For those interested in old cars.

[PhilJ W]

59 minutes ago, PatB said:

Problem with the 2 door Marina is the doors are too short and the roof too high. Presumably the latter was to retain reasonable headroom for rear seat passengers but I'm not sure about the doors. Are they common to the 4 door? It seems unlikely, but I wouldn't put it past BL. 

Indeed they were the same doors, reducing production and tooling costs. Even Fords done the same with the 100E Escort and Squire estates which used the van bodyshell with the shorter Prefect doors. Fords went the other way with the 105E Anglia based vans with doors exclusive to that model. Fords had planned an estate car body for the 100E but it was dropped in favour of the van shell version. There was also a saloon conversion rather like the Farnham estates on the larger Fords  but few were sold. 

[MrWolf]

The 105E based vans used the shorter length doors in the same style but with a peculiar cutaway at the trailing edge. It certainly saved that two door problem of whacking them on the pavement when parking in a steeply cambered street.

 

 

 

Another useless in a pub quiz fact is that the rear doors will fit Mk1 and 2 Escort vans.

 

 

Edited April 4, 2021 by MrWolf
Typing with hind paws again...

[BernardTPM]

Yes, those rear doors were in production for 20 years until the FWD Escort van arrived in 1981.

[PatB]

3 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Indeed they were the same doors, reducing production and tooling costs. Even Fords done the same with the 100E Escort and Squire estates which used the van bodyshell with the shorter Prefect doors. Fords went the other way with the 105E Anglia based vans with doors exclusive to that model. Fords had planned an estate car body for the 100E but it was dropped in favour of the van shell version. There was also a saloon conversion rather like the Farnham estates on the larger Fords  but few were sold. 

Short doors on a van make sense, as the object of the exercise is to maximise useable load space. They make less sense (except maybe financially) when you're trying to design an elegant coupe profile and provide reasonable access to rear seats. 

[PhilJ W]

I know I parked my car somewhere around here but can I find it?

[MrWolf]

The new Austin/Nash Metropolitan is drawing more of a crowd than the MGA it would appear.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2021 by MrWolf
Typing with hind paws again...

[boxbrownie]

9 hours ago, MrWolf said:

The new Austin/Nash Metropolitan is drawing more of a crowd than the MGA it would appear.

 

 

 

 

I think they are actually laughing though 

[alastairq]

19 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

I think they are actually laughing though 

 Probably find it appealed more to the up & coming new car buyers? Those who are not enthusiasts, or who fail to appreciate the finer points of MGA motoring?

In other words, maybe the Metropolitans' colour schemes and styling  appeal to a broader public than the exigencies of wet weather driving in the MGA?

Certainly the Metropolitan was really a better car than motoring enthusiasts imagined?

Ford discovered this with the two-tone styling of the first Zodiacs?

I have to admit, the ''made in Hong Kong [how we used to vilify such products??]'' printed tinplate blobby toy cars of the early 50's were actually more prototypical in shape than we imagined? Given the products emanating from Nash in the USA at the time?

 

Of course, 10 years later the world had the gucci handbag 'faux trainer' genre [hate that word, so pretentious?], from the likes of Renault [Floride & Caravelle] and VW [Karmann Ghia]...

 

[boxbrownie]

6 minutes ago, alastairq said:

 Probably find it appealed more to the up & coming new car buyers? Those who are not enthusiasts, or who fail to appreciate the finer points of MGA motoring?

In other words, maybe the Metropolitans' colour schemes and styling  appeal to a broader public than the exigencies of wet weather driving in the MGA?

Certainly the Metropolitan was really a better car than motoring enthusiasts imagined?

Ford discovered this with the two-tone styling of the first Zodiacs?

I have to admit, the ''made in Hong Kong [how we used to vilify such products??]'' printed tinplate blobby toy cars of the early 50's were actually more prototypical in shape than we imagined? Given the products emanating from Nash in the USA at the time?

 

Of course, 10 years later the world had the gucci handbag 'faux trainer' genre [hate that word, so pretentious?], from the likes of Renault [Floride & Caravelle] and VW [Karmann Ghia]...

 

That’s all a bit deep for Bank Holiday Monday.......I typed that while eating my Shreddies 

[PhilJ W]

10 hours ago, MrWolf said:

The new Austin/Nash Metropolitan is drawing more of a crowd than the MGA it would appear.

