Morris Minor Forum

Hello everybody! My name is Jacob, and I'd like to know a little bit about Minors.

I'm 15, so don't have much experience with cars, though I do know how to drive stick.

I love Minis and Minors, as well as Volkswagens. I also like some Japanese sports cars like the Honda Integra.

There's a late '50s to early '60s Minor sitting in a shed, she needs a bit of love! Doesn't appear too rusty from outward appearance. I haven't actually looked at the car close up, so I'm not even sure if it has an engine. I think if I inspect the car, perhaps I can get it for a couple grand.

I'd like to know the following things:
Can one fit a twin cam head to a Minor without swapping the engine?
How does one lower a Minor a few inches?
Where can one find aftermarket wheels that fit a minor, or what the bolt pattern is?
Where can one find fiberglass panels?
How easy is it to fit Weber carburetors to a Minor?

That's all I'd like to know for now. Wish me luck in my ventures.

The engine in the car is probably a 948cc A series. There is a twin cam 16v head available for the larger 1275 cc, I have a 1275 in mine out of an MG Midget. Very expensive! Webers are not really necessary as well tuned twin SU's are all you need.Suspension is torsion bar on the front, easy to lower a little, rear is leaf springs, not to hard either. The mini lite type wheel is what I have on mine, bolt pattern is pretty much English cars at 4". Drive train not strong enough to put up with too much power as things like half shafts start breaking.

If you are going to put a 1275cc head on any of the smaller blocks I believe all will require pocketing the valves to avoid block interference.

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Bob Marcum

1959 Bugeye
1960 Morris Minor Tourer
Ex vintage Mini racer

Where are the spark plugs in the car you discovered please Jacob?

Are they in the middle of the top of the engine standing straight up?
Or are they at the side of the top of the engine leaning over at about 45 deg?

Welcome aboard. You appear to envision a very specific set of modification that you desire. Basically you are trying to impose modern characteristics on a fifty plus year old vehicle. The most important thing you will need in order to do that is the capability to do extensive rework. Very little of the changes you mention are a weekend bolt on operation. With that in mind there isn't anything one can't do and a lot of already has. This forum does have a Modified Minor section, so reading through those chains may give you some ideas. The MMOC Messageboard has a bit more active modified section. It would also be a good idea to check in with the local club in New Zealand and maybe Australia. I understand anything other than simply changes require certification from an engineer in Australia and perhaps New Zealand is that way as well.

Many of your questions have been answered by others but a summary may help.
1. The only Twin cam head I've heard of is a BMW I believe and requires some extensive modifications of course.
2. Lowering is done by trimming the torsion bars in the front and blocks in the rear, but a "few" inches would be tough since there is little wheel travel now, so suspension and structural changes would be required.
3. Very few aftermarket wheels are available for the standard 4 studs on 4 inch PCD and with the offset required for FWD that most cars have now, the choice is slimmer yet. See 2.
4. There are a few Minor specialist that carry fiberglass panels to replace originals and some that are modified. There may be some available from specialist that are further modified. Check the various forums.
5. Over the years many people have put Webers on the A Series BMC engine and a lot have taken them of. Getting it jetted and sized right is the key. May not be an issue depending on what you do with 1..

A lot can be done with the A Series BMC engine of various displacements and may be the more logical approach unless you have deep pockets and a great garage.

I haven't had a chance to examine the car yet, so I'll go and check out the car soon enough. Btw, I'd like to make a healthy 100bhp, so what parts of the drivetrain need to be strengthened?

The car's not for sale sadly, she's pretty neglected and her owner is overseas. I feel bad for her, she's in pretty rough shape, lots of dents, terrible paint, but at least she isn't too rusty, just plenty of surface rust, nothing structural.

The plugs are about 45 degrees. I didn't even bother to check the VIN or anything.

Also, it had a surprising amount of legroom. I'm 6'2" and growing, and mostly legs, and had plenty of room under the wheel. I can't say the same thing about being in a VW, and then in a '67 bug, I was only in the passenger seat!

I'd rather go with one, more expensive and more complicated carburetor than two smaller, cheaper, simpler carburetors because I don't want to have to sync them all the time.