Thought I had better introduce myself since joining this forum yesterday. I am a 66 year old semi retired Kiwi who lives in Hamilton NZ and owns a recently acquired 1956 Morrie with the power packed 803cc engine. It is in 'tidy' condition, with current vehicle registration and warrant of fitness. I intend to progressively do jobs on the car as funds permit, possibly best described as preventative maintenance. The next work proposed is to replace the timing chain which currently makes the car sound a tad like a chaff cutter! Then I need to deal with an oil leak which appears to be at the rear end of the sump, maybe the gasket worn out? On the list also is to completely refurbish the road wheels at a cost of about $NZ600, attack a bit of rust which is bubbling beneath the paint and possibly change the universal joints on the driveshaft. That should keep me busy for a while but at least I can still drive the car in the meantime. It certainly attracts a lot of attention and makes people smile. The only thing that bugs me a little at this stage is the grossly under geared setup on this particular model. I am constantly reaching for the gear lever looking for another cog!! If anybody has suggestions for rectifying this without changing both the engine and diff, I would be pleased to hear about it. I don't mind the odd change from standard but would like to retain the model characteristics as much as possible.

---

Rob Hammington
Tamahere
Hamilton RD3
New Zealand

Hay another Hamilton NZ morrie.
Im Nina I own a 1962 Morris Minor, I have only just bought my new toy.
I have a few questions and as I am young and this is my first classic. The first prob Ive ran into is my rear door handle is not locking :/ other then that it's been smooth driving.
Im a graphic designer/illustrator. So I will have fun restoring the interior.
photos soon.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2012 02:01AM by nfcmorrie.

Hi Nina and welcome to the Forum. I have not had to deal with any door handle problems yet but would be happy to try and help you if you wish. It could be a learning experience for both of us. The good thing is that these cars are really very simple to work on compared to modern cars. If you wish to pursue this, give me a call on 859 0075. I live out at Tamahere.

---

Rob Hammington
Tamahere
Hamilton RD3
New Zealand

thanks for the offer. I just fixed it myself Was a very very easy fix. are ou part of a Morris club here in Hamilton?

No Nina, sadly there is no Morris club in Hamilton so I am having to muddle along by myself. Any bits I need have been sourced very easily from the UK, far cheaper than anything that can be bought here in NZ.

---

Rob Hammington
Tamahere
Hamilton RD3
New Zealand

Welcome Rob, I'm a newbie here myself from Australia. I also have a Series II Morris a year older than yours at 1955. I've never been able to drive mine as it's been under total restoration for coming up to 5 years, with probably another 12 months to go. Would love to see some pics of yours posted when you can, because even though I've taken literally hundreds of photos on the way, it's amazing how sometimes you need to see some of the smaller details. Also, where in the UK have you been buying parts from as I've only really dealt with one place, Bull Motif spares. The guys there are brilliant but unfortunately they only post via air mail which is expensive. Look forward to seeing your masterpiece.
Geoff

Thanks for that Geoff. My car is a late 1956, one of the very last of the Series II. I can't take any credit for it really as it was a complete roadworthy car when I bought it in September last year for less than $4K. It would probably take a lot more money than that to restore one that needed a lot of work. There are plenty of these cars for sale on 'TradeMe' here in NZ for not a lot of money. I had previously owned a partly assembled 1926 Ford Model T sitting in my garage for several years but I did not have the time, expertise or substantial funds needed to get it back on the road. So, I sold it and determined to buy a fully legal running classic or vintage that could be used immediately. As Morris Minors are about as cheap as you can get for an old car out here in Kiwiland, that was my obvious choice. Obviously a number of former owners have spent time and money to get Morrie to his present state. My work on him is really just minor preventative maintenance or 'tidy up' efforts and the parts are generally quite small and not too expensive (cables, gaskets, oil filter, timing chain kit, points, hoses, fan belt etc etc). The weight of them is the critical factor when getting them from England as all the suppliers there seem to use only air mail. My parcels have all been probably less than 2kg each. I initially used Charles Wares Morris Minor Centre which was great but they don't have a secure website for credit card payments and that gets a bit messy. My solution was to phone them re payment, pleasant but just another cost. After them, I have twice recently used ESM Morris Minor Spares, go here http://morrisminorspares.co.uk/shop/index.php and have had great success. In each case, the goodies have been here a week after being ordered, all well packaged too. Their parts list/costings and ordering/paying system is first class and so easy to use. Give them a try.

