Increase of mileage?

[Mr_Moggie]

Hello fellow Young Members,

If I wanted to increase the mileage of my Morris Minor; how would I go about doing it?

A while ago I calculated using Carfolio.com that the mileage of a Morris Minor 1000 is around 262 miles on a full tank of petrol, whilst outputting 44 mpg.

I know the obvious solution is to get a larger fuel tank, but where would I get one and would it be simpler just to increase the mpg?

[Alex'n'Ane]

No it wouldn't really be possible to get greater than 44mpg, that is excellent already. Larger capacity fuel tanks are available from some of the main suppliers, i'm pretty sure birmingham morris minor centre sell them (add on back of minor matters)

[MarkyB]

What you are really asking is about the range of the car, clearly this is related to the MPG of the engine.
I think 50 MPG should be possible with a few mods and a good driving style.

However even 50 MPG isn't going to increase the range of the car significantly given the size of the tank.

[MColes]

I got 50+ mpg on the weekend when I drove to the MADMOG rally and back. Stuck to 50mph all the way, accelerated smoothly etc. So it is possible

[Mr_Moggie]

Ok thank you everyone, I think my best bet is to get a bigger fuel tank maybe or go by Matt's nugget of information by going at around 50 mph .

[MColes]

Ok thank you everyone, I think my best bet is to get a bigger fuel tank maybe or go by Matt's nugget of information by going at around 50 mph .

As long as you're not in a rush or you can set out that bit earlier if you're headed somewhere it is worth doing. The difference in fuel consumption when comparing going at 70mph to 50mph is huge.

[ASL642]

We have fitted a 91/2 gall. petrol tank to one of our cars. It fits ok in the hole provided, but it is taller than the original so the spare wheel will not fit in the cavity under the tank. You have to carry it in the boot or elsewhere.

[simmitc]

How about just carrying a proper one gallon can of spare petrol in the boot - it takes up less space than the spare wheel, and you just keep the original tank.

[ASL642]

This tank was needed urgently 6 years ago to get our Daughter's car the MOT and all suppliers were out of stock of the original ones.

[MarkyB]

What pressure are you putting in the tyres?
Using cross ply pressures in radials isn't good for MPG!

[Mr_Moggie]

Hm,

I might just stick with the standard tank due to the weight of the petrol at full tank (Let's face it, a horse wouldn't go far with a cart full of carrots, would it?) and the fact that I'd rather save space.

Also, I haven't got round to giving the Moggie a quick service but I'll pump up the tyres to the correct pressure (I use the Hayne's Manual I have to help with fixing the car )

Thank you everyone for the help, I appreciate it muchly .

[MarkyB]

Unless the Hayne's Manual has the pressures for the radial tyres you probably have fitted that won't help.
If you have 145x14 tyres try 28/30 PSI.

[katy]

Put bigger tires on the back than on the front. That way the car is always going downhill and will get better MPG.

[Mr_Moggie]

Yes, now that you mention it I ought to keep the tyre pressures as they should be .

Thank you everybody, I'll just leave the car as it is .