How long is it worth maintaining old diesels for?

[Towpack]

As kids we used to call them Morris Trump because of the exhaust noise on overrun.

 

[Chas]

As kids we used to call them Morris Trump because of the exhaust noise on overrun.

Oh yes, very distinctive.

 

[moggy1968]

I did wonder about the name Moggy, I've owned five Moggies, a Traveller, a four door, a two door and two convertibles, I'm keeping my eye open for a nice updated modified one with a more modern engine and auto box.

Mine had a 1275 engine and 5 speed ‘box. Wouldn’t do it again, I would go standard. The gearbox was awful to drive, I never managed to get the engine properly set up despite using an A series specialist and it was the most unreliable car I ever owned.

 

[moggy1968]

As kids we used to call them Morris Trump because of the exhaust noise on overrun.

All A series engines sounded like that, it’s the sound of British motoring!!

 

[StarCruiser]

As a passionate Morris Minor fan that brought tears to my eyes.

Well I did hear something recently that might help there Chas.

I’m not sure if it was one and the same Moggie, but I heard the tale too and recently heard the whole story…from the parts manager of the garage that received the car for scrappage. He said that once the deal had been done the garage were duty bound to scrap the vehicle. When word got round it was likely to be destroyed, it was decided the garage would try anything they could to stop its destruction. I forget the details but I believe it went all the way to parliament (being the government scrappage scheme). They actually succeeded in preventing its destruction, however the best they could achieve was that it had a prohibition from ever being put back on the road and that it was to go to a museum. That’s all I know, where it ended up I’ve no idea.

 

[Higgy]

Do you remember when the price of scrap got just over £300 a ton.. Any thing that had the slightest trace element of metal went in the crusher.. the stuff we got nicked of the farm for scrap was unbelievable and if you broke down on the A46 you did not leave your vehicle there was a story of a women in an Audi TT Broke down kindly sir gave her a lift to the garage when she got back.. It had been Hiab'd away.. all the bronze and Brass from churches etc.. It was shocking

 

[StarCruiser]

Do you remember when the price of scrap got just over £300 a ton.. Any thing that had the slightest trace element of metal went in the crusher.. the stuff we got nicked of the farm for scrap was unbelievable and if you broke down on the A46 you did not leave your vehicle there was a story of a women in an Audi TT Broke down kindly sir gave her a lift to the garage when she got back.. It had been Hiab'd away.. all the bronze and Brass from churches etc.. It was shocking

The copper theft still continues. I visited Network Rail at the height when clean copper was £4000 a tonne. Cables were being taken left right and centre. From the railways, the thieves would throw them across the line, let the train cut them then off they went. A colleague works in the quarries round here on electrics. Quarry cable is usually laid on the surface so it’s visible. One very long length, 90m or so of 300mm 3 core was swiped one night. They even stripped it on site leaving the insulation. The replacement cable got buried. Two mornings later the workers arrived to find the keys to the loading shovel had been stolen from the office and the shovel had been used to drag the cable out to the same fate, demolishing half the switch room in the process. I had one I had to disconnect with a knuckle bend in the middle and a strop attached to it. One end had shifted a flat roof by 3”, the other had lifted a factory roof. The electricity board guy that came to pull fuses said he had seen ‘remains’ in substations before where the village idiot was told to go in with bolt croppers, and overhead line poles cut down with chainsaws.

 

[Higgy]

I remember sections of the M42 being in Complete darkness, When they ripped out 3 miles of cabling from the side of the motorway. I remember watching a documentary about it and they had put on thick wellies and cut through with hand axes and bolt croppers... Police caught a gang of Romanians who travelled Britain nicking train and motorway cables

 

[StarCruiser]

…they had put on thick willies ……

I’ve never heard of that being necessary in my electrical training…

 

[moggy1968]

I’ve never heard of that being necessary in my electrical training…

never under estimate the importance of a thick willie, especially where electrics are concerned!

 

[chapel gate]

lol..

 

[Higgy]

Ha!Ha! Funny men! Note Edit... You can get Willie Wellies You know!

 

[StarCruiser]

Ha!Ha! Funny men! Note Edit... You can get Willie Wellies You know!

Maybe that’s just around Sandwich Higgy…

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

Maybe that’s just around Sandwich Higgy…

No drifting off topic here then??

 

[StarCruiser]

No drifting off topic here then??

Of course not Andy!

Now, where were we?

 

[Higgy]

Of course not Andy!

Now, where were we?

We were getting ready to strip Robo's old 80 down, And give a new lease of life..

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

We were getting ready to strip Robo's old 80 down, And give a new lease of life..

Would this be the equivalent of a group hug??

 

[Higgy]

Would this be the equivalent of a group hug??

Only if there are Women involved... Actually what does happen to the Ladies on the Forum, ? There were a few at one time..

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

Only if there are Women involved... Actually what does happen to the Ladies on the Forum, ? There were a few at one time..

TBH Higgy, although there are one or two genuine Lady Cruiser owners out there somewhere I don't recollect ever seeing one at a meeting.

 

[Chas]

I did wonder about the name Moggy, I've owned five Moggies, a Traveller, a four door, a two door and two convertibles, I'm keeping my eye open for a nice updated modified one with a more modern engine and auto box.

I think I could live with a Moggie like this one.