For those interested in old cars.

[keefr2]

Our local MOT centre has recently acquired a Moggy thou van for business use. I guess it's a good advert for them that they can keep getting cars & vans of that age through the MOT...!!

Edited July 2, 2015 by keefr2

[edcayton]

If it's old enough they don't have to.

 

Ed

[Horsetan]

....The pace of life 40 years ago before the rise of the white Astra Royal Mail Sherpa diesel van....

 

There, that's better.

[uax6]

She didn't notice, until she was prompted, even worse was that my daughter (who I had actually told) hadden't noticed either!

 

Sadly I fear I may have to make the B posts, as it seems the high scrap price has made a lot of the 'scrappers' that were hanging around finally making it to become razor blades.....

 

Andy G

[Londontram]

Saw this rather nice series two XJ yesterday at my local supermarket, in cracking condition correct in every detail right down to one of the Lucas fog lamps being cracked (As they always were back in the day) but otherwise in perfect condition. Nice to see it was an even rarer XJ12 version

Edited July 2, 2015 by Londontram

[Judge Dread]

Today is a momentous day, as finally my 'spare' Austin moggy van has moved into the workshop to be re-built. I've not told the Mrs, just to see if she notices th van is missing.....

 

Anyway, heres a little plea, does anyone happen to have a pair of B posts (complete) from a 4door moggy saloon at all please?

 

Andy G

You may find this interesting, I have taken it from the latest "Minor Matters", the official Morris Minor Owners Club magazine and offer it "as seen". http://www.jagspares.co.uk/Morris/Pricelists/CAT.htm

Driving any Minor or indeed any car/van/bus of a certain age is an eye openner. Everyone, and I mean everyone, has to overtake because it stands to reason, you will be slow! The laughable part is after they overtake, you then see them either, stop at a set of traffic lights 100 yards down the road, turn off the road , stop to go into a shop and you drive sedately by. The traffic lights are my favourite, as the road splits into two lanes and you take the left hand one, they overtake  into the right lane to turn right and as the lights have been at red for some little time, you both stop. Do they look over to you, they do not! 

A few years ago I had a Traveller stolen from outside my house, the police rang me the next day to say they had found the car and made an arrest and I should go to an address to collect my car. It was damaged but drivable. The car had been chased and the "driver" had tried to take it onto a cycle path and had collided with a bollard. The point of this story is the remark made by the arresting officer, "You had better check it over because as I chased after him, the car was doing 70 mph!" I replied "These cars were designed to do that  speed and several police forces were quite happy with them!"

The car had both head lamps broken, the front bumper dented and the radiator holed. The latter was the only item I had to buy and I got that from a local radiator repair business.

I hope you can find what you want, as many spares are still available.

[keefr2]

If it's old enough they don't have to.

 

Ed

Wouldn't have thought there were that many pre 1960 Moggy 1000's left though? And I'd guess the vast majority of 'classics' still need one...

[keefr2]

Saw this rather nice series two XJ yesterday at my local supermarket, in cracking condition correct in every detail right down to one of the Lucas fog lamps being cracked (As they always were back in the day) but otherwise in perfect condition. Nice to see it was an even rarer XJ12 version

Nice Jag.jpg

A V12 too.jpg

 

Glad he/she stopped short of that bollard...!!

 

Lovely car!

[uax6]

I remember my first moggy, a 4dr saloon 'Cassy'. She was tired, and had an engine with a rumbly bottom end. Over the years I improved her, firstly fitting marina disc's up front (these are now on my everyday driver, my GPO van) and then spax gas adjustables up front. (These I never really liked, even on their lowest setting the ride was too harsh, and the kit was designed to fit series 2 cars with the wiperbox inside the car, as the brackets wouldn't fit around the wing mounted ones) I then fitted a pair of mini-shocks on van axle brackets on the rear axle, with them canted up to a bit of angle across the boot floor. This mod alone is worth doing and it got rid of the slopply back end and reduced axle tramp. Infact when you put your foot down you could feel the back end sit down on the road.

