Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi there, I'm trying to renovate my 1951 split screen Morris Minor saloon. I won't be able to start for a couple of months due to work / lockdown / weather - so I've been advised to raise up my car on four axle stands to take the pressure off the suspension (the tyres are already perished/flat and need replacing).

Can anyone advise me how best to do this? Are there any specific jacking points on the underside of the car, or is this chassis sufficiently solid to be able to jack up and place an axle stand 'roughly' in each corner?

Please advise

Personally, I wouldn’t bother.

Why?
How long has it sat there already?
Is the body underside capable of taking stands?
If the suspension hasn't already collapsed, is it really likely to in the next few months?
Why 'take the pressure off the suspension'... if it's currently OK?

Personally, if offered that advice, I'd like to know the justification for it.

Thanks for the feedback.
I was advised by a friend who restores classic cars to do this; but I take your points about it probably not being necessary as I doubt it will 'collapse' over the coming months. It's been on my drive for a couple of months, having sat in storage for a few years before. I don;t think it's driven in over a decade. As for whether the body underside can take the strain, I genuinely don't know as not sure how robust the body/chassis is (hence the question about where best to jack up a car of this age).

I also would not bother about raising the car off the ground until you are ready to undertake the restoration.

But if you want to jack up the car and support off the ground:-

At the rear........Jack under the diff and raise until you can get a pair of axle stands under the axle tube as near to the springs as possible.

At the front.......Jack under the front cross member with a piece of wood between jack and cross member. Make sure that the jack wheels are in the fore and aft position as the jack will move as the jack is raised. When high enough place axle stands under the chassis legs in the area of the eye bolt. Again use a piece of wood between axle stand and chassis leg to spread the load.
Use axle stands with a flat middle section for the support. Halfords 3 ton axle stands are very suitable and are the ones my Minor is currently supported on off the ground.
https://www.halfords.com/tools/garage-w ... 57123.html

philthehill wrote: ↑Wed Jan 06, 2021 3:44 pm I also would not bother about raising the car off the ground until you are ready to undertake the restoration.
But if you want to jack up the car and support off the ground:-
At the rear........Jack under the diff and raise until you can get a pair of axle stands under the axle tube as near to the springs as possible.
At the front.......Jack under the front cross member with a piece of wood between jack and cross member. Make sure that the jack wheels are in the fore and aft position as the jack will move as the jack is raised. When high enough place axle stands under the chassis legs in the area of the eye bolt. Again use a piece of wood between axle stand and chassis leg to spread the load.
Use axle stands with a flat middle section for the support. Halfords 3 ton axle stands are very suitable and are the ones my Minor is currently supported on off the ground.
https://www.halfords.com/tools/garage-w ... 57123.html

Thank you!!!

I would personally only raise a car off the ground to preserve the tyres, but if they are shot already?

Alan

Have put mine up on 4 corner-jacks for the duration of the lockdown (s) just to prevent tyre flatspots ( will also deter thieves - lack of traction )

John ;-)

will also deter thieves

Ha Ha, they will just more easily pinch the wheels.

I don't live in Toxteth......

John ;-)

Thanks all! The tyres are completely shot. Two are perished and flat, the other two are inflated but not roadworthy.

Any suggestions best place to get 'new' tyres for a Moggy?

Where ever you get them from do not purchase until you are ready to use them.

Sleeper wrote: ↑Thu Jan 07, 2021 8:58 am I don't live in Toxteth......

John ;-)

People who live in Toxteth, or anywhere else, for that matter, can already have a ‘set of wheels’ so thieves can travel. BTW, I consider reference to any particular location is inappropriate in this context. It is likely that thieves can arrive from anywhere, these days - think here of the Tony Martin case, or a more recent case where a burglar died after a defensive struggle resulted in a fatal injury.

The one and only time I was driven through Toxteth (along the high street, I think) was back in 1982. I understand things have improved greatly in the intervening years. Back then, I was utterly amazed at the number of bombed-out sites (still totally undeveloped, or even cleared since WWII) around Liverpool.

Sleeper wrote: ↑Thu Jan 07, 2021 8:58 am I don't live in Toxteth......

John ;-)

Sir David Jason, who played Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses, says growing political correctness is no laughing matter and is killing the Great British sense of humour

John ;-)

A humour bypass is a terrible affliction

Paul
Now it's up for sale,is the original registration still on then car ?

John ;-)