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My wife has finally gotten fed up of her modern car, and she is wanting something with character for her daily drive from Sheffield to Chesterfield along with our son and dog. She's got her eye on a Morris Minor, but has reservations about it's use daily.
I've gotten it into my head that a bog standard car won't be sufficent for daily duties and will need a few upgrades.
Stuff like front disc conversion with a servo, 3 point seat belts, maybe something like a 1400 Zetec conversion?
Any other ideas to throw in the pot? Other suggestions for cars maybe? Looking at a max of around £5k, excluding the cost of any upgrades. Just a solid car as a base.
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Currently driving a 1972 BMW 1602 as my daily. Don't ask about previous cars - there have been way too many and I stopped counting at 160!
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A bog standard 1098 Minor (late '62 onwards) would cope with that journey no problem. OK, it won 't be the fastest car in the world, but they'll cruise on a motorway at 60-65 quite happily.
As for the price, you could get a pretty good saloon for about 3-3.5k (less if you're lucky), leaving you some money for upgrades if you want them.
As a daily driver I'd look at electronic ignition (less than £100), uprating the brakes (several options here), inertia reel seatbelts (if not currently fitted) and anti-tramp bars and or a telescopic damper conversion (several options there as well).
The main thing to worry about with Minors is rust. PM me and I'll give you a list of where to look.
Performance upgrades could fill a book, it all depends on how fast you want to go, how much you want to spend and how capable you are as a mechanic. They're simple to work on, an virtually everything is available.
I'd recommend one, but then I would!
PM me if you need any more info.
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1953 Minor (Long term project)
PT Cruiser
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Father in law ran a moggie as a daily,bit less miles on average,though he sometimes drove it up from Southampton to Bath on the motorways.
His had a Marina disc conversion on but there are various kits to put Ford discs or Clio discs on i think.
Engine wise he had a 1275 in with hardened halfshafts.It wasn't quick but it would more or less keep up with modern traffic.
How about a quirky J import,something like a Nissan Pao,Be-1 or Mitsuoka Viewt,definitely different !
Pao would be my choice,retro looks and yet modernish and reliable.
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qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,410
Club RR Member Number: 52
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Moggie Daily?qwerty
@qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member 52
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I used to often follow a young lad to work who drove a minor. Looked stock and it never really held me up.
Tom
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Why a car of that age, may I ask? Is it something of the 60s she is after, or just any retro car?
Honestly, my two cents contribution would be a Morris Marina GT. Not as unreliable as people think, and are pretty comfy with decent trim. Easy to work on too.
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I have a Jaguar XJS - RARRGHH! She is called Lily, and she is my best friend! goo.gl/bT3ASP <-- video of her  |
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You'd get a very reasonable Moggy Thou for for your £5K, add another £1K for a sound convertible or Traveler. They are absolutely suitable for daily use. All the sensible stuff covered above; I'd go with servo disk brake conversion & electronic ignition. The original brakes aren't too bad but it would be better to have modern-ish brakes for modern traffic conditions. For the age of the car, the engine is surprisingly sprightly, especially with a bit of tuning. My Dad used one as his daily driver for a decade, every time I was on the motorway with him he was ton up. MPG's not wonderful but not awful, (average running about 35-40mpg), it'd certainly take you very many years for a modern engine upgrade to pay for itself in terms of increased fuel economy. If it's parked outside & used in all weathers & on gritted winter roads it's going to start to develop corrosion in all the usual places, (although they weren't known as particularly rust-prone cars), so you should give some thought to buying one which has been Waxoyled / Ziebarted or do it yourself at the earliest opportunity. If your wife likes them, my guess is that the Traveler might be better suited as a canine conveyance. £6K Woody  If you keep tabs online you might find one which has all the modern upgrade work done already & save yourself that expense. £7K Woody(Some upgrades) |
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Just to add, the route from Sheff to Chez is mainly very fast dual carriageway & 30/40 limits either side.
Ideally the car will need to be able to sit comfortably at 70.
