WOW, this was an old post, but I just found it. I was searching for my old Woodie pictured here Thought you might like the Minor Woody I built a dozen years or so ago 302 Ford, 1987 Merc Cougar engine with Cold AC, O-drive auto trans & a 9 inch rear, "tubbed" Sold it way back & don't know where it ever got to??? Sign in the side window but not quite legible reads: "My wife says I have a little Woody" __________________ Me Thinks Me Just Bangin Me Head Again De Wall
Geez, I'll bet you're glad you asked for so many opinions, hey? Almost all of them are different so there's plenty to chose from. Now for mine - how about a MGB engine - they're 1800cc so will have a 'big-block feel' after the anaemic 1000cc or whatever you've got now. Plenty of speed parts, and it 'keeps it in the family'. Other than that, the Miata or MX-5 is a modern version if you want to do an EFI conversion. Good luck with it, and let us know what you end up choosing. Cheers.
I am with dadbud, MGB would be a good choice and dont forget to upgrade the brakes and wheels/tires as well. Put a V8 in it and it be comes too front heavy and will out run your gas tank daily. If you really need HP get a Ford RS2000 engine or similar about 230bhp same as a decent 289 Windsor.
The 302 Cougar driveline was a perfect match fiftyV8. Weight distribution was on the money and if I remember right, at the time, the Cougar was an 80k miles salvage vehicle I bought at the auction for $400. It wasn't wrecked so must have been a recovered theft car. All I did was regasket, cleanup & details the engine/trans. Sold the body to a guy building a drag car for $450 so I was 50 bucks negative on the engine/trans cost At that time they had no Ford stand alone FI harness's available, so I reworked the stock one and it worked super. The Morris is a unibody (1959 model year), and I used another salvaged Mazda pickup truck chassis that I shortened and narrowed to built the woodie on. That's the Mazda power brake unit you see on the photo. I just had to use a fitting adapter to get to the 9 inch Ford rear brake line. Front was all Mazda disc truck. Rear susp. was stock Mazda truck leaf springs with cheapie traction bars At the end of it all I only had about six grand in the whole project, plus my labor of love building hot rods Here's a link to my hobby page on my website where you can see some more. Be sure to surf over to the VW page and see my "shorty" VW bus. That's the current project http://www.tlgenterprises.com/my_hobbys.htm http://www.tlgenterprises.com/vw_stuff.htm Have a Great day all !! __________________ Me Thinks Me Just Bangin Me Head Again De Wall
Way to go Minor Problem. That's what I like __________________ Me Thinks Me Just Bangin Me Head Again De Wall
Why go the difficult way, an MGA or MGB engine is a bolt in and twice the power, the 1200 Datsun is a takeoff of the same motor.
I am sort of looking for a useable Morris minor 2dr body. Any condition and nearby if possible Cheap is high on my lst of needs too. I now despite the fact I dont see any in my county alone Ill bet there are 50 hiding behind barns , in the woods or in a garage somewhere. I need to find at least one.Free would be nice but is unlikely. Don
Small block Ford bolts right with minor mods. New chassis, home built headers ,new firewall ,run the steering through the oil pan. In the end it is nothing but a lot of work ,so sharpen of your fabrication skills and just do it!
Years ago I bought a Morris Minor Traveller off a Sunday morning radio flea market for short money. Used a Art Morrison front clip meant for a '33 Willys, very close in dimension to the MM track, and put 2x4 tubing rails under rest of the unibody. Narrowed S-10 rear, 215" Buick coupled to a TH350 with a Kennedy adaptor. Complete wood kit at the time was just over a $1000 from the UK delivered to Boston (compare that to an American woody!). Car was never completed (long story) but now in Exeter, NH being finished by a buddy for his wife.
It depends on what you want to end up with. The later 1275cc engine was never used in the Morris Minor. It is essentially a bigger version of the pushrod engine most came with. While not on par with a V-8, the 1275 has significantly more power, and can be modified to have 100+ street horsepower.
A ride in a re-powered Morris is what sent me down the path of hot rodding! it had a blown sbc in it. i had a chance to buy it a couple years ago, it had a 427 with a clutch turbo in at that time. but it was rough and a real death trap, i had to pass.
I saw this car years ago at a Carlisle show , and I thought it was a hell of a nice car ! The Minor I built for my brother has a dual carb 1275 with a ribcase gearbox and a 3.9 Sprite rear end. It runs along just fine. I also put poly bushings everywhere and lowered it a bit. It's not as bad ass as some of the others , but it's cool - I'm sure I can dig up a pic somewhere ... *** EDIT*** - found one !
I've seen a few in Australia that have been repowered with the Holden Commodore/ Buick V6. Just ditch the fuel injection crap and computer and use a carby.
In the 660s a Kiwi hot rodder , Garth Souness,took the chassis from this, replaced the Ferrari motor with a 327 SBC and put it all under a Morrie Minor ( Lowlite.. raced it in All Comers class ..a national racing series in NZ for run what ya brung.. Here tis
Back in the 60s there was a Morris Minor on a shortened 56 olds frame with an olds rocket and a stick.It could easily lift the front wheels.
hi lifestylz, i have a 52 mm minor i intend to fit a 3,8 v6 into,,so far ,the floor all cut out,fire wall mostly gone,bonnet ,guards and grill now one piece [ for tilt front.]just wondering what you,ve done in regards of chassis front and rear ends,best way to reattatch body onto frame etc, any help with this is appreciated.i,m in tauranga.
I bought olcurmudgeon's Morris woody still unfinished out of the HAMB classifieds a while back and had it shipped to sunny Ca. (I needed another project like a hole in my head) It's running and driving now but partially disassembled for painting at the moment. With three hot rods all going together at the same time, progress is slower than I would like but it's moving forward. He did a nice job. I built a new exhaust system and tidied up a few things, it will be dark emerald green metallic with vintage American 5 spokes. I'm hoping it will be my daily driver. Love those little aluminum V8s.......
My Minor has a Rover V8 and narrowed Jag- rear. In this setup on the road for at least the last 27 years.
I think a V8 flathead engine as post #48 would look perfect in Morris MM as post #52 as this car had a flathead four in it originally.
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