I then ground the inlet off the manifold and fitted a HIF 44 to the standard 1098cc block. What a difference that made! She went like stink, but was still controllable.

 

I can vividly remember getting 90mph out of her on the A1 southboard near Kebworth! She would do 50mpg on a long run, but sadly round town would only do 15! But it was worth it fo the look on the boy racers face when I burnt them off the line.

 

I do miss the 'rollerskate'....

 

Andy g

[uax6]

Wouldn't have thought there were that many pre 1960 Moggy 1000's left though? And I'd guess the vast majority of 'classics' still need one...

There are lots, as the steel in the early cars was <much> thicker than the later ones, and so the bodies last much better....

 

Andy G

[keefr2]

 

I can vividly remember getting 90mph out of her on the A1 southboard near Kebworth! She would do 50mpg on a long run, but sadly round town would only do 15! But it was worth it fo the look on the boy racers face when I burnt them off the line.

 

 

15??!! That's what I used to get out of rally spec 1760 crossflows & 2 litre Pinto's running twin 40 or 45 Webers! Didn't seem so bad in those days though...!! (& it went down to 6 or 7 when you pushed them!) 

 

I'm wondering now what the Mini does, we've never bothered working it out....

Edited July 2, 2015 by keefr2

[uax6]

Yes, but i was young and my right foot was heavy..... The throttle was an on off switch, and looking back the carb was off a scrapper (meastro, and the carb was left handed, not right, which made the cable runs all too short), and was just bolted on, not even cleaned, let alone tuned!

 

Funny enough, I found that carb in the garage on Tuesday, and it will be getting an overhaul to fit the Meastro engine that is going into the Aussie (unless I can find something better). 

 

Andy G

[Londontram]

You may find this interesting, I have taken it from the latest "Minor Matters", the official Morris Minor Owners Club magazine and offer it "as seen". http://www.jagspares.co.uk/Morris/Pricelists/CAT.htm

Driving any Minor or indeed any car/van/bus of a certain age is an eye openner. Everyone, and I mean everyone, has to overtake because it stands to reason, you will be slow! The laughable part is after they overtake, you then see them either, stop at a set of traffic lights 100 yards down the road, turn off the road , stop to go into a shop and you drive sedately by. The traffic lights are my favourite, as the road splits into two lanes and you take the left hand one, they overtake  into the right lane to turn right and as the lights have been at red for some little time, you both stop. Do they look over to you, they do not! 

A few years ago I had a Traveller stolen from outside my house, the police rang me the next day to say they had found the car and made an arrest and I should go to an address to collect my car. It was damaged but drivable. The car had been chased and the "driver" had tried to take it onto a cycle path and had collided with a bollard. The point of this story is the remark made by the arresting officer, "You had better check it over because as I chased after him, the car was doing 70 mph!" I replied "These cars were designed to do that  speed and several police forces were quite happy with them!"

The car had both head lamps broken, the front bumper dented and the radiator holed. The latter was the only item I had to buy and I got that from a local radiator repair business.

I hope you can find what you want, as many spares are still available.

That's spot on what I get with the Rover and I've even been at a set of lights on a two lane road with me in the left hand lane with nothing behind me and about ten cars in the right hand lane. its at this point that I get the devil in me as even though the car is a 1949 model with a long stroke engine its still a 2.1lt  six cylinder and very low geared so it can hold its own against a great many unsuspecting modern cars up to about 45mph. I'm often already sat at the next set  of light laughing my head off as about ten drivers at least half of them now behind me pull up with looks of disbelief on there faces. Baiting the modern drivers is one of my favorite past times

[uax6]

I recall doing the same on the Leicester inner ring road.... A boy racer pulled up in the outside lane, and started revving... Got Cassy into 1st and steamed her off the line. It took him two sets of lights to catch up..... ;-}

 

Sadly the GPO van won't do that....

