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Old 22nd December 2010, 00:21   #1
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The only old car i ever really wanted! (1953 4-door Morris Minor)

Hello everyone.


I was bitten by the classic car bug through suren181's fiat and not least, Hillram's amazing collection of classics.The way these guys used to talk about their cars was enough to make one feel like its truly a pleasure.Then came Stanher as well and his love for all things old just oozes with genuine appreciation and one cannot help but fall into submission to appreciate their efforts. I blame the above three for getting me hooked as well! .

There are tons of old cars running about in all their glory post restorations on here as well and it was always a nostalgic feeling, the pureness one gets to sense in these old charmers is something i craved for. Albeit, i wanted the same but wasn't inclined towards the FIATS as such. It was always going to be a Rover mini or a Morris to ever get my own attention and bring them to fruition. Mini's are by and large scarce and i wasn't inclined to spend the kind of prices quoted for them. Spending that kind of money and still having to do a resto was out of the equation and hence, the search continued for a MM.

After bout 3 months of soul searching within myself in trying to figure out if this craving of mine was a passing phase, the bug had not diminished and i finally decided its bout time i fulfill my wish. Yes, i spent a fair few hours fantasizing about it online, downloaded pics ... hot rod way , retro way, crazy engine swap way, roof chop way - all ways possible and cherish-able!. The virtual desire finally ended and i landed up with some news from a friend bout a lil curvy car all covered up in a street. My passion for wanting one had rubbed off on all my pals and the quest and effort to find one was a much easier task as they did all the hard work and spotted one!.Yes!!! .... the curvy lil one was indeed a Morris and not the Baby Hindustan. I'll leave the trivia out for now since you lot are way ahead of me in that department and just go ahead with the only pic i currently have of the car . Ravveendra was gracious enough to accompany me in "le tank" and helped me in the purchase. After a lengthy chat with the owner bout all things possible under the planet (Shyam would know bout this as well, lol ) we finally discussed bout the car and came away with it!. I proudly present Curvy to all of you'll .

The only old car i ever really wanted! (1953 4-door Morris Minor)-curvy.jpg

This is a 1953 4-door MM .How i wish i could find a low light model!. Anyways..... the body, chassis and floor is in real bad condition but mechanically there are not many shocks. All we had to do at the time of purchase was to fill her tank up, pump the tyres and get going. Once again thanks to Rav's Laura and the tools he's kitted up with. He even had Allen keys which helped unblock a loose tyre valve!!.

Ofcourse, there was the standard, "thoda bonet kolkey pump manually karna, thabhi start hogi gaadi" and other standard practices.. but they were all giving me a buzz!. We covered close to 15kms en route to the garage and had no issues whatsoever even in stop go traffic . I was idling for 5-10 mins at times near traffic signals and hoped that the vehicle wouldn't heat up on me. It surprisingly didnt and the only problem i had was finding the gears to slot- what with lever travel close to a whole 2ft in all directions, lol.

Right, that's that for the intro part. I'm yet to inspect the vehicle thoroughly and hence cannot request for much assistance right away. Rest assured, im confident that with the help of the members knowledge on here ( I'll need plenty of it ) and the quality of info available all across this forum, that I'll be able to get this car back into shape and fulfill my craving for old pureness in driving pleasure.

In case the intro above has confused anyone on what i plan to do as a final result ... the answer is I've decided Curvy would be restored as stock and as original as possible through every inch - lets hope the SU-carb doesn't scare me off the 1st time i crank her post the restoration, lol.

It'll be a week before I return home and be able to take detailed snaps on her condition.Any feedback and comments prior to commencement of this restoration is much appreciated and eagerly anticipated from you lot.

cheers
Arun.
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Old 22nd December 2010, 07:16   #2
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Re: The only old car i ever really wanted! (1953 4-door Morris Minor)

Congratulations on your purchase. Since the car is in mechanically good condition, hope you can do the work faster and bring it back into its glory.
All the best!!!
With thanks and regards
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Old 22nd December 2010, 07:51   #3
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Re: The only old car i ever really wanted! (1953 4-door Morris Minor)

Congrats bro! MM looks really neat. Also do post some history of this car.
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Old 22nd December 2010, 11:05   #4
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Re: The only old car i ever really wanted! (1953 4-door Morris Minor)

Hey Arun..
First of all hearty congratulations on your acquisition.. She is a real beauty. Morris minors have been my favorites too, and essentially for the same reason as yours, the curves. And also you have narrated your passion so nicely that many of us feel it but cant express it the way you did. I hope that your car will turn out to be a real stunner. Please do post some pictures of interiors and engine bay.
I'll be watching your restoration progress continuously..
All the best!!

Priyadarshan
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Old 22nd December 2010, 11:47   #5
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Re: The only old car i ever really wanted! (1953 4-door Morris Minor)

Congrats again dude for the purchase. My first impressions on seeing her that night was its surprisingly clean for its age and the way it was kept.

Please keep updating this thread regularly with the restoration process!

