My next door neighbor has a Morris Minor "woodie" he is saving for his
daughter's sixteenth birthday. You get some interesting things when you
have a body shop.
A friend here in Salt Lake bought a "new '63" Mini last fall ... complete
with air bags, fuel injection and 13" wheels and correct registration as a
'63 model. It has the correct plate on the frame but that's the only
original thing on the car. The actual VIN plate is on the frame too but
covered with several coats of paint. The car is fun to ride in, corners
like you remember them cornering and he drives it to and from his home in
Park City when the weather is good. He avoids large trucks, is careful to
let people know where he is in their rear view mirrors and generally has a
ball with the car. He bought it from an importer in the Petaluma/Santa
Rosa, CA area. They have a web site and for a while his green and cream car
was featured on the site. He also has a Range Rover and a Caterham 7 which
is reserved for special days on the canyon curves on I-80. The local St
Marks Cathedral (Episcopal) has an annual British Car Show and his unique
problem is finding a way to get all of his cars to the show. The new cars
are longer, wider and should ride better ... those Germans mess everything
up.
Wes
on 4/27/01 10:14 AM, Doug Anderson at boogiewoogie12@hotmail.com wrote:
> Say Doug, I too love those lil' mini's! I learned to drive a "4 speed on
> the dash" in one wayyyyy way back in I guess 1960 0r so....
>
> I dearly would love to have one of my own.
>
> A couple years ago I watched one tear everyone up at the vintage teabag
> races at Lime Rock Conn. The guy kept tradin' the lead with a guy inna
> spiffy "race preped to the gills" porch roadster(mebbe was a 356?) until he
> spun in "the esses" and onto the grass -he got back with the program, and
> after about 6 or 8 more laps had waded thru most of the field of about 30
> cars again to finish somewhere in the middle. You shoulda heard the crowd
> groan when he spun..... and cheer with a standing ovation when the race was
> over. The closest thing I've ever seen to David and Goliath. It really was
> "a thing of beauty"
>
> There was another guy there with the dam fastest Morris Minor you ever saw.
> This was a "full size" Minor -not a mini. This thing ran like stink as
> well. Both cars were British Racin' Green. Bob Swanson prolly know who
> those guys are as he's close to Lime Rock and goes alla time.... How 'bout
> "the rest of the story" there Bob ?
>
> Has anyone seen the "New" Mini thats coming out next year built under the
> auspices of BMW ? I saw it in Automobile magazine a month or so ago.... and
> it kinda made me start dreamin about one again. But a guy'd hafta drive one
> to see if they were as much fun as the originals -which I seriously doubt
> 'cuz you know the Germans; they just gotta perfect everythin beyond all
> limits of sense. Thusly removin' all the fun and soul of the original -not
> tomention those SU carbies huh boys ?
>
>
>
> Cheers, "Da Doug down south" -south NuYawk thet is :=0
>
>
>
> ------------------ an' dat's da' truth ----------------
>
>
>
>
> From: ARDUNDOUG@aol.com
> Reply-To: ARDUNDOUG@aol.com
> To: land-speed@autox.team.net
> Subject: Re: Armstrong shocks
> Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2001 11:54:47 EDT
>
> In a message dated 4/27/2001 8:44:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
> paul.blandavon@btinternet.com writes:
>
>
>
> Doug, it depends on your definition of "american"threads the Morris
> (minor) and Austin(mini) both used imperial threads but for the most part
> there's virtually no differance, as you said they both produced pick-ups
> both a Minor pick up and a Mini pick up, it's no wonder the british car
> industry went down the pan, we got the austin mini pick up and you got all
> those great ford,chevy and dodge pick ups. You're also right about the SU
> carbs they have three settings, bad, very bad and really very bad!, one of
> the first tuning steps on the Rover V8 engine is junk the twin SU's and fit
> a Holley, it has to be said though that they were popular carbs in the 70's
> for drag racing(until someone imported Holleys) including almost standard
> fitment on blown fuel drag bikes!
>> regards, Paul.
>
>
>
>
> Paul,
> My experiences with the SU's wern't as bad as had been rumored, but
> they do take occasional tinkering to keep 2 out of the 3 RPM modes
> reasonably happy. It's odd how their adjustment can deteriorate without
> anyone touching them.
>
> The Morris and Mini vehicles are great cars and a lot of fun to
> drive, much like a Go-Kart with their size and rack & pinion steering. My
> Van came from the factory equipped with a 948cc single carb 35hp engine and
> 4.56 differential gears. By the time I got it someone had installed a 1275cc
> 60+hp Midget-Sprite powerplant, ribcage tranny, and 4.20 gear in the rear
> end. I changed the gear to 3.9, replaced the single 948carb with the correct
> 2-carb setup, converted the front brakes to disc, and overhauled just
> everything in sight, making the little thing as much fun as my street rods
> to drive...
>
> ..........................Ardun Doug King
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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