Projects My wife is at it again, and I have pics to prove it!

You may remember my wife's 51 Chevy Bel Air hardtop project from a couple of years ago. She took it from this...



to this...


in about 9 months! Motor/trans/rear swap and hop up, lowered, paint and body work, custom interior, etc... then drove 700 miles to our wedding. Yes, she did do all the work... except the paint, that was GaryC

Then she made these 2 "projects" in about 9 months...



Recently she got The Itch for a new project... so she bought this 1958 Morris Minor from Insane1. Marcy hauled it up from Dallas to Chicago. I called Insane and made a deal on Saturday, and I had the car in my garage on Friday! Mike is a great guy to deal with, and Marcy just plain ROCKS. Oh, and thanks to the asswipe that flaked on Mike's ebay auction... because I was able to get the car.




The floors need a little "attention" but everything is there and the rockers (and just about everything else) are solid





Here it is in the garage




Ooh! Racing stripes!



Little 4 banger



and I do mean LITTLE!! Here's my hand for scale. Same motor as the Mini and they were used up until the 90s, so there are plenty of go fast goodies available



Here it is next to my 48 Chevy coupe. Parked like this the rear of the Morris comes to just BEFORE the rear tire on the 48. It's like a 3/4 scale American car! I can't wait to park it next to my 59.



Anyone know what this is? It's some sort of vertical bar right behind the door on both sides.



I watched the girls on Sunday so she could play. She already tore down half the front end. She doesn't mess around!

No, she doesn't want a gasser. She plans on building a nice custom that she can enjoy and will eventually let the girls drive. Hey, it will be fast, and fun... and pretty much no useable back seat for anything but little kids. My wife is 6' and fits just fine. I'm 6'5" so I'm skeptical about squeezing in... but it's her car... and I have my own projects.

We know we're going to need a new hood (or someone who's really good and can save this one... who also works cheap), possibly a new fender, and some sort of electronic ignition, like Pertronix. She said she'd prefer FI if we can do it without a computer... so we're open to advice. I know NOTHING about British cars... other than to pull out all the elctrical stuff, sprinkle it with Holy Water, then burn it. We need wheels, too. These wheels have some rot through.

 

That's a directional, it drops down when you turn on your left or right directional. We had one on my Dad's old 48 Austin American, but that one popped up.
Lot's of luck with the new project. I recall seeing some build fotos of your wife and the 52 a couple of years back. Came out real nice.
Bless the twins too.

 

Very cool! Isn't the bar you talk about, the turn signal?

 

Very cool! Her chevy turned out sweet so I'm sure she'll do the same with Minor. Be careful or she might take over the garage!

 

Yup, randomrodder is right. The Brits call them "Trafficators" its a turn signal light that flips out when you put the turn signal on.... Very cool...

 

Are they "machs nichs sticks"? Probably wrong spelling, my German is no good. Do they pop out when you use the turn signals? Have seen them on old Mercedes.

 

You guys sure type fast.

 

Great little project, drop in some MGB running gear.Proper name for the directional is Semaphore. ( not sure of the spelling )

 

They are known as "Semaphores" or "idiot sticks" or turn signals.

That will be a fun little car. You might be able to use a full drivetrain from a 60-70s MG Midget or A-H Sprite which will up the ccs to over a thousand, give you dual carbs, 4-speed, and raise the fun quotient a bunch.
I had a 59 Bugeye Sprite once and got dusted by a late 50s Metropolitan which ahd had the full MG drive train swap. It kinda embarrassed me but it let me know how the "sleeper" concept came about in person.

 

We have 2 2-car garages side by side... so we kind of have HIs & Hers garages. We'll keep all the Metric tools in her garage!

 

my god thats a small engine....if it were me i'd be seeing how many cubiic inches i could fit iin there. hahahaha Very unique thos. Your wiife does good work!

 

Looks like a fun project, I had a 56 split screen as my first car in the early 70's with a 4 banger all of 1098cc !!!

trafficators, leave them in if you can, there really cool

try here for info and spares

http://members.aol.com/morrisminr/about.html
http://www.morrisminoroc.co.uk/index.php?key=Index&topic=Technical%20Tips


Keith

 

Would you need whitworth tools on that car?

 

Saw this one at the Goodguys in Nashville last year:





Just a little bit more motor is all.

 

355 inches of raucous Chevy V8 will fit fine...that right Mikey...???

R-

 

We did a feature on a BBC powered Minor. How about going with a marine Iron Duke, lots of speed equipment readily available and it's American made.

 

Can we assume triplets are to come soon?

 

StudeDude,
That would be 377 sml blk of Chevy, known as the Mokan Morris
with a 10.59 @119 and I backed out of it at the 1000' cause the car
drifted and it scared me..... ha ha Next year I will hold it to the floor
the whole way..
mine came with a 948 a bicycle could out run it.
Hellfish, get it running and bring it to the HAMB drags so folks can see double.....
Roach

 

That's a distinct possibility!

Oh man... don't even JOKE about that!

 

Hey nice ride I used to service these thing many years back at my car shop. About the wiring thing ,give MEATBALL a pm he's knows all about Lucas electrical wiring LOL. And man if there is any pattern here I wish you luck on the next set of twins >>>>.

 

turbo t-bird 4 and a t-5. or would that be to long

 

Wow. You're wife is a skilled girl. I can't wait to see what happens to this project.

 

Glad to see someone is going to build this car, and glad it went to a HAMBer. Can't wait till she has it running down the road. I'll keep a watch out.

As for the semaphores, the ones in the car are just filler pieces, there is no indacators actually there. I assume they put those in on the american cars. I would have to put some in though.

 

The motor turns over easily, so in interest of saving money, she'll probably keep it, but hop it up. These motors may be small, but they're pretty quick, especially on road courses... which is essentially 99.999% of the driving we all do.

If that fails, it may be possible to drop in a Zetech, Echotech, or Quad4... but that would require a new trans, rear end, driveshaft, and possibly a computer and modified firewall... and if that happens, I don't know where we'd put our feet!

 

there is NO reason to check with anybody about LUCAS wiring...just disconnect everything....and pull HARD - do NOT leave one itty-bitty strand, tendril or part of that abominable brand of electrics. I've had five AH roadsters...every one of them got a sbc and every one of them benefited from a total rewire (and this was before Painless®, et al). Prior suggestions regarding larger Brit fourbangers are right on the money. See if a sidewinder Cooper S engine (1248 or 1275 IIR) will bolt up to your MG trans (or whatever you choose).

Minors are neat....good luck to you and your lady on the project

dj

 

I love it and I LOVE that you are keeping that motor and hopping it up. What a cool mom you are! I can already see you cruising around town with the twins the in the back. Way to go!

 

your wife is awesome!!! the 51 looks gorgeous and the new 'little' project is great! she's giving me lots of inspiration to look for any car that deserves some love!!

keep us updated! is she on the hamb, she really should be!!

 

Great car my first custom was a moggy minor in England 30+ years ago. The MG engines all fit , rear wheel drive, easy. One area to check for rust is the Torsion bar crossmember just under the seat area, if that rusts out your in trouble. Also on the front suspension there are "trunions" threaded pieces for lower "ball joint" they can sieze up & snap off , usually at low speeds when turning (max load on the suspension ) Just a word of warning , that is going to be one cool cruizer for a cool wife

 

Metric? Um, no. Imperial, BSW (British Standard Whitworth).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Standard_Whitworth

Looks like fun.

 

Love the little Morris! I have a 56 ragtop here that need a new home!!!!!!!!!!!