1934 Morris Minor 4 seater touring

Use this area to post details of your cars, your restorations, photos or rally reports.

Moderators: Ian Grace, Will Grace

parthmehd
Posts: 72
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:36 pm
Location: Ahmedabad, India
Contact:

Re: 1934 Morris Minor 4 seater touring

Post by parthmehd »

Well Ian, keep me posted on the dates and I will see what I can do. I would love to join all of you for the celebrations. Will post the photos here very soon !!

Regards
Parth
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: 1934 Morris Minor 4 seater touring

Post by Ian Grace »

Will do Parth, and congrats on your 30th by the way!

Ian
parthmehd
Posts: 72
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:36 pm
Location: Ahmedabad, India
Contact:

Re: 1934 Morris Minor 4 seater touring

Post by parthmehd »

Thanks a lot !!
parthmehd
Posts: 72
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:36 pm
Location: Ahmedabad, India
Contact:

Re: 1934 Morris Minor 4 seater touring

Post by parthmehd »

Hello All,

Well, my Minor restoration is making slow but steady progress !! My engine gave up on me before I could even take a proper drive in the car and it turned out that it was in need of a complete rebuild. Now, a complete rebuild later, new pistons in place, the engine has finally started, so that's a big, big relief. It is now back in the car, complete with a brand new set of standard size pistons and valves. At the time of rebuilding, we had discovered a crack in the engine block which we had fixed. Thankfully, the work done on the crack seems to be holding well for the time being. The water jacket between the engine and the radiator had corroded completely and we had one fabricated locally.

We also serviced the brakes, fitted new brake master cylinder and wheel cylinder rubber and new liners. We discovered that the leaf spring joints had some terrible (oval) wear which was making the whole car wobble. That job is also on the verge of completion. We also re-painted the undercarriage while we were at it.

The gearbox was opened, serviced and cleaned up. The 4th gear was in such terrible shape that the previous owner did not even know it existed and I found it only after I learnt that my car was a 1934 model !! Now its all working smoothly. The undercarriage has also been cleaned and repainted. The starter motor, which at first could not turn the engine at all, is now working like a dream after a full reconditioning.

It has been quite a journey till now. What started with putting a new set of plugs and a new carburetor turned into a complete mechanical restoration !! But now I have a fully restored engine, gearbox, chassis and undercarriage, brakes, suspension system, steering system and starter motor. Most of what was not original is now replaced with original parts. So I have the original SU carburetor in place of the downdraft Zenith and plumbing pipe combo (not joking !!) that I had on the car, the original steering box instead of a Suzuki one retrofitted to the car, the original set of meters and switches and the original dynamo (though, with Ahmedabad touching 47 degree Celsius in Summer and never dropping below 15 degrees on the coldest winter day, I might retain the electric fan / alternator setup for everyday use in the interest of the car’s mechanicals)

Now, next in line is the radiator which would be going for a complete (and badly needed) rebuild. After that comes the wobbly wheel issue and a new set of tyres ! One of the wheels is completely out of alignment and the tyres are in a terrible state. I have 500-525 x 16 tyres which are not available in India. Now, to restore the wheel, I need to get the tyres off. Once off, they are not going to go back on again because they will most probably shatter in the process. So I thought it would be best to start the car, do a small test drive, see if everything works and then sort out the wheel – tyre issue. After that, its the interiors, the hood and the other cosmetic bits. Yup, still a long way to go, but there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel and a possibility of going for a ride in a convertible at some point in the not so distant future !!

Well, I will keep posted here about the progress. But if all goes well, I should be posting a link to a video which shows yours truly driving a lovely green 1934 Minor SV Touring with the silliest grin on his face !!

In the mean time, here is the link to a few photos of the progress: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25261868@N07/

Also, a (bad) video of the car engine running for the first time after the rebuild is posted on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMQx8NfgbGU

Regards
Parth

Note: My car came with a DK4A automatic distributor rather than the original DJ4. But that seems to work well on the car. So, if someone is looking for an auto advance-retard setup, it’s a worthy contender. I, for one, am planning to switch to the DJ4 if I can only get my hands on one !!
Toby
Posts: 1017
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2007 4:49 pm
Location: New Forest

Re: 1934 Morris Minor 4 seater touring

Post by Toby »

Fantastic progress :D
if it's got wheels or chips - it'll cost you dear
parthmehd
Posts: 72
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:36 pm
Location: Ahmedabad, India
Contact:

Re: 1934 Morris Minor 4 seater touring

Post by parthmehd »

Thanks !!
KartikeyaL
Posts: 184
Joined: Sat Apr 09, 2011 5:37 am
Location: Jaipur , India

Re: 1934 Morris Minor 4 seater touring

Post by KartikeyaL »

Parth, great progress.

so have you set any deadlines lately ? :D
parthmehd
Posts: 72
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:36 pm
Location: Ahmedabad, India
Contact:

Re: 1934 Morris Minor 4 seater touring

Post by parthmehd »

Well, I am done with setting deadlines quite a while ago ! My restorer also runs a regular workshop and works on my car only when he has the time for it. But when he does work on it, and he does it himself, the job is wonderfully executed. So I have no real reason to complain.
parthmehd
Posts: 72
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:36 pm
Location: Ahmedabad, India
Contact:

Re: 1934 Morris Minor 4 seater touring

Post by parthmehd »

Well, the engine is finally installed in the car and is running wonderfully. It starts readily, even from cold, at first crank, and settles into a nice idle. The process of tuning and running in the engine is in progress. A bit of rewiring and some work on the brakes and I should be able to go for a drive ! Here is a video of the engine running !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsRtbMn4hzw

Regards
Parth
parthmehd
Posts: 72
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:36 pm
Location: Ahmedabad, India
Contact:

Re: 1934 Morris Minor 4 seater touring

Post by parthmehd »

And I finally get to go for a drive ! What a wonderful beginning to the new year ! Find the video here !!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10-Nk0mB ... a-xISTrNJM

Parth
KartikeyaL
Posts: 184
Joined: Sat Apr 09, 2011 5:37 am
Location: Jaipur , India

Re: 1934 Morris Minor 4 seater touring

Post by KartikeyaL »

Congratulations Parth !!

Cheers
Kartik
parthmehd
Posts: 72
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:36 pm
Location: Ahmedabad, India
Contact:

Re: 1934 Morris Minor 4 seater touring

Post by parthmehd »

Thanks a lot, dear chap. And wish you all the best for the rally preparations ! I don't think my car could make it to Jaipur yet, otherwise I would have loved to take part alongside you ! Best of luck !
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: 1934 Morris Minor 4 seater touring

Post by Ian Grace »

Another one back on the road - and its only January! Looks like a great 2012 in prospect. I hope to have KR running in the spring - first time since 1974, and this is definitely the place to come for inspiration!
Post Reply