If you click on my user name 'hammynz' at the top of this post, it will take you to where there are a couple of pics of Morrie (that's all you are allowed as a free member of this forum). One is of the car, the other of the engine bay. There should also be a couple of extra pics attached to this post if I've done it correctly (again, the max allowed). If you want any shots taken of other views or specific parts of the car (without dismantling too much!!), let me know and I'd be happy to take some digital pics and email them to you. He is no masterpiece, believe me but certainly warranted, registered and tidy looking. Being badly under geared is a bit of a pain. I guess that one day if I can ever afford it I may replace the complete drive train with engine, box & diff from a Minor 1000 but that is a long way off as I live on the pension!

Good luck with your ongoing restoration. I look forward to seeing some pics of that. Maybe you could send some to me at rob.hammington@gmail.com

Cheers, Rob

---

Rob Hammington
Tamahere
Hamilton RD3
New Zealand

Hi Rob, Picked up 1970 morrie flat top ute last oct. Use it every day as my work vehicle. At 65 it suits me. When I was 16 I owned a1956 Morrie convertable so I went backwards. Everyone who see it is wrapped, and as you said easy to work on. If you close your ears to stop the rattles it's like a new one. I joined the Auckland Club which sends out a mags monthly and has lots of meetings, some down your way Te Aroha. Named mine Jo-Anne after my daughter born 1970. Regards Ralph.
Laingholm, Auckland.

That's fantastic Ralph, nice looking truck!! My beast had some 'rattles' too. They turned out to be worn water pump bearings and bearings stuffed in the generator, both now repaired at very moderate cost. There is still one lingering noise at the front and I have narrowed that down to the timing chain. Have just received a full repair kit from the UK (very cheap) for that and hope to fit it soon. Then, all should be fairly quiet. Do you know what your noises are, or could they be what I have described?

---

Rob Hammington
Tamahere
Hamilton RD3
New Zealand

Finally got photos of mine

That's quite a vibrant blue Nina!!! Looks good.

---

Rob Hammington
Tamahere
Hamilton RD3
New Zealand

Hi Guy's,
Nina your baby looks fantasic, love the colour.
Rob, I do have gearbox grind which I recall from my younger years, but most of my rattles are body noise. I bought Jo-Anne from Thames last oct, and drove her home to laingholm with no brakes. I would never have done that with a modern car. Had to replace all from master to wheel and shoe linings. All work o/k now, and will get to the body soon. Who do you buy from in UK, there is a place in Manukau, Minor City, but he is quite expensive. $80.80 front wheel bearing.
Well Jo-Anne awaits to cart me to work.
Regards Ralph.

Ralph, there are of course a good number of Morris Minor parts suppliers in the U.K. I have used two, both excellent but the best by far is ESM Morris Minor Spares at http://morrisminorspares.co.uk/shop/index.php They have a superb parts system, very easy to use and to order from. The website is secure and payment is by credit card. When you set up an order and proceed through their check out system, it instantly calculates the postage cost so you can decide whether to proceed knowing the total cost. My two orders to date have arrived in Hamilton within a week of my placing the order. Set yourself up an account, only a few minutes work, then have a good look around. You will find your front wheel bearing (including seal) under 'Front Suspension' at a cost of GBP14.75 which equates to about $27-$28, one third of the NZ price. Postage would be quite low on just one small item like that so you could get a couple out from England for less than the price of one here in NZ!!!!! I'm not sure about my gearbox making noise. It may be but not excessive. Another possibility is worn universal joints on the driveshaft. In anticipation of this, I have already bought from ESM a couple of kits for the joints and will fit them when I have time. Cheers, Rob 07 859 0075, or 022 00 77 627

---

Rob Hammington
Tamahere
Hamilton RD3
New Zealand