Cheers
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Old 22nd December 2010, 11:58   #6
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Re: The only old car i ever really wanted! (1953 4-door Morris Minor)

Quote:
Originally Posted by glomus123 View Post
Congratulations on your purchase. Since the car is in mechanically good condition, hope you can do the work faster and bring it back into its glory.
All the best!!!
With thanks and regards
Cheers on the wishes!. When i say the car is mechanically good, i meant that it starts and moves, lol . The initial feeling is that transmission, GB and all mounting bushes have to be changed. Apart fomr this , a suspension overhaul is also required. the engine condition was a surprise for me and a general service and tightening of loose ends should suffice... hopefully.

Quote:
Originally Posted by COUNSEL View Post
Congrats bro! MM looks really neat. Also do post some history of this car.
Cheers Counsel.

I bought this car from a very soft spoken Lady whose dream was to own a Morris Minor. Infact, the way she put it across was " I had two wishes to fullfil in my life, one was to buy myself a HMT watch and also own a Morris." She points at both of them in her possession and gives out a smile. The vehicle was bought by her in 1973 and she is the 3rd owner. I'm yet to pull up the previous history and shall get that info when possible. Infact, Shyam ( Stanher) had seen this vehicle before i had and i think the owner was not wanting to part with it for the right price at that time. She got herself a Nano when i had approached. hence it made my task easier to convince her.

Quote:
Originally Posted by priyadarshan.b View Post
Hey Arun..
First of all hearty congratulations on your acquisition.. She is a real beauty. Morris minors have been my favorites too, and essentially for the same reason as yours, the curves. And also you have narrated your passion so nicely that many of us feel it but cant express it the way you did. I hope that your car will turn out to be a real stunner. Please do post some pictures of interiors and engine bay.
I'll be watching your restoration progress continuously..
All the best!!

Priyadarshan

Thanks Priyadarshan. Infact, the feel good factor within myself only grew once i had acquired the car and drove it for 2 days. All before that, my mind was hell bent on an engine swap, body mod and suspension upgrade to make sure i have a good hot rod daily runner. But once i got driving , enjoying the rattly yet smooth gear shifts, the thrill of everything being mechanically driven, the smell of petrol flooding the engine, the carb acting really well to every push on the throttle and the number of ""s i was getting on the streets changed my feelings to making sure i just restore her back to her original glory.The real charm is indeed in the pureness of simple mechanics.

Secondly, the swell of happiness and smiles i got from my family on seeing the vehicle pull up at home, was enough for me to ascertain that the 1st phase of this car shall be stock. I know for sure, dad would be chuffed to bits and chug Curvy along the streets feeling nostalgic bout the cars from his younger days .

Quote:
Congrats again dude for the purchase. My first impressions on seeing her that night was its surprisingly clean for its age and the way it was kept.

Please keep updating this thread regularly with the restoration process!
Thanks Ani. Lets just hope i get the time to stay put in Hyd for a while to start the process atleast, leave alone finish it. Prabhu is busy with the Landy restoration and also the '51 Dodge . So im guessing work on mine would start post clearing of these.

Last edited by absynthguzzler : 22nd December 2010 at 12:05.
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Old 22nd December 2010, 13:40   #7
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Re: The only old car i ever really wanted! (1953 4-door Morris Minor)

Ahhh....another classic to drool over, Arun congrats on the buy. Looking forward to the build and I am sure it will turn out stunning in the end.
Reminds me of a gentleman in Bangalore who used to own at least 3 MM in impeccable condition.

Where is the car now? And will Prabhu be working on this.
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Old 22nd December 2010, 14:03   #8
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Re: The only old car i ever really wanted! (1953 4-door Morris Minor)

Quote:
Thanks Priyadarshan. Infact, the feel good factor within myself only grew once i had acquired the car and drove it for 2 days. All before that, my mind was hell bent on an engine swap, body mod and suspension upgrade to make sure i have a good hot rod daily runner. But once i got driving , enjoying the rattly yet smooth gear shifts, the thrill of everything being mechanically driven, the smell of petrol flooding the engine, the carb acting really well to every push on the throttle and the number of ""s i was getting on the streets changed my feelings to making sure i just restore her back to her original glory.The real charm is indeed in the pureness of simple mechanics.

Hey Arun congrats man. Thats a very well kept car, You are one lucky guy to drive it from the owners place or one have to struggle to tow it or even arrange to load it on a truck, My grandpa also had a same type of morris a four door one.

waiting for more pics of the complete car.

I too have plans to build a Hot rod since a long time now and will do that before i say bye, And seeing the passion of Stanher and hillram bringing their machines to their original glory is praise worthy..