 

Andy G

[Judge Dread]

I recall doing the same on the Leicester inner ring road.... A boy racer pulled up in the outside lane, and started revving... Got Cassy into 1st and steamed her off the line. It took him two sets of lights to catch up..... ;-}

 

Sadly the GPO van won't do that....

 

Andy G

Have you changed the "diff" for a car one??

[uax6]

Yes, I'm running 4.22:1 diff, but the van just isn't that willing at the minute (Its only done 28K miles from rebuild, so the engine isn't loose enough yet!).

 

The Aussie is getting a dolly axle, with a 3.89:1 diff....

 

Andy G

[edcayton]

My first Minor was RAY 515, a 1958 Traveller. 1674 RO was a 1960 2-door saloon and my last was ONH 824 J/5021 ED (the number was donated by a friend and is still on the MG 48 years later), a 1970 Express Lift Company van.

 

Ed

[Rugd1022]

Saw this rather nice series two XJ yesterday at my local supermarket, in cracking condition correct in every detail right down to one of the Lucas fog lamps being cracked (As they always were back in the day) but otherwise in perfect condition. Nice to see it was an even rarer XJ12 version

Nice Jag.jpg

A V12 too.jpg

 

That is a cracking example of what might not at first glance appear to be a rare machine! The vinyl roof, extra chrome on the bonnet and flanks plus the (electrically adjustable) door mirror mark this V12 out as being a cut above the rest. It has clearly been very well cared for by somebody and I wonder if the ageless reg' number was applied when the car was new. Makes me realise how much work there's still left to do to my XJ6 to bring it up to scratch.... looking forward to wafting over to Gaydon in it come Sunday morning though.

 

Talking of old Jags... nipped over to the recently revamped transport museum in Coventry this afternoon where much to my delight there are now two Series 1 XJs on permanent display, both are white but one is a Jag while the other is the Daimler Sovereign version, I'll post some pics tomorrow when I've downloaded them. Parked next to the Jag XJ is a very tidy looking MkX in dark green, very wide and imposing in it's heyday.

 

[stewartingram]

I found this rather nice Rover 75 that appeared in our local Chatteris town centre car park the other day. (Mine is in the background by the wall). It seems the local residents park their cars here.

 

W103PPX Chatteris.jpg

 

 

The others in the lineup look interesting too - when did you last see a line like this? I took this shot quite early this morning before more modern cars spoilt the view:

 

Chatteris 04-05-2015.jpg]

 

The line up (from memory) is

Rover 75 (W)

Rover 800 Sterling (N)

Jaguar (M) uncertain of the model?

Maestro VP (C )

Rover 820E hatchback (F)

Fiat Uno (D?)

Hyundai (51) uncertain of the model?

 

In recent weeks I've also "copped" here a Rover P6, and a Rover 200 (similar shape to the 820E above).

 

Stewart

The mystery deepens on this one. As well as the cars shown above, we now have a couple more added to the collection. All seem to be in (sporadic) use though, and bear in mind this is a public car park.

 

 

 

Stewart

[MJI]

I used to own a Chrysler Sunbeam and the amount of hot and warm hatches which tried it on was ridiculous.

[RJS1977]

If it's old enough they don't have to.

 

Ed

 

Are you sure? I was of the understanding ALL vehicles have to have an MOT to run on the road (after all,it's a safety check).

 

It's the Vehicle Excise Duty that old vehicles are exempt from.

[edcayton]

No MoT needed for cars and motorcycles made before 1960. Legislation introduced 2012. Stupid eh?

 

Ed

[Londontram]

No MoT needed for cars and motorcycles made before 1960. Legislation introduced 2012. Stupid eh?

