Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[norustplease]

Well, I said farewell to my old Austin the other day. I have hardly driven it for the last couple of years, and when I have, felt increasingly in the way in modern traffic, of which there is plenty in this area.

So with a heavy heart I watched it leave to go to a new home a few miles away, and I have now scratched another itch, which is to own something with a soft top.

I had been looking for ideas for quite a while and had looked closely at various potential candidates at shows over the summer. I had, however, disappointingly come to the conclusion that most of the opportunities for open car ownership were either too expensive, too small, or both.

Then a few weeks ago, a friend gave me a ride in a Minor 1000 tourer. It was a rare sunny day and with the hood down, we buzzed along some country roads, and I thought what a brilliant little car. Just enough creature comforts (ie: heater!) and sufficient internal space to fit my 6 foot 5 inch frame and with sufficient vintage feel and simplicity to satisfy my preference for old cars.

Surprisingly enough there were a few candidates in the locale.

A restored 1957 example was viewed at a dealer, but although it looked and drove well, it had quite a few inconsistencies, and very limited history (including none at all of the restoration) which, although probably not a show stopper in itself, did not warrant the dealer’s high price.

I carried on looking and eventually found this, a tidy and reasonably original 1969 example with a full history right back to its first owner in Sheffield, and a verifiable 64k on the clock It has had new wings at some point, I would guess, but the paintwork has been well done and matched and underneath, apart from a need for some local welding in the rear corner of the boot above the exhaust, it looks solid, and has been waxoiled extensively, albeit its service history does note a couple of chassis repairs many years ago. Interior is tidy with some sag in the drivers seat, but nothing too extreme, and no rips or split seams. Chrome is generally very good and everything seems to work. Engine bay has been nicely detailed.

The Hood is only a year or so old, carpets and mats look almost new, there are receipts for new wheel cylinders for the brakes, and it starts and drives extremely well.

It’s only noticeable mechanical fault at the moment is that the clutch pedal linkage binds slightly sometimes on release and allows some clutch slip under heavy load until you flick it up with your toe. Adjustment of the free play and some linkage lubrication are my first stop, but if it ends up as a new clutch, well that isn’t a problem given the moggy’s simplicity. There are a few other details that it needs. Chrome rearlight bases have been painted over which looks odd and the sun visors are tatty. Seat belts too, could do with an upgrade.




Oh, and it (she) is called Monica! I’ve never owned a car with a name before and SWMBO insists that the name must stay. So welcome home….Monica!
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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV

[Rick]

Nice buy, I hope the weather's good up there to allow a few top-down test runs

RJ
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[Penman]

Hi
Would that have been anywhere near Ramsbottom on Friday?

I saw one there but can't remember what colour the canvas was.
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Bristols should always come in pairs.

Any 2 from:-
Straight 6
V8 V10

[norustplease]

No, not me I am afraid.
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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV

[Peter_L]

Quote (No Rust Please) "Oh, and it (she) is called Monica! I’ve never owned a car with a name before and SWMBO insists that the name must stay. So welcome home….Monica!"

Awe !

[norustplease]

I know, I'm just a big softy!!!

The car has quite a few bits and pieces of appealing history and patina, the most noticeable of which are a series of scratches on the paint on the passenger door top and the dashboard, which were caused by the (excitable) original owner's family dog, who obviously rode in the front passenger seat. The previous owner, who did quite a lot of detailing work around the car engine bay and fitted a new hood, had not the heart to remove these, and I must admit that it does add something to the feel of the car that was missing to the restored example that I also viewed prior to buying this.
A brief history also came with Monica, written by someone from the original owners family. There are three previous owners, of whom two were within the same family and the car seems to have been handed down from mother to son at some time in the late eighties. The previous owner bought it from the same garage in Sheffield that had supplied it new and had been instructed by the second owner to find it a good home.

In terms of work needed it does require a few bits and pieces and I will tackle these over the winter.

The clutch is a little doubtful as I noted before and can be made to slip under extreme provocation.. Part of the problem is that the carpet sometimes stops the pedal coming all the way out of the floor, and there is only a small amount of free play at the pedal (should be around 38mm according to the original BMC manual that came with the car). I am hoping that an adjustment will do the trick for a while.

The rubbers on the engine steady bar need replacement. Quite a bit of vibration comes back into the bulkhead when the engine is on fast idle.