I hope we can still find a unrestorable car for a Hot rod project.

thanks
Farooq

Last edited by FlyingSpur : 22nd December 2010 at 18:19. Reason: Quote tags added.
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Old 22nd December 2010, 14:52   #9
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Re: The only old car i ever really wanted! (1953 4-door Morris Minor)

Arun, Congratulations. I like the story too. My dad had a Moris Minor when I was a kid. But don't think it was a 4 door. It was a fun car and he had to electric fuel pumps on the car too. With a switch which had center off, right one pump left the other pump. One night some theives stole the car. We found it after a few days about 20 kms away. A neighbours son told my dad that the car was outside a petrol pump at nepeansea rd where he lived. It stalled there and the theives even filled up petrol. The horn button was right next to this switch and the probably moved the toggle switch to the center position. I still have the 8 valves of this car. If you ever need it I will send/give it to you. And some place I have an old SU carb but not sure if its good or of the MM. And what a coincidence, my dad's had a HMT which is with me now. Happy restoration!!!
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Old 22nd December 2010, 14:55   #10
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Re: The only old car i ever really wanted! (1953 4-door Morris Minor)

Hey Arun,
Congratulations buddy!!

A friend of mine in Himayathnagar street No.9 (I guess Shyam might be knowing that car!!) has a Morris Minor, a black one. The last time I have seen it was 10 years ago!!! As far as I remember, its a single owner car. They run the car once every sunday. They said finding original spares is a bit difficult task but their mechanic from old city does a fair bit of job by Jugaad. They never had trouble with the car!!! I think its time to re-visit them again!!!
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Old 22nd December 2010, 15:06   #11
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Nice that you plumped for a rebuild to stock. For a moment I was worried you might veer towards a coal-dust fired engine or something (imagine all the money you would save if you just had to dust your clothes to fill your tank!). Also happy that the space-age space frame thingy has been shelved.

It would be nice to see Curvy all done up and back on the road. I know there is a lot of work involved but am sure you will do it well. Before that, I am looking forward to seeing the restoration process and updates on this thread which promises to be a scorcher.

Cheers and best of luck.
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Old 22nd December 2010, 15:28   #12
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Congratulations Arun, finding such Morris is not easy. It is nice car, my younger brother also owns Morris Minor 1949 and I owned Morris 8 E 1948 our cars were waiting for restoration.

Your car seem to have all original things in place, look forward to see full restoration and keep us posted as you work on it. Once they are in good condition they are smooth running cars and reliable. Still lot of Morris seen around in Hyd, one black regular in Rallies is kept in pristine condition
it has plate No. ADY xxxx Black, the owner also fond of Bullet, Matchless motorcycles resides near Niloufer hospital.

Good luck!
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Old 22nd December 2010, 23:22   #13
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Re: The only old car i ever really wanted! (1953 4-door Morris Minor)

Quote:
Originally Posted by absynthguzzler View Post
Hello everyone.
I proudly present Curvy to all of you'll .

This is a 1953 4-door MM .How i wish i could find a low light model!. Anyways..... the body, chassis and floor is in real bad condition but mechanically there are not many shocks. All we had to do at the time of purchase was to fill her tank up, pump the tyres and get going. Once again thanks to Rav's Laura and the tools he's kitted up with. He even had Allen keys which helped unblock a loose tyre valve!!.
Quote:
Originally Posted by absynthguzzler View Post
I bought this car from a very soft spoken Lady whose dream was to own a Morris Minor. Infact, the way she put it across was " I had two wishes to fullfil in my life, one was to buy myself a HMT watch and also own a Morris." She points at both of them in her possession and gives out a smile. The vehicle was bought by her in 1973 and she is the 3rd owner. I'm yet to pull up the previous history and shall get that info when possible. Infact, Shyam ( Stanher) had seen this vehicle before i had and i think the owner was not wanting to part with it for the right price at that time.
Congrats again Arun! And glad to see a thread on 'Curvy' (cute name!) finally!!

Incidentally, I did see curvy first around 2005, parked in the open on the same spot in that street where you picked her up. I even took a couple of pics. although cant find them now!

Karl will have them I'm sure since I'd sent those to him then.

BTW, I never asked for the car, met the ex-owner. I only heard of her, that she was an elderly lawyer.

I'll be glad to offer any advice or help atleast verbally (for now), looking forward to seeing more of curvy!

PS: I think I have a rim that belongs to a Morris- looks like one atleast.
Could you let me know the tyre size and I'll check some time.

I remember curvy was fitted with one old fiat rim when I first saw her.

PS2: Coincidentally, I was thinking of you just yesterday as I was preparing a chapter called "The Canterbury Tales" in my Eng. lit. for my exam on sunday! Maybe you could get to have the same kinda fun with curvy that you had with the mini there.....until you've done her up that is!

Last edited by Stanher : 22nd December 2010 at 23:26.
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Old 23rd December 2010, 08:29   #14
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Re: The only old car i ever really wanted! (1953 4-door Morris Minor)

Dear Shyam - tyre size for Morris Minor is 5.20*14, same as fiats. That's a good car. Get the original grille from somewhere now.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar
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Old 23rd December 2010, 08:44   #15
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Re: The only old car i ever really wanted! (1953 4-door Morris Minor)

Arun..Hearty Congratulations on acquiring the Morris Minor.Im sure it will undergo a pristine restoration job.
Having a British car in my stable was an all time dream,that i hope to fulfil one day !!
Enjoy the restoration.
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