 

 

 

26 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

I think they are actually laughing though 

A very strange beast, never sold under the Austin badge (They were always Metropolitans.) The American Nash company wanted a small car but didn't have the capacity to build one at a reasonable price* so they hawked the design around Europe to find someone to make it for them. They tried Volkswagen, FIAT and Renault amongst others but finally settled upon Austin. It then turned out that sales were not as expected so Nash agreed to Austin selling them as the Metropolitan outside the USA. *A small car was almost as costly to produce as a large car, the only saving is on the materials used.

[alastairq]

44 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

That’s all a bit deep for Bank Holiday Monday.......I typed that while eating my Shreddies 

  

Ahh! Shreddies! A term used in the old-style military to describe Y -fronts?

 

My mind, for an instant, boggled?  [Only for an instant, mind!     }

[boxbrownie]

42 minutes ago, alastairq said:

  

Ahh! Shreddies! A term used in the old-style military to describe Y -fronts?

 

My mind, for an instant, boggled?  [Only for an instant, mind!     }

Good job I didn’t mention they were “bite size” then......

[teaky]

Please forgive me for posting this here but I thought it might be worth asking just in case one of you knowledgeable chaps can help.

 

I assisted my son with an oil change on his old Mini yesterday and we struggled to get the oil filter to re-seal.  It looks like the end has been distorted by a ham fisted mechanic in the past.  We managed it in the end but concluded that it would be worth looking for a replacement in better condition for the next change.  I cannot find one anywhere though even specialist suppliers.  It is a 1996 Mini 1300 automatic so instead of a disposable cannister style filter where you just screw the whole thing on and off, the filter itself is replaced which sits inside a permanent cannister with a bolt down the centre.

 

Here's a photo.

The problem area is the bit at the right hand end.  Working from the right there's the head of the bolt, a metal washer with a recess (on the left as viewed here) into which sits a rubber washer that should seal against the end of the cannister.  Because the cannister is imperfect we struggled to get this to seal - OK until engine started and pressure increased then it leaked.  We managed it in the end using an extra rubber washer and a little persuasion but it would be reassuring to achieve a better seal in future.

 

These 1300 (1275) engines were used in lots of vehicles but I don't know where else the automatic gearbox versions were used and therefore where we might source another oil filter cannister.  Any suggestions would be welcome.

 

 

[Jol Wilkinson]

Oil filter adaptors to convert to a canister filter are available. A web search turns up a number of suppliers. Not cheap but an possible answer if you can't get a replacement for the housing.

[MrWolf]

Any classic Mini specialist should be able to advise, but the filter case and seal are common to a lot of vehicles with their origins in the 1950s. The original Mini had a unit like that hung vertically, as did the Morris Minor. It shouldn't be too hard to source.

[DIW]

If you want to keep the paper filter type which you currently have, then for the rest of the parts Rimmer Bros are (usually*) your friends. The oil filter version you have is certainly esoteric, even on the Rimmer Bros site it took a little while to track down the right page!

 

*It seems that the casing (item no. 5)  is unavailable for the time being. Do you have the spring (item 6)? If that is missing or weakened then that would also affect things like the seal integrity. Unfortunately that also seems out of stock at the moment, but they do show the part number so it can be more easily sources elsewhere.

 

When I find that Rimmer Bros don't have the bits I need (or they seem too expensive, or I need a tiny clip so the P&P becomes excessive) I follow the routes offered by Jol Wilkinson and Mr Wolf above - adaption to modern equivalent, or specialist suppliers. (Ironically I find that suppliers of parts for early BMW Minis offer the clips etc. I need for my late Rover 45 (BMW-era)).

Edited April 5, 2021 by DIW
Tpyo eroors

[teaky]

41 minutes ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

Oil filter adaptors to convert to a canister filter are available. A web search turns up a number of suppliers. Not cheap but an possible answer if you can't get a replacement for the housing.

Not cheap, as you say, but definitely worth considering.  I don't think he's averse to fitting non-original parts.  It isn't like the car is an original 1960's one but he is on a budget.

 

I'll pass the information on to him.  Thank you.

[Hobby]

The Allegro used the A series with an Auto box as FWD, the Marina did a RWD version.

[teaky]

40 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

Any classic Mini specialist should be able to advise, but the filter case and seal are common to a lot of vehicles with their origins in the 1950s. The original Mini had a unit like that hung vertically, as did the Morris Minor. It shouldn't be too hard to source.

