<![CDATA[Morris 850 - Jalopnik Comments]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850 - Jalopnik Comments]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> test
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NoneMoreBlack

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> @MurileeMartin: Oh, and it's for sale.

whatwouldjessedo

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> @MurileeMartin: It's a 1970.

whatwouldjessedo

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> @MurileeMartin: The Puma is a 1970. There has been some parts swapping, which might lead to one thinking it's a later model.

whatwouldjessedo

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> @X-Zambian: I have dual Weber IDFs on my other car, they are pretty easy to keep in line, so I have no problem with Webers. For some reason I just like SUs, and plenty of people will argue in favor of twin HS4s over a DCOE on the A series. To me it's like Mac vs. PC. I'm happy if it wor. Don't you have to cut out the firewall a bit to get the DCOE to fit in there?

Funny, African roads are safer than American. Ha ha.

I took it to a Brit car show last weekend, and out of about 20 Minis, less than half were actual '60s/70s cars. The rest were SportPack Minis less than 10 years old with air conitioning, fuel injection, air bags and 1968 registrations.

whatwouldjessedo

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> @whatwouldjessedo: Yeah Jesse, what year is that Puma? Actual year or DMV record? Hehe...

hyperocky

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> @whatwouldjessedo: What year is the Puma? It's coming up on DOTS soon.

MurileeMartin

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> @whatwouldjessedo:
I genuinely did see 7000rpm in 4th gear, which according to my Dad who worked out all the gear ratios, tyre sizes etc was 115mph. Speedo was wound well past the maximum of 100, so not much help there, and as you say, somewhat inaccurate anyway. This was done one a straight stretch of road, late at night, middle of Africa, so no other cars on the road. I just had to see what she would do, didn't I. It was scary in the sense that the engine might grenade, and my Dad, who bought and tuned her up in the first place, would not be amused if I broke his baby. Even though he had given her to me, I still think he regarded her as his baby.
Satisfied that she would do 7000 in top was enough for me. Cruising speed was slower than that.
Seatbelts? What were those? You are immortal as a teenager aren't you?
Your (effectively) Cooper 'S' should easily be able to do well over the ton. I am not sure I would attempt it on American roads though, due to the relatively Behemoth other vehicles and traffic levels you have there.
Heritage is one thing, doing a period tuner is another. Anyone who tuned minis seriously got rid of the SU's at the earliest opportunity. Your little sweetie is a very good period tuner, so you are betraying the heritage by Not using a Weber!
(said with a straight face)
But in the real world, the SU's are rather simpler to get and keep working. Much as I do like Weber carbs, they are a pain to get right.

X-Zambian

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> @X-Zambian: 115 mph in a Mini would be scary as all hell. I've had this one up to around 95, I think (the speedo is very innacurate), and it felt like 300 mph in a regular car. Of course, I didn't have seatbelts, the wheel alignment was of own doing (by eyesite), and I don't have any interior carpeting or sound deadening in the car. Ha ha!

I have an RC-40 exhausrt on it now, which is pretty free flowing, but has a very mellow note to it. I'm going to get an old style Peco single center exit and a strait pipe leading up to it. Although Weber 45s are awesome on the A-series, I'm sticking to the twin SUs on this one. They are just so bloody British, and I love the simplicity of them. Gotta rep the heritage...

whatwouldjessedo

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> @MurileeMartin: Yep, that one rounds out the fleet.

whatwouldjessedo

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> @whatwouldjessedo: Hey, is that yellow Puma GT yours, too?

MurileeMartin

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> @whatwouldjessedo:
Snap.
My first ever car. Well, mine was the 997cc Cooper variant, 1962 and pale yellow, but still.
The same external door hinges.
The same sliding side windows and door handle.
Small rear light clusters.
Small steering wheel and column mounted tacho.
Wider Cooper 'S' wheels.
Yeah, job done properly.
You do absolutely need a free flow straight through exhaust with single rear muffler. And hunt around for a 45 DCOE Weber and manifold, while you are at it. This will work much better than the bog standard twin SU's.
And. Your ears will love you for it. Your neighbours might not be so appreciative, but sadly, the world is full of cloth-eared Philistines who do not appreciate the special music of well tweaked engines. They have no clue, so try to ignore them, for the sound of a well tuned A-series is indeed special.
It is great seeing this. It brings back so many memories of my youth. My little Cooper was the first car I personally piloted to over 100mph.
Blueprinted and balanced engine + 731 cam, ported & polished head, Minnow carb, straight through exhaust and 3.4 diff = 115mph @ 7000rpm for the doubting Thomas' in the crowd.
Great fun. Sadly, I left "Little Dinah" behind, a couple of countries and decades ago.
Jesse, you have a sweet little car there.

X-Zambian

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> More microbruce here [www.t350.net] scroll down the page to "R1 powerd mini"

RoninianHoon

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> The original Mini was made to seat 4 people, and even had a bench rear seat on legs so that bags could slide underneath :) In reality you have to squash up to get into the back, but they do make perfect kidsize seats and the front is surprisingly roomy considering the compact packaging.

