Morris Minor Owners Club

Thanks Mark Wilson. You are right, the new mechanics just don't seem to know about classic cars. For these vehicles what one needs is someone with past experience. I had recently gone to an electrician(familiar with alternator fitted modern cars), who was baffled as to why the car was going off when...

Thanks kennatt, oliver90owner, les @kennatt, I've marked out the half circle shaped slot/crevice with red. Remember this is beyond the third upper main bearing(seen in pic). It is closest to the flywheel. I guess the comforting aspect of this ordeal is that the engine isn't a write-off :) Thanks. Ma...

Thanks for the replies. I've made progress since my last post. :) The car was towed to the old mechanic last week. He cleaned the sooty spark plugs over the kitchen gas hob. Once done the car started instantly and was idling perfectly(no weird sounds & black smoke). We didn't accelerate it since...

Thanks kennatt, myoldjalopy, oliver90owner Well, the news from you is ominous :( I've contacted the old mechanic to come & take a look at it. Towing it to his workshop seems to be the only option I have. I will lay your last 3 posts before him to assess the situation. A denter(bodywork expert wi...

Thanks @kennatt, myoldjalopy Hope this YouTube video helps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uuydo-2_9o (It was taken yesterday after running the engine for about 15 minutes, hence warm. Today the mechanic tried to rotate the distributor anti-clockwise & the sound did seem to improve.) Please don...

Hi Thanks myoldjalopy, kennatt. The following are the actions that were carried out by me prior to reading the last 2 replies by both of you. I cleaned the 4 plugs. Plug no. 4 had virtually no soot. Took out the air filter, float chamber lid(with float), carb top along with the needle @kennat The me...

Hi Thanks myoldjalopy, kennatt. @myoldjalopy If you have cured the overflowing float chamber and adjusted the mixture Yes the mysterious overflow has now stopped after the float adjustment. But the thought that crossed in my mind after watching 6 seconds of that YouTube video(previous post) is that ...

Just to add... When the car wasn't starting about 6 months back at the workshop, the problem was identified as randomness in spark. The problem was identified by an electrician as there being a short circuit in the distributor i.e. the wire from the ignition coil through the points & then ground...

Thanks @kennatt for the detailed response, @firehor5e, @mogbob @kennatt After cleaning the spark plugs (1 of which was wet), I set the 'Jet adjuster nut' as instructed. There is now practically no visible smoke at idle speed. The black smoke is gone :) The car has been idling at quite a high speed. ...

Hi, I had given my 1970, 1098cc 4 door saloon for non engine related work. Unfortunately for various reasons, the car remained with the mechanic for 2 years without starting. The engine was then running smoothly. Although it didn't have any float related issues, when it was started after this long g...

Thanks philthehill & kennatt for the replies. The mechanic was ill & nothing much could be done for the past few days. @philthehill Was the engine oil changed after the two years of non running? Yes, the oil was drained, kept dry without oil for about 8 months. Subsequently, the oil filter w...

Hi, I had given my 1970, 1098cc 4 door saloon for non engine related work. Unfortunately for various reasons, the car remained with the mechanic for 2 years without starting. After being started recently it was taken up a steep hill for testing on first gear at high rev(35 kmph) to a distance of 300...

Thanks Colin for the comprehensive reply. In hindsight, I should have waxed the chrome parts prior to the 4 month long humid, rust causing, monsoon season. I didn't have an inkling that the chrome would be of such poor quality. It's no use crying over spilled milk :cry: The chrome shop claims that t...

Thanks Colin for the top tip on using the blue antifreeze. Since the monsoons have just concluded, I'll do the next best thing and take some well water to the mechanic's garage. It has been consumed directly(neither boiling nor filtering) for generations. It's good for humans and has been used with ...

Thanks amgrave.

The problem is that there is only one person who does chroming in Goa. I might have to take it to some neighbouring State.

Any idea about the effectiveness of that polish I mentioned?

As POMMReg said, the VIN number reveals the series, engine type etc. On the 1098cc model it is located between the fuse box and the voltage regulator. Classic Cars Pvt Ltd, Pinnaduwa Watta, near Galle Fort, Sri Lanka not only manufactures spares but organizes Morris owners' rallies once in a while. ...

Thanks all for the quick responses. :D I thought I'd provide a bit more information about the radiator. Its top & lower tanks are about 20 years old. However, the cooling tubes/fins are new (1 year old) and were put there by a custom radiator manufacturer. The rust coloured water I guess might b...

Hi, The 4 month long monsoon season in Goa consists of heavy rains with high relative humidity(90%+ RH). The Arabian sea winds probably add to the salinity of the air. I had recently given bumpers, hub caps etc. for chroming, but now rust spots have appeared. There is a new technique just introduced...

Hi, My 1098cc saloon car has sadly been at mechanic's place & he had filled plain chlorinated tap water to fill the radiator. It had been lying idle for about a year since the car wasn't starting. After locating the electrical fault the car was just started and noticed oil leakage through the ti...

Hi, The wiper cable is still binding. It's only this section(pics attached) of the guide rack that's the problem. There is better movement with greasing, but with some resistance i.e. by holding it in the hand. The wiper motor refuses to turn(i.e. it slips) with this section fitted. Using a mallet t...