The front seats are in good condition in terms of coverings, with no cuts or splits but the webbing and foam are all shot and there is the sense of sitting in a small hammock in both front seats. An overhaul of the seat bases is needed. I will also move the drivers seat mounting back an inch or so.

The painted over rear light bases will have to go. Yes, I know that this is against the philosophy of the interior dog scratches, but it does spoil the look of the exterior.

Existing sun visors appear beyond redemption.

Folding hood cover is shabby although sound. I shall be experimenting with vinyl paint to freshen this up.

I am tempted to get an older Banjo style steering wheel. Not essential, but nicer looking than the late production all plastic version.

There are a few small cosmetic bits of visible bodywork that need attention, but these are not terribly noticeable and will probably be ignored for the time being. However, there is a small patch of welding needed in the boot, that will be sorted out over the winter.

I will eventually upgrade the brakes, certainly with a servo and fit some better seat belts.

I aim to do most of this over the next few moths and will post pictures for everyone's interest.
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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV

[norustplease]

Okay, first the seats. They looked fine if a little grubby here and there, but the padding and webbing are shot and even with my 6 foot 5 inch frame, I still felt strangely low down in the moggy, with my knees up, so two things needed to happen. I needed to re-stuff the front seats and move them backwards slightly.
I ordered new webbing and foam seat pads for the bases.
First job was to remove the seats themselves, --- no actually first job was to lower the hood, which makes access to the interior ludicrously easy.
The seats unbolt easily from their threaded holes in the floor and the upholstery cover unclips and can be carefully removed and put to one side.
Two things then became apparent.
Firstly the foam cushion has compressed almost to nothing in places and worn through over the sideframes. It is stiuck onto the tubular seat frame with glue and peels off easily.



The webbing hooks into holes in the frame in a criss cross pattern.
[IMG]



The material is quite hardened and fairly slack so unhooking it is not too hard. Comparing the stretched length of a web after forty six years shows that it is a good inch and a half longer than the new stuff. No wonder I am almost sat on the floor.



I cleaned up the frames and painted the visible bits and then left everything to dry overnight.

Next day I stretched the new webbing into place, a bit like using chest expanders and ideally a two man job. Then back on with some spray adhesive and the foam top, and then carefully roll the vinyl cover back into place. Clips back on and there is a smart and much more resilient seat.
Next the remount. Unfortunately the seat is already in its rearmost postion, so I elected to bolt the front holes in the pivot bracket into the rearmost threaded hole and then drill new holes and bolt back into the floor with some reinforcing plates.

A quick scrub with some upholstery cleaner and then the seats look (and feel) as as good as new.


_________________
1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV

[norustplease]

Quite a bit of small scale tinkering with the Minor.
The choke linkage was sticky and after several attempts and much fiddling, I got it to release fully when the control was fully home, which improved hot idling.
I also swapped the air cleaner housing. the original has had the intake pipe chopped off, which I understand from the MMOC Forum is a quick way to get an extra half horsepower or so, because it improves engine breathing.
However, it also gives rise to an uncharacteristic induction roar on acceleration, and replacing the base plate with a refurbished one with pipe intact doesn't seem to have compromised performance at all.
I still have an oil leak, which may be the old Minor issue of oil escaping from the rear scroll on the crank. there is a lot on the MMOC Forum about negative pressure in the engine and breathers, but so far I haven't investigated further and simply shove the drip dray underneath as soon as I arrive on the drive!
Was tempted to get the roof down on a sunny day recently, but the temperatures put me off and I wimped out!
_________________
1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV

[norustplease]

I have been driving around with the roof down in the recent good weather (in Lancashire), but sad to say, the clutch which I identified as suspect when I originally bought her, is definitely past its best and slips if you try and accelerate hard up a hill in high gear. This may partially relate back to the previous lack of adjustment and indeed, the pedal does still sometimes stick down at the bottom of its free travel, in spite of lubrication of linkages, etc. so that will require further investigation.
I will try the local MM specialist (Leadbetters) and see if they have a clutch kit in stock. I have only ever bought a thermostat from them, but they have a large display of body panels, etc. so they may save me the hassle of mail order. Will then have to retrieve my engine crane from storage!

Just painted the garage door so everything is out of bounds for an hour or so!
_________________
1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV