1965 Morris 850 project

[Lambretta]

Hi all
Although not a newbie in the british classics, this is my first mini.
Car sold new in Denmark on 1965 where it remained in service till 1978.
From 1978 till 2021 was sitting in a barnm waiting to be restored.
Now it is with me, in Athens. Waiting to be restored and start a new life under the Greek sun





Any help, ideas, comments, feedack would be highly appreciated, as my knowledge with minis, is so limited

Cheers,
Nassos

[Lambretta]

The Danish Mini, arrived in Athens last Monday and I couldnt say no to a friend's offer to help.
So we ve put it in his garage so the Mascot (the Danish name for the Morris MInis back those days) to be clean and dismantled in an effort to evaluate the works needed for the resto

Here are some photos

[Lambretta]

[mk1]

That looks very good indeed! It's rare to find as good a bodyshell as that here in the UK.

Should be a fantastic project.

[Lambretta]

My intention is to restore this beautiful mini in standard factory specs. Keeping also the factory colors combo.
The only questionable issue is whether I should maintain the setup of the hydroelastic or not.
The ground clearance looks ok, but keeping the hydro or not, depends on the availability of the spare parts and the specialists. I wouldnt like to end with phaving problems on such an old car. If the hydro can be restored in such way so i will have got a fine and problem free result (even if I have to send it to UK to be done) then this is fine to me.

[Old English White]

As Mark says - a great project That level of rust make is "Good condition" in the UK. It looks pretty original although I can see it has had a later front panel fitted at some time.
Keep the pictures coming!

[Old English White]

Oh: And keep the Hydrolastic. The ride is so much better in my view
I love Hydrolastic but am aware that others have a different view!

[Lambretta]

That looks very good indeed! It's rare to find as good a bodyshell as that here in the UK.

Should be a fantastic project.

I have bought 2 of my Triumphs from UK. And they are RHD in deed...
One is a '66 Spitfire Mk2 and the other one is a '67 GT6 Mk1.
The bodywork was a total nightmare. I ve replaced almost all the panels except the bulkhead and the inner section of the wheel arches Ok, I also kept the roof of my GT6
And the repro panels needed a lot of work to be fitted. They are rubbish. At least the ones I am speaking (for the Triumph cars)
Hope I will be luckier with the quality of the panels in the mini

[Lambretta]

As Mark says - a great project That level of rust make is "Good condition" in the UK. It looks pretty original although I can see it has had a later front panel fitted at some time.
Keep the pictures coming!

I love keeping a car as much closer as I can to the factory specs.
The hydro I intend to keep it. As soon as I will have solved the "problem" with their complete overhaul and I see there is a good availability on the parts needed to maintain it in good condition.
Can they be reliable and long lasting after a complete rebuild?

Also could you please clarify about the change in the front panel? Definitely I would like to correct any mistakes done by the previous owner

[mk1]

Generally speaking, panels for Mini's are pretty good. They get a lot of criticism from enthusiast body workers, but very few from professionals. Compared to Triumph, you will find that spares are well catered for.

[mk1]

Hydro can be perfectly reliable & as good as new when refurbished. The front panel on a 1965 car would be the cut away type.

[Lambretta]

Hydro can be perfectly reliable & as good as new when refurbished. The front panel on a 1965 car would be the cut away type.

Thanks
Could you please let me know the correct part number which should be fitted to my January '65 Morris?

[Old English White]

The cutaways on the lower valance are indeed correct for a 1965 car. The giveaways for it being a later panel - and easily corrected - are the larger and closer together brackets for the number plate and the large holes for the later grille which are only partly covered by the Mk1 grille

[mk1]

Well spotted OEW.

As far as I know, the best Front panel is the M-Machine one.

http://preview.m-machine.co.uk/CATALOGU ... alogue.pdf

Part No: 51.18.01.00

[Lilihip]

Hi,

I just found this post. I have exactly the same Mini built on the same date as your mini. drop me a PM if interested to share more photos and details.

cheers,
Filip

[mab01uk]

Hi,

I just found this post. I have exactly the same Mini built on the same date as your mini. drop me a PM if interested to share more photos and details.

cheers,
Filip

Lambretta was Last active: Sat Nov 06, 2021 8:35 am.

But if you click on his user name you could try contacting him by email.