I'm sure we'll find a specialist eventually.  I am leaving the this route to my son along with looking on owners' forums since he's more enthusiastic about the subject than I am.  Thank you.

[Northmoor]

46 minutes ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

Oil filter adaptors to convert to a canister filter are available. A web search turns up a number of suppliers. Not cheap but an possible answer if you can't get a replacement for the housing.

Agreed, I'd update it.  My old Dolomite had this design in the vertical configuration and it was right PITA to hold the seal in place then offer up the housing without disturbing it.  Several small pools of oil and a lot of swearing later I managed to get it to seal.

All hail the spin-on filter!

[teaky]

29 minutes ago, DIW said:

If you want to keep the paper filter type which you currently have, then for the rest of the parts Rimmer Bros are (usually*) your friends. The oil filter version you have is certainly esoteric, even on the Rimmer Bros site it took a little while to track down the right page!

 

*It seems that the casing (item no. 5)  is unavailable for the time being. Do you have the spring (item 6)? If that is missing or weakened then that would also affect things like the seal integrity. Unfortunately that also seems out of stock at the moment, but they do show the part number so it can be more easily sources elsewhere.out of stock at the moment.

 

When I find that Rimmer Bros don't have the bits I need (or they seem too expensive, or I need a tiny clip so the P&P becomes excessive) I follow the routes offered by Jol Wilkinson and Mr Wolf above - adaption to modern equivalent, or specialist suppliers. (Ironically I find that suppliers of parts for early BMW Minis offer the clips etc. I need for my late Rover 45 (BMW-era)).

Aside from the casing not currently being in stock that looks like an excellent source of information and parts.

 

All the parts shown in the diagram are present.  I did wonder about the spring yesterday but on inspection it looked to be good shape and ought to be applying pressure from the inside as designed.  The problem is though that it is trying to seal against an uneven surface just like the washer on the outside.

 

Thank you for the information and the link.

[teaky]

8 minutes ago, Hobby said:

The Allegro used the A series with an Auto box as FWD, the Marina did a RWD version.

Great.  That gives an idea regarding what might be compatible.  Thank you.

[teaky]

6 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

Agreed, I'd update it.  My old Dolomite had this design in the vertical configuration and it was right PITA to hold the seal in place then offer up the housing without disturbing it.  Several small pools of oil and a lot of swearing later I managed to get it to seal.

All hail the spin-on filter!

Noted.  Thank you.

 

It was a little fiddly but after a couple of failures and leaks from the larger end the technique of fitting the filter was mastered and we moved on to the leak from the bolt head end.

 

I have mixed views myself of spin-on filters though.  The first time I changed the filter on my first car, a Mk 1 Ford Fiesta 1.1L, it proved to be a major trial with the filter located about as far back and low down as possible and then being impossible to loosen.  The solution ended up being a steel bar through the cannister to gain enough purchase to rotate the filter with the aid of a hammer!  Next time around it was done by hand so I've no idea how it ended up being that tight.

 

Unlike several other features on Minis, access to the filter seems quite good.  Just remove all the screws holding the grille on and there it is right in front of you.  If only draining the coolant was as easy!  What a fun day that was.

[37114]

My Series Land Rover has the same set up and with care it has never leaked (about the only bit of the engine that wasn't leaking oil pre rebuild), I find moistening the seal in oil and pressing it onto the housing before fitting the canister works, by the sounds of it though the problem mentioned earlier stems from a damaged canister.

 

Spin on filters are great but you need to get the tightness right, my last company Mondeo (Mk5) had the oil filter come loose after service, luckily no damage other than an oil slick the size of the aftermath of the Torey Canyon on my drive. The dealer investigated and flagged it to Ford who have since issued very specific instructions on how the filter should be changed on that particular engine. (2.0L diesel).

[Jol Wilkinson]

Having just changed the filter on my 1973 MGB this morning, it can be a challenge to get them off. I fit them as per the instructions, tighten until the rubber seal meets the housing and then tighten 3/4  of a turn, which you can usually do by hand.

 

To get it off I have a very useful tool that has a nylon webbing strap fitted to a 1/2" drive "socket". Rotate the drive and it tightens the web around the filter. Keep turning - in the right direction - and it grips the filter and loosens it so you can then turn it off by hand. There are a number of filter "wrenches" on the market but this one is great as there is very little clearance between the filter and the back of the alternator and you use it from above. That is relevant because the MGB filter is upside down and facing up. For that reason a filter with a non return valve is best, such as a Mann 416.