Marina (but not Ital as I dislike the styling). I consider the Maxi and the Allegro (apart from the Vanden Plas or rare-as-hens-teeth 1750 Sport) too bland. Rover P6 would be nice but not really enough leg-room etc for my 6'5" pie-eating frame! Even considering straying to the darker world of Rootes products - an 'Arrow' model such as a Hillman Hunter, Singer Vogue or Gazelle, or even an Avenger. A Humber Sceptre would be nice too but they're a bit pricey generally. Ford (by necessity of tax-exemption) would have to be Cortina or Granada but the prices are beyond my budget now. Vauxhalls don't excite me at all.

Might this be of interest? https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1120095 (Ah! I see that my post coincided with your further post, from which I note that my suggestion is unlikely to find favour with you. Oh, well, just a thought.)

Funny you should mention Rootes as I was just thinking the same. I’m not so keen on seventies cars but lately I’ve seen a few sixties Minxes, Gazelles and Sceptres, and not vastly expensive. There seem to be a fair sprinkling of autos among the survivors. I have fond youthful memories of a Sunbeam Rapier and a Humber Hawk.

A friend was very attached to his Triumph 2000 automatic.

Didn't Charles Ware used to offer an automatic conversion for the Minor? (maybe you had to get them to do it).

Maybe you could buy an already non-original example of a Minor (one you wouldn't feel bad about modifying) and see if the conversion is still around.

I was reading a back issue of Practical Classics this week and it had an article on Vauxhall FDs. Most of these seem to standard autos and a manual box was an option. Not sure I've seen one any time recently.
Ventora looks interesting although 3.3l is a bit over your brief.
https://www.classiccars4sale.net/classi ... ll-ventora

I’m not sure if the Allegro estate was available as an auto but if it is/was you’d have a great classic, the 1500cc might be auto.

Hi,
Sorry to hear about you being parted from Max, here are some automatic options for you:

Triumph 2000 Auto:
https://classics.honestjohn.co.uk/cars- ... d=C1136506

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source= ... 7750802243

Hillman Avenger Auto:
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1099659

https://car-from-uk.com/sale.php?id=84580

Singer Vogue Auto:
https://car-from-uk.com/sale.php?id=16224

Morris Marina Auto:
http://car-from-uk.com/sale.php?id=20919&country=uk

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source= ... 8597851635

Best wishes,
Mike.

Have you looked at the Triumph 1850 range some very nice spec cars

Does it have to be British? What about Volvo 244 or Merc W123?

If it wasn't for the medium sized saloon bit, I'd say MGB GT, not least as it has good spares back up. I'd caution against something where parts are hard to find, especially if you intend to rely in the car. I know that there are Triumph specialists out there, though I think they tend to concentrate on sports cars. You have to think of the typical end to end car park scrape, where if parts are not available, you are left with expensive one off panels, that the insurance companies won't wear if there is not sufficient value in the car.

I know Marinas came with auto but I don't know that they enjoy the kind of following that allows for a good spares back up. The Reliant Scimitar might be worth a look, if you can call it medium. The engine is a bit more than medium but the body is a bit less than medium. The engine has little to do in a relatively small car and I know they did auto versions. I'm sure they did auto Ford Capris and there seems to be a following for those. There was a time when Volvo were good on spares for all their older models but now they are owned by Ford, I am not so sure. The Amazon was a fine car.

The deed is done... but not a Dolomite. Instead, as of yesterday I became the proud (yes - I know its subjective) owner of a Mk.2 Marina 1800HL automatic. It's apparently done only 28,000 miles and is one of only three 1800HL autos still on the road. It came with loads of history. Old MOT certificates (so far I've found all of them back to 1997) show it's certainly only recorded 11,000 miles in the past 22 years.

It's a car I was interested in when it was advertised about six weeks ago but at that time I couldn't fund its purchase. I thought it had been sold, but it was re-advertised last weekend, so I snapped it up very quickly!

As can be seen it's very typical of 1970s BL Cars in terms of its colour combinations!

Looks good- enjoy !

What a great find. Glad you got a relative of Max’s.
Happy motoring!

Good continuity for a Minor owner . The B series engine is a big cousin to the A series, and Minor-based front suspension....

That's a very tidy Marina. Quite a high spec as well. One of my colleagues had a "Marina Special" in that colour as a company car. Jade Green is it?