{"id":1635,"date":"2019-07-03T08:06:46","date_gmt":"2019-07-03T08:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.co.uk\/magazine\/?p=1635"},"modified":"2024-09-12T10:24:18","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T09:24:18","slug":"morris-minor-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/morris-minor-project\/","title":{"rendered":"1956 Morris Minor – Project Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s no shame in looking for a classic car that\u2019s simple, that has enviable parts availability and that has a big following. In fact, these can often be the best classics, as they are open to those of us who perhaps aren\u2019t as confident on the spanners as we\u2019d like, or perhaps we don\u2019t have an encyclopedic of all things automotive. Maybe you just have a passing interest in classics, you want the life and the outings, but without the mechanical stresses. Well, if that sounds like you, there are plenty of options. There\u2019s the Mini, the MGB GT, pretty much any Triumph and of course, this, the Morris Minor.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Morris,<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s about as complicated as a block of cheese, but is also just as popular. There are businesses pleny that specialise in these cars, there is a massive following for them in the classic work, parts are never more than a phone call or a mouse-click away, and they\u2019re just great little cars in their own right. If you\u2019re just about to jump into the classic car world, the Morris Minor is the car for you. But if you\u2019re going to do it, why not get a convertible, too?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is it?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The Morris Minor<\/a> was the car by which a young and highly ambitious engineer would cement his name into the motoring history books. He has shown exceptional promise in his work specialising in suspension, and because of that and his forward-thinking ideas on car design, he was given the effective lead on the Morris Minor project, alongside two other draftsmen. This young engineer\u2019s name was Alec Issigonis. Yeah, the same chap who would go on to give the world the Mini.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Morris,<\/p>\n

The Minor was to be a compact, comfortable, practical family car available in a number of guises. There would be a two-door saloon, a four-door saloon, a wooden-framed \u2018estate\u2019, a pickup, a van and of course, a convertible. Though for the first two generations of the Minor, the convertible was referred to as a Touring.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The car we\u2019re looking at here is a very early series three car, though it seems the original 948cc A Series engine has been changed at some point in favour of the later 1,098cc unit, but that\u2019s no issue, as parts availability is still good. So what you\u2019re looking at then is a Minor 1000 with 98 extra cc. The series three car can be identified by the horizontal slat grille, the bigger indicators and the use of a one-piece windscreen, rather than the split one of earlier cars.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is it a project?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

If this Minor<\/a> came in a box, the box would read \u201csome assembly required\u201d. It looks very much like a project that has lost steam, but as is so often the case in these situations, someone else\u2019s lack of motivation can be your gain. It doesn\u2019t look like there is any deep, technical work to do. The car is described as being solid, and it also sounds like most of the parts are there. Though the vendor does state that some bits of trim and chrome are missing, but we wouldn\u2019t worry too much about that.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Morris,<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s been done already?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

All the hard and expensive work by the sounds of things. First of all, the car seems to be solid and apparently needs no welding. Then there\u2019s the fact the Minor has been painted already, which is good, and it\u2019s been done in a fetching shade of red. From the pictures it looks like a good job, but one that could do with a fair bit of detailing. The seller mentions that there\u2019s a new Mohair hood to go with the car, the carpets are all new and the interior is all there, though curiously the rear seats are described as being \u201ca bit chewed\u201d. We have no idea if the seller is being literal there!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Morris,<\/a><\/p>\n

It looks like you\u2019re going to need to find a couple of bits of trim, a lot of screws and clips, and then you\u2019ll have to put it all back together. But given that a Morris Minor is about as complex as the inner workings of a tin of soup, it should be a simple project.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Five things you should look for:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

1)<\/b> Trim<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The vendor happily states that all the interior is there, but that doesn\u2019t mean you should be complacent and just assume all is well. Check the condition of the seat frames, the steering wheel and the door cards. All these things are available, but can add up if you need them all.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2) <\/b>Engine<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no mention of whether or not that 1,098cc engine runs. As a bare minimum you want to find out if it turns, either by cranking it or by putting a spanner on it and doing manually. Also, we\u2019d want to enquire as to why it has a different, later engine. It\u2019s probably an innocent reason, but never hurts to know.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Morris,<\/a><\/p>\n

3)<\/b> Repairs<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

This little Minor has obviously had a lot of money spent on it, but that\u2019s not a guarantee of good quality work. Check the floors and check them with a magnet, and do the same with the floors and the chassis rails. A fresh coat of paint can hide a multitude of sins.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

4)<\/b>\u00a0<\/span>Paint<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s been painted, and on paper that\u2019s a good thing, but how well has it been done? You want to check the quality of the paint, is there any orange-peel, is there a crude amount of over-spray? Does it look like a rushed job? If it does, why? A cheap paint job won\u2019t last long at all.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

5)<\/b>\u00a0<\/span>Roof<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The reason you\u2019re buying this car is because you want to get the lid off when the sun shows its face, so check the condition of the roof, and by that, we mean the mechanism. Yes, this Minor comes with a new Mohair covering, but it needs a good frame in order to be any use.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What should you do with it?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

If it were us, we\u2019d start by first putting it back together, then get it through an MOT for peace of mind. After that, we\u2019d look at getting a bit more power out of it. The engine isn\u2019t original, so the seal is already broken, so to speak. So how about dropping a K Series or Zetec in there, match it up to a five-speed \u2018box, up the suspension and brakes, make it a proper modern driver. You can get off the shelf conversion kits for all that kind of stuff, so there\u2019s nothing stopping you. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s no shame in looking for a classic car that\u2019s simple, that has enviable parts availability and that has a big following. In fact, these can often be the best…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":1636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[322],"tags":[317,12,13,475,578,248,474,577,325,108],"yoast_head":"\n1956 Morris Minor - Project Profile - Car & Classic Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Summer\u2019s here, apparently, so why not spend it putting a convertible Morris Minor back together, just in time for winter, probably\u2026\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/morris-minor-project\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"1956 Morris Minor - Project Profile - Car & Classic Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Summer\u2019s here, apparently, so why not spend it putting a convertible Morris Minor back together, just in time for winter, probably\u2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/morris-minor-project\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Car & Classic Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-07-03T08:06:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-12T09:24:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2019\/07\/11662598.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Car & Classic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Car & Classic\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/morris-minor-project\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/morris-minor-project\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Car & Classic\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/9faf82502e956d89ea59bb842c637f39\"},\"headline\":\"1956 Morris Minor – Project Profile\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-07-03T08:06:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-12T09:24:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/morris-minor-project\/\"},\"wordCount\":1136,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Alec Issigonis\",\"carandclassic\",\"carandclassic.co.uk\",\"Minor\",\"Minor 1000\",\"Morris\",\"Morris Minor\",\"Morris Minor Convertible\",\"project car\",\"restoration project\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Project Profile\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/morris-minor-project\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/morris-minor-project\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/morris-minor-project\/\",\"name\":\"1956 Morris Minor - 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