Morris Minor vs Triumph Herald

[Steve76]

Hello,

I'd like to get people's opinion on which they'd recommend either a Morris Minor or a Triumph Herald? They are my two top choices for a first classic but apart from the styling I don't really know what makes one better than the other pros, cons, etc. My budget will be whatever I can get from selling my Lambretta so hopefully around £1500.

Cheers,

Steve

[JPB]

Minor. Easier to drive and even better spares backup. Ideal solution is to spend a grand on a Minor and the 500 left on a Herald, these amounts will get you ones that work.

[arceye]

Yup, I'd go for a Minor, but then I must admit to never having owned a Herald

So from a one sided perspective, A series engine, Just about every part you'd ever want at pretty good prices, Easy Maintenance, Reliability...... is all par for the course with a Minor..

Watch for Rot though, especially round the rear spring hangers and for dodgy bits of bent metal welded in to cover where the sill channels should be. Oh, and expect some oil leaks, but make sure there aint any really dodgy ones at the back of the engine

If it helps inspire heres the one I had a couple of years ago

First as a £200 quid rotter



Then as a 1275 converted welded up machine (It@s the lad in the picture, I'm not that young )



Go on, you know you want one

[zipgun]

Make sure the front wings and front panel are rot , because i've got some on here still for sale

[TerryG]

I'd go for a Minor too but I am biased as I have owned several including my current one since I was 12 (lots of years ago). It is nice to drive (and power sliding on wet roundabouts is nicely controllable), every part you could ever need is available off the shelf and you only need basic tools to work on them.

[Steve76]

Looks like there's not much love for the Herald. I think the Morris Minor is winning so far. Does the Herald not have any advantage when it comes to rust and body repair?

[Martin Evans]

I think both are well catered for in terms of spares (I generally use http://www.morrisminorspares.co.uk/), though I have never owned a Triumph (Unless you count the engine and box in my MG Midget).

The Herald is a chassised car, whereas the Minor (Apart from the van and pickup) is a monocoque. Sometimes a chassis can be better, in that the body is not structural, though I suspect (I would need this confirmed) that part of the Herald body is load bearing, as the chassis is of the backbone type. With some of the older cars, the chassis were quite thick and would take a long time to rust through and bits of the body could be unbolted for repair. The downside is that to get at the chassis, you first have to remove the body. The Minor’s body is also the chassis and it is a pretty simple monocoque, so most things are easy to access. As an example, when you lift the gearbox cover (Middle of the footwell), you can see right inside the front “chassis” legs and the sills can also be inspected by unbolting the threshold plates. Being an early monocoque, it was conservatively or over built and this has the benefit that it is more resistant to rust than say a Mini, where they had learned more about weight saving.

The Herald has fully independent suspension, so may well have a softer ride but the back end was not fully sorted and the handling can be iffy when pushed. I also understand that the chassis is not as rigid as it might be, so they are more prone to creak. The lifting front end will be more prone to creak, though it does give fantastic access to the engine and front suspension.

There are lots of upgrades available for the Minor. I think front disc brakes are the most valuable, plus radius arms for the back axle. There are also things like 1275 engines and Ford 5 speed gearboxes, plus the smaller things like Halogen lights or electric screen wash etc etc. In some ways the Herald, being the basis for the Spitfire, scores here as I think some came from the factory with overdrive gearboxes and if they never had disc brakes (I’m not sure on this), I suspect Spitfire ones would be a straight swap. I think some of the later models had bigger (1300cc) engines as standard.

My advice would be to save up a bit more than £1500 and since you are on a tight budget, don’t even think about getting a Traveller. A good Traveller is great (Tardis like) but a bad one could be a nightmare. If I was looking for a Minor under £3000, I’d go for a 2 door 1000 saloon (1098cc version). One other point, is that if you don’t have covered storage for the Minor, stick to the scooter (Which at least will fit in a garden shed) for the time being and get some storage sorted out first.

Good hunting.

[Steve76]

Very comprehensive Martin thanks!

[tractorman]

We had both when I was younger: Minors from when I was about two or three and, after the third rotted out when I was fifteen, a Herald (of the same age as the last Minor). In the mid 70's, my mother had a second Herald and soon after that, my sister and brother-in-law had at least one Herald. I would have said I learnt to drive on a Minor, but the first car I legally drove on a road was the Herald. Mind you, I drove an Austin (A55-style) pick-up long before either car!

I would suggest that the Herald was more of a "ladies' car" in that they seemed to be designed as either a second car, or to appeal to the "professional's wife" and had nice things like a wooden dashboard (apart from the very early ones) and leather seats. I suppose the ladies didn't drive with the same enthusiasm as men did - though Mother often got the back end hopping!

IIRC, 12/50 has disc brakes and a slightly tuned engine and I don't count the 13/60 as I reckon they weren't such a pretty car - and the dash looked a lot cheaper!

Our early 1200 Herald was certainly a lot more nippy than the Minors we'd had, but the last Minor was a 948, so the extra capacity of the Herald would have a lot to do with that. I found the Herald nicer to drive in town though not as good on twisty country roads and, as the son of a country vicar, you can guess which roads I drove on!

It's only personal experience, but Father seemed to spend a lot more time under the Minors than either of us spent under the Heralds! I seem to remember that the only rot problem with the first Herald was a small hole in one of the outriggers - easily welded at a local garage. We had problems with the second Herald's timing, but that was because a local garage used a timing light! I read the book and set it as per the instructions and there were no more problems!

I well remember Mother coming in after a "Mother's Union" meeting one day and saying that she had discovered that, when turning right at speed, the passenger door would fly open! She was OK about it, but the lady churchwarden had been a little anxious - especially as it was before seatbelts had to be worn! So yes, scuttle shake was a problem! I looked at a 12/50 when I was about nineteen (my Wolseley Hornet was rotten) and the back wings were held on by mastic tape at the top! The seller said there was a water leak - yes, but the wings would move half an inch if you pulled the tops!

While I liked the Heralds, I was still a "Minor nut". However, I like my luxuries too much now - I'd buy something like a "series" Minx or Sceptre - I had a Minx and still miss it: one of three cars that I miss (the others being my old Maxi and Passat)! I almost bought a Super Minx a couple of months ago. Although it was reasonably priced and roadworthy, I couldn't justify and haven't enough space for another vehicle.

[TerryG]

If you want any information about the Herald you should email Neil at the magazine or (PM admin on here). He loves Heralds and seems to have a bottomless pit of information about them