1970 Morris Minor 1000 Saloon


 

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Owner:  Chris Knowles

Type:  2 Door Saloon

Year:  1970

Colour:  Trafalgar Blue


This car is very much a project, it is a 1970 two door saloon which I have never seen it with the engine fitted, let alone heard it running.

I bought the car in July 2005, but did not start any renovation work until January 2006. I was looking for a car with a lot less work on it and was ready to walk away when the previous owner appealed to my gulible side and accepted an offer of £100 if I promised to put it back on the road. I knew that the car that needed “new sills for its MOT” was also going to need floors, inner wings, box sections, suspension crossmember and numerous other patches before I started looking at the mechanicals.

I brought the rolling shell home on a trailer then went back for the engine and gearbox etc.

 

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This is how it started. 2 weeks into renovation 7 weeks into renovation

I have taken loads of photographs and intend to put a report together, but am concentrating on the car rather than writing about it at the moment.

 As the car is going to be used as an every day runner, I will be upgrading a few items to make it a bit quicker, quieter and handle better. These will include:

MG Midget disc brakes (thanks Dave!)

Telescopic shock absorbers

Lowered by 30mm

Big valve unleaded cylinder head

MG Metro inlet manifold & carb (if I can get one at a sensible price)

LCB stainless exhaust

Wing liners

3 gallons of waxoil 

My target is to get it on the road for June.  

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It is now early July and I have missed my June target, so have revised it to August when I have a few weeks holiday.

 

Completed so far:

Structural work, including:

New sills

LH front chassis box section

Front crossmember – lower

LH tie plate

Passenger floor

Front inner wings

Suspension crossmember ends

Both rear spring front brackets and floor

One rear inner wing spring hanger location ( other had already been done)

Drivers door bottom

Various plates to prevent water ingress.

 

Here are some more pics showing the work –

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Major work on LH side Inner wing repaired Plenty of underseal

 

On completion of the structural work, there has been some cosmetic work done to the body and wings and a full re-spray in the original colour.

 

The engine has now been re-built and will be going in at the weekend. Also, I have bought a 1098 gearbox to replace the 948 gearbox that came with the car. I haven’t managed to find a Metro carb and manifold yet, so a pair of SU’s (bought for £20) will go on in the short term. They may stay on if the do not prove too thirsty.

Apart from re fitting the engine, I still need to:

 

Replace the front drums with discs

Fit the rear telescopic shockers

Fit sound proofing and carpets

Replace the seats and trim

Trouble shoot the electrics

Waxoil all the box sections etc.

 

This is the story so far!

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This is how UAJ 570J looked on 5th July 2006

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The work has continued and I have managed to hit my revised target and got her MOT’d on 15th August 2006.

I have made one compromise and stuck with the drum brakes as I encountered a problem trying to mount the Midget calipers to the upright.

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At last! I can see how well she goes.

 

This won’t be the end of the work on UAJ 570J, but at last I can enjoy driving around in her.

 

Apart from the general maintenance, things I intend to do are:

Fit disc brakes

Modify “A” posts to improve panel fit and door closing effort

Manufacture and fit inner wing liners

Manufacture and fit a tow bar.

 

So now on to the next project!!!