 

Ed

Agree but its finding MOT testers who understand old cars with drum brakes, king pins and steering boxes is very hard these days, my old MOT tester now retired knew he wouldn't find the information for the brake balance for the rollers so would take it out with a deccelerometer and make a judgement from the feel and information received from the deccelerometer. He would test for visible smoke rather than try to get a reading from the emisions tester and he would know what was acceptable for play in a king pin or steering box. As an ex MOT tester my self I often have to give advice and instructions to the tester regarding all aspects of the test including lighting, seat belts and even windscreen washers no doubt highly improper but its painful to see these young people flounder when faced with a 70 year old car. The hope is that as these cars are at such an age that they are mostly in the hands of dedicated enthusiasts they should be maintaining the vehicle to an acceptable standard with out the need for an MOT

   I check my car on a regular bases and while the car is warming up will check all lights tyre's and any visible safety features but also check the brakes exhaust and bushes on a regular three monthly bases (I'm lucky I have access to a ramp) 

   Unfortunately there are going to be cars that are not checked as often but the police still have the power to stop and check that any vehicle is road worthy but other than training MOT testers to be able to test vintage cars (and who will pay for it) I don't know where the answer is

   As to how good an MOT tester is when the Rover was last being done the tester missed completely the fact that the lower rubber bushes on the O/S/R shock absorber had broken up and I had to point it out to him so good job I was there. 

Edited July 3, 2015 by Londontram

[Judge Dread]

Agree but its finding MOT testers who understand old cars with drum brakes, king pins and steering boxes is very hard these days, my old MOT tester now retired knew he wouldn't find the information for the brake balance for the rollers so would take it out with a deccelerometer and make a judgement from the feel and information received from the deccelerometer. He would test for visible smoke rather than try to get a reading from the emisions tester and he would know what was acceptable for play in a king pin or steering box. As an ex MOT tester my self I often have to give advice and instructions to the tester regarding all aspects of the test including lighting, seat belts and even windscreen washers no doubt highly improper but its painful to see these young people flounder when faced with a 70 year old car. The hope is that as these cars are at such an age that they are mostly in the hands of dedicated enthusiasts they should be maintaining the vehicle to an acceptable standard with out the need for an MOT

   I check my car on a regular bases and while the car is warming up will check all lights tyre's and any visible safety features but also check the brakes exhaust and bushes on a regular three monthly bases (I'm lucky I have access to a ramp) 

   Unfortunately there are going to be cars that are not checked as often but the police still have the power to stop and check that any vehicle is road worthy but o0ther than training MOT testers to be able to test vintage cars (and who will pay for it) I don't know where the answer is

   As to how good an MOT tester is when the Rover was last being done the tester missed completely the fact that the lower rubber bushes on the O/S/R shock absorber had broken up and I had to point it out to him so good job I was there. 

One of many good reasons for being careful in your choice of MOT station. I have a 1967 Morris Minor and even if I didn't need to have it tested, I would still present it for examination. I need the assurance that all is well and it's not going to let me down.

Most fitters worth their salt will tell you, they like old cars because you only need a Mk 1 eye ball to see what's wrong usually.

[Arthur]

 

The 'facts' about pre 1960 vehicles support their exemption from the MOT test.

 

They account for just 0.6% of registered vehicles, are involved in just 0.03% of accidents and two thirds of them cover less than 500 miles per year.

 

That their owners care for them is supported by the fact that less than 10% of pre '60 vehicles fail their MOT, as opposed to the 30% of post '60 vehicles which fail.

 

On a linked theme, some consideration was given a couple of years back to introducing two yearly tests to bring us in line with much of the rest of Europe. There was considerable bleating from the car and garage trade, not surprisingly. In the event the annual test was kept. Why? Because of the number of false passes, i.e. the number of vehicles passing with serious faults subsequently identified by spot checking. Cars could potentially go for two years with a serious fault before the next opportunity to spot it.

 

So the motor trade kept twelve month tests because of their own poor testing performance in the first place. (Yes, there are many good testers, but many are clearly not).