VALUES

Most sought-after are the Riley, Vanden Plas and MG1300’s: minters are £5000 if you can find one. Useable and saveable 1100/1300’s start at around £500 and £1500 buys a very clean Austin or Morris. The rare Estates don’t make any more than saloons, and the MkIII cars (1971-73) aren’t as sought after as the rare MkI.

ENGINE & GEARBOX

• Both the 1098cc and 1275cc engines are good, but the 1275 is a lot nicer to drive with more torque, even as a standard single carb unit. The MkII MG1300, Riley Kestrel and Riley 1300 cars used twin carburettor engines as did the manual Vanden Plas 1300 and the 1300GT. Twin carburettor 1100’s used the 12G295 Mini Cooper/Sprite head.
• Low oil pressure (oil light flickering at idle) and high oil consumption mean a rebuild. Everything is available new: 1275 engines can use the better Metro pistons, and 1098 engine parts can be found at Minor and MG specialists. A very simple engine to strip and rebuild, but a good one will last indefinitely with regular oil changes and considerate use.
• Gearboxes last well, but excessive gear whine means trouble with either the idler gear or primary gear. Crunching second gear synchro means an engine-out job to fix it – a new baulk ring, and a second gear hub if too far gone. Parts are getting harder to find for the pre-1968 three synchro units.
• The four-speed AP automatic is a mixed bag. They drive quite well, but few got the 3000-mile oil changes they needed. Rebuilds are expensive, and a conversion to manual requires a complete engine and gearbox but the front subframe is the same on both.

STEERING, SUSPENSION, BRAKES

• All 1100/1300 cars used front discs and rear drums. MkII models used sliding calipers, while twin carburettor 1300’s used a servo which is worth retrofitting. Original metal-bodied master cylinders are hard to find now, but the plastic reservoir version works fine.
• Hydrolastic is reliable and not bad to work on. Displacers are quite simple to replace once depressurised, but the front to rear pipes are a subframes-out job so make sure they’re good. New displacers are very rare, but there are plenty of good used ones about.
• The four balljoints on the front hubs need to be stripped, cleaned and reshimmed periodically, and replaced when worn out but are cheap enough. Outer CV joints ‘click’ on full lock when worn but are simple and cheap to replace. Rear wheel bearings are pressed into the combined rear hub/drum.

To read the complete Buyer's Checklist feature buy the June 2011 issue of Classic Car Mart. Back issues available here.