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mikec
Part of things
Posts: 118 
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MGB GT?
Edit: ... or go the pretty way via Ringinglow, Dore and Dronfield, and then you won't need to do 70mph!
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Last Edit: Jun 9, 2016 20:06:52 GMT by mikec
1914 Saxon A; 1931 Austin 7; 1938 Talbot Ten; 1953 Lancia Appia; 1967 Singer Chamois
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I used to do that route daily in my series II landrover and that cruised at about 45/50 ish, if people want to go faster they'll have to pass.
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or go the pretty way via Ringinglow, Dore and Dronfield, and then you won't need to do 70mph! That is actually a good idea, nice route - 22 miles though. |
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slater
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,390
Club RR Member Number: 78
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Moggie Daily?slater
@slater
Club Retro Rides Member 78
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The only two mods I'd do are front discs ( no servo needed) and probably an alternator. Mines still on a dynamo and although it works fine if it gets left a while over the winter the battery gets flat.
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It doesn't have to be something that old, no. Some of the other options she was considering was the Mitsuoka Viewt.
Some good choices have been suggested, but a Ford 4x4, or Morris Marina are hardly cars a girl would choose. I'd consider them though.
She's got her heart set on a Minor though. Where we live in Sheffield, it's quite easy to get to Chesterfield without going down the bypass. I regularly go Ringinglow, Owler Bar, Chesterfield.
Electronic ignitions a good shout, I'd forgotten about that.
BGT was a thought I had, but I doubt you'd fit a kid seat in the back?
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Jun 10, 2016 11:28:37 GMT
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Our local lollipop lady has a Moggie traveller as her daily and dog carrier.
She parks in the layby at the end of our lane to take her Alsatian for a walk most mornings - always nice to see a classic being used daily.
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Jun 10, 2016 13:36:38 GMT
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My only car that has been on the road since December is a 67 2 door moggie. I bought it as my daily while my other projects are going nowhere fast. I do 3-500 miles a week and have had only some "minor" issues. I paid 1300 with a 12 month MOT. Very simple car. Ive been up to newcastle (from London) a few times in it with no trouble. Fuel, insurance, parts couldnt be cheaper. Go for it if you don't mind being stuck in the slow lane and hearing "my dad had one of those" everytime you stop anywhere.
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dan
Part of things
Posts: 589
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Jun 10, 2016 14:19:14 GMT
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I drove my moggy daily for 7 years and for a number of those it had no interior other than the driver's seat - no carpet, mats, back seat or door cards for weight reduction  A 1098 will keep up with modern traffic reasonably and will sit happily at just below 70 on the motorway. I used to do 185 mile runs between Maidstone and Birmingham every three months and learn to love contraflows and roadworks as it was the only time I'd get to go in the outside lane My dad used to say I drove everywhere at 65mph and it didn't make any difference whether it was a country lane or motorway. As others have said they're simple cars that are easy to work on. Parts are readily available though the quality of some can be a bit suspect. I found that lowering them slightly significantly improves the handling and there are much better engineered mods around than when I started with mine. |
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mikec
Part of things
Posts: 118
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Jun 10, 2016 15:08:33 GMT
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Without knocking the Moggie choice - I think it would be perfectly up to the task - but if the MG MGB is a bit too small, how about a Triumph Dolomite: go for the 1500, preferably with overdrive, and you have simple mechanics with a more modern twist ...
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1914 Saxon A; 1931 Austin 7; 1938 Talbot Ten; 1953 Lancia Appia; 1967 Singer Chamois
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Jun 10, 2016 15:09:28 GMT
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Well a daily is what their job was originally so I'd say one would be fine
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Jun 10, 2016 15:12:42 GMT
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I know they would be fine if the rest of the traffic on the road was the same as it was in 1959  |
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Jun 10, 2016 17:00:35 GMT
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I used to do that route daily in my series II landrover and that cruised at about 45/50 ish, if people want to go faster they'll have to pass. You're not the only one who's daily driven a Series Land Rover, the Mrs loves hers. |
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