MU3485

[Francis Sanders]

27AE0055-DE5B-48AD-899B-DF20424D0A38.jpeg (4.62 MiB) Viewed 627 times

MU was my father’s car, which I inherited. It resided in Oxfordshire until I moved it to Newport, South Wales in March 2023.

I’ve included a couple of photos of MU in situ at the new residence.

Currently issues noted in the last 200 miles of running since the move:
- starter not working - related to this I sheered the starter handle but have repaired this with a somewhat bodged job of an old impact driver bit which fits quite nicely. I have also had to leave the front engine mounting bolts slightly loose to get the starter handle correctly seated to start - I suspect I need a couple more spacer washers or equivalent underneath to hitch the engine up a little.
- occasionally tricky getting into 2nd gear on the way up the box - have to give the gear knob a slight tilt and twist anticlockwise and it’ll eventually sort itself out
- distributor cap from the magneto is live (found that out the hard way)
- horn appears faulty
- obligatory squeaky brakes

It would be great to have advice on standard stuff: oil, filter, spark plugs, battery etc. to do a basic service on her since her time off the road.

Other than that she runs wonderfully when she’s going. Any thoughts or comments very welcome.

27AE0055-DE5B-48AD-899B-DF20424D0A38.jpeg (4.62 MiB) Viewed 627 times

DEA6EDF2-046D-4667-8232-BD23C2E262CE.jpeg (4.76 MiB) Viewed 627 times

[Ian Grace]

Hi Frank, and welcome to the forum.

Re the front engine mounts, it sounds like perhaps the rubber bushes under the engine bearer have compressed - a common problem solved with new bushes.

I've had starter problems in the past, which were never the fault of the starter motor, but a poor earth return from the engine to the chassis and back to the battery. The engine sits on rubber, which does nothing for conduction. You can help this enormously by adding a stout earthing strap from the engine to the chassis. Try something temporary to see if it makes a difference first.

Regarding oil filtering, a couple of suggestions. First, always make sure that the large screw cap on the external oil filter is TIGHT. If it is loose, or there is the slightest crack, it will suck in air which will be ruinous to the bearings. I would also check the gauze filter inside for any holes. if you find any, clean it thoroughly and use solder to patch the hole I would also recommend popping a rare earth magnet into the filter to collect any small steel fragments and check it occasionally. (You can also attach other rare earth magnets to the gearbox and diff. drain plugs.)

Just a couple of thoughts for starters. Others may have more to contribute.

[Ian Grace]

Another thought. While servicing, drain the gearbox and put in straight 140 gear oil. It does make a big difference and makes gear changing easier. Use the same in the back axle, but don't fill the axle up to the brim of the filler hole. It is unnecessary, and too high an oil level will encourage oil to exit to the hubs, and then the brake linings. You just need to be confident that the crown wheel is dipping into the oil.

Do you also have your father's Bentley with you?

[Ian Grace]

So your fabric saloon is a 1931 season model (chassis M32249) and as such has the 'leather grain' steel bonnet which was also fitted to the fabric-bodied 2-seater which was only produced for the 1931 season. All the earlier fabric saloons had plain bonnets, like the steel saloons, tourers and vans.

By 1931, fabric bodies were rapidly falling out of vogue and so yours is a rare survivor. Only three other 1931 season fabric saloons appear on the Chassis Register.

A fabric bodied SV Minor was introduced in 1931, but sadly, no survivor is known. I suspect that these would also have had the grained bonnet.

These bonnets always make a great talking point at pub meets!

Oh, and just to be a complete anorak, the 'MORRIS' script on the radiator core was only originally fitted to the first season's cars - 1929. It is believed this was added by Morris to distinguish the new cars from Austin Sevens which were ubiquitous at the time, but it was dropped for the 1930 season Minors.

[Francis Sanders]

Ian - thanks for all the information. Very interesting to know the background of the 1931 minor saloons. I’m more sure I’ll remove the morris type off the radiator just yet - annoyingly I quite like how it looks. Very superficial of me!

I’ll try and source some rubber bushings and a rare earth magnet in the filter. I definitely already have a candidate as an earth candidate for the cable so that’s grand.

What grade oil do you tend to use? I use 10w40 pistoneze on the old bike or valvolene VR1.

Thanks again for the help

Frank

[Ian Grace]

I'm old fashioned and use Straight 30, but I know others use 20/50. Just avoid Hypoid oils which eat any bronzed in the bearings.