If you want a real headbanger with a healthy dose of microbruce, try something like this...

[www.cardomain.com]

Kuang

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> Is this car as small as it looks inside? The new Mini is cramped, is this one worse?

JayP71

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> This should give you some idea on the Mini's size in the wild, and LIC is pretty wild.

Triborough

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> @DJFriar: Yes, all the DOTS cars are in Alameda unless otherwise indicated (I use "Down on the Street Bonus Edition" for the cars on the streets of London, Denver, Oakland, etc). So far 80+ Alameda cars have been in the series, and I've got at least 30 more photographed and ready to go.

MurileeMartin

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> @whatwouldjessedo: I pass by your cars all the time- we live a few blocks apart- so I had planned to make the Mini a DOTS car for quite a while (it's the cars I don't see every day that I rush right out to photograph, since they might be gone the next time I pass by; the MGC-GT a block from you was one such car). Anyway, I'll be at the Park St car show, so will see you then.

MurileeMartin

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> Original Minis are the coolest, even cooler than Datsun 410, which is really cool too. The new Mini? They're cool too but not as much. Thanks for the post!

akirachan

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> So are all these cars located in Alameda? I'm in San Ramon for a few days on business, I may have to venture over and take a look around myself.

DJFriar

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> @whatwouldjessedo:

BTW, i neglected to mention that your car rules.

Papercutninja

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> Hey Murilee, good call! I own this Mini and the '66 Datsun. Heres some info on it.

I bought this car when I was 15 for $1200, some 18 years ago. It had the 850cc in it then, but it died pretty quickly so I put a 1275 from an Austin America in it. It has since been rebuilt, bored .030 over with an APT cam. It has twin SUs and a California Highway appropriate 3.10 final drive. It has a twin box exhaust so it's not that loud really, but its made in typical british quality so I plan on putting a straight pipe & single muffler on it soon, center exit of course.

As for it's Frankenstein-ness, it's all one 1961 car, except for the motor as I mentioned. It also has some aftermarket parts on there, KAD quick shift, 100+ wheels, front disc brakes, Cobra seats, Hi-Lo suspension, Spax shocks, and probably a few other things.

I just registered both cars for the Park Street Classic Car show on Oct. 13th. Come by and say hi!

or maybe I'll see you at the LW first...

~jesse

whatwouldjessedo

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> Very cute.

TPSreports

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> It's hard to appreciate how small these cars are until you see them in the wild. They make a Beetle look like a substantial piece of car. I've only ever seen two in my native state, and one was for sale. IIRC, I was thwarted by a $9K price tag.

brandegee

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> @Turcicus: No slag intended. My wife wants one, bad. I told her as soon as her '01 S4 is in need of something prohibitively expensive she can get one....but not until.

TinaChow

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> When I first graduated from high school I had a right hand drive 850. I didn't know much about the car at the time but the little thing just halled ass. It felt like a tall go cart. I'll tell you though driving a right hander in Calif. is scarry as hell in something that small.

48pan2

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> I think if you see a MINI Cooper S, you can be fairly sure that there is at least a glimmer of a driving enthusiast behind the wheel. At least until this current generation when they introduced a CVT tranny to the S model. Now sorority girls can drive them, because its the "expensive" model.

Having said that, i've wanted an original Morris/Mini for a long time. I'd even be tempted to get the VTEC engine swap, though the full 200HP is pretty insane.
I actually saw an OG Mini on Sunday in NJ. It was a black one with Mini badges and the cloth sunroof. We drove by it a little too fast, so i wasn't able to see which Mk it was. Awesome, and it was an older guy driving.


Papercutninja

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> @Turcicus: Sure, and I respect you for that. But Tina's referring to the clueless real-estate agents that buy it because they think it's cutesy, thereby enforcing its reputation as a girly car for ditzy broads.


But yeah. A guy in my town owns a bright orange Mini, and I always hold up traffic every time I slow down driving past it. He also has an E30 M3 and a pair of STis, and there's always various like-minded Subaru enthusiasts gathering outside his place. This could be the excuse for me to go over and take a few pictures.


4.9 Port Fuel Injection BZR

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> @TinaChow: Uh, keep in mind that some of us owners of the "ubiquitous new Minis" aren't "trendoid clone[s]" - we're actually car people.

Turcicus

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> Yup, the Datsun 411 and this Mini is owned by the same person. I'm sure he'll be commenting on this when I tell him about it. You will notice some other obscure cars parked on that same street.

hyperocky

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> i hope it has straight pipes

TeacherSnake

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> Finally.

Placebo

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> Did you guys ever get the pictures I sent of the RHD Morris 1000 that I spied here in Indy? They weren't very good photos (camera phone), but the guys definitely uses it as a daily driver.

He said it "needs some work"... :)

FЯeeMan

]]> <![CDATA[Morris 850]]> What a refreshing counterweight to the ubiquitous new Minis one sees, all being driven by the same trendoid clone.

It's definitely a FrankenCar. Perhaps it's even made out of bits and pieces of hotrod Minis the owner found scattered on the Stelvio pass after the making of the very first Italian Job movie.

TinaChow

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