When the brochure announcing the London to Sydney Marathon 2004 arrived, only a quick glance was sufficient to convince me that my participation was a foregone conclusion.
Perhaps I was ready for a new challenge - a change of motor sport discipline - something different to speed hill-climbing, the sport I have been involved with since the mid seventies. Rather than exercise all my concentration for short distances up Shelsley Walsh or Prescott, my favourite venues, the thought of leaving London and driving nearly 10,000 miles through exotic places, finally arriving in Sydney thirty days later, re-awakened my adventurous spirit.

If I were to take part in such a challenging motoring event what type of vehicle should be considered and what criteria does one use to make this crucial decision?  Jaguar, Porsche, Ford Escort, even a Hillman Hunter similar to the 1968 winner of the first London to Sydney Marathon, spring to mind as Trevor Hulks my co-driver and I considered our options.  The final choice – a Morris Minor.  It’s a good sturdy small car, quite robust, mechanically simple and should be easy to repair, if necessary, in any remote, far away place. But more importantly it’s an affordable car and shouldn’t cause any grief for my bank manager.
We were expecting to travel far and wide before a Minor in reasonable condition was found - one that had not been repaired over and over again with welded implants as happens so often to enable the owner to get through a MOT for as little expense as possible.  But luck came our way in the form of a two door 1970 Morris Minor 1000, advertised in the local newspaper for £500 and only two miles away.

After a thorough check over, by crawling underneath and examining every panel it became apparent that this Minor had been fairly well cared for. The front mudguards had been recently replaced but were lacking a final coat of paint.  The spring hangers at some point in the past had been renewed and the undertray at least hadn’t been welded in small sections.  Rust was developing on areas of the bodywork and we came to the conclusion that the car was indeed just ready for a major rebuild before it deteriorated any further – ideal for our project.

With the new acquisition sitting in the driveway waiting for its makeover, the reality of the situation started to cause me sleepless nights.  There was the US $36,000 entry fee to raise before we could consider any start on the restoration of the Minor – that amount would definitely provoke a headache for my bank manager.  Sponsorship seemed to be the only means that would enable me to fill in the entry form.

Months were spent in the pursuit of sponsorship.  It definitely wasn’t my forte. Then an acquaintance said to me, “It’s a business venture.  You’re not asking for a handout.  You are going to promote the Company who sponsor you, aren’t you?”
“Of course,” I responded.    
But his final statement really made things clear to me.
“How do you think the Formula 1 teams would manage without sponsorship?  The motor sport industry would fold without the lucrative sponsorship deals.

Feeling more confident, with a new attitude, I was delighted when Guy Ainsley, the Marketing Director of Inchcape plc telephoned to say that Autobytel, one of the group’s subsidiary companies would be our major sponsor for the Marathon.  I filled in the entry form and posted it immediately.

A whole year until the 5th June 2004 start of the marathon seemed ample time to completely restore and prepare the Minor for its trip of a lifetime but when the first mudguards and sills were removed to reveal some nasty rusted out holes I began to realise that the task ahead would be more time-consuming than first anticipated.

Although the car had been fairly well cared for with underseal in obvious places, when we started delving into less accessible areas, the contrast was stark.  Some crucial brackets and seams in the wheel arches and under the sills had disappeared altogether.  The overall condition was repairable but Trevor’s enthusiasm for cutting out and welding in new pieces started to wane.

One of the advantages for choosing a common car is that a number of specialist parts dealers are located in many parts of the UK and some carry a stock of every replacement panel.  Phoning around to check on prices I was surprised when one dealer mentioned he had an original ‘new’ body shell and might be tempted to sell it. Stored for well over thirty years, and although covered in surface rust, it had never been used.  As it is a similar age to the old car there would be no problems with any eligibility regulations.

After one viewing we decided that by installing all the rebuilt suspension, engine, gearbox, back axle and every component onto a new body shell would make the project more desirable.  In a short time the body shell was at its new home awaiting its transformation.

With the body problems solved it was time to consider the mechanics.  To enable us to maintain reasonable average speeds we decided to install a 1,275 c.c. A Series engine.  A good example, originally from a Marina van, was found in a local breaker’s yard for £50 and when dismantled revealed very little wear.  The engine rebuild turned out to be routine, fitting new bearings, pistons and bigger valves.  We opted for a lower compression ration of 8:1 just in case we encountered lower octane petrol during the marathon.  Valve seats and bigger valves were fitted to enable the engine to run on unleaded fuel.  The new camshaft was profiled to give slightly more power but one that would not require the engine to be revved a lot. A smaller flywheel was fitted and the Minor backplate was used and modified to suit the cylinder block of the bigger engine.  Instead of using a single row timing chain a duplex version was chosen which should not wear out so quickly and upset the valve timing.

The components were balanced and assembled and new water, oil pumps and alternator fitted.  After the single SU carburettor was completely rebuilt and fitted, the engine was placed on the shelf waiting for the rest of the car to be completed.

The gearbox, originally from a MG Midget with closer gear ratios than a Morris Minor, was found to be in reasonably good condition, however, the first gear ratio was showing signs of wear and we replaced it with a new gear, bearings, gaskets, and plungers.

Trevor dismantled and cleaned the back axle ready to assemble with all new bits.  He decided to check the casing in the lathe and was dismayed to find that it was bent.  To the naked eye it looked fine but once rotated between centres it was obvious that it must have been in an accident at sometime.  Two more back axles that we acquired seemed to be suffering from the same problem.  Some time was spent trying to locate more Morris Minor back axles.  One of the Morris Minor specialists fortunately had a supply and after Trevor had dismantled three more axles, at last, he discovered a casing that was not bent.  After all the time wasted, it almost felt like winning a prize.

Morris Minors are renowned for brake fade when under intense use.  As much of the London to Sydney marathon route takes us over twisty and demanding mountainous roads we need to be assured that the car will have superior stopping power whenever required, without any hiccups.  Discs on the front offered a likely solution and once again the Marina provided the parts.  The only modification required:  altering the spacing of the wheel studs to match the Minor wheels.

Telescopic shock absorbers we chose, rather than the standard push pull lever type, to help the Minor withstand the expected rough road conditions.
Making the mountings for the shock absorbers was involved, requiring several designs before Trevor was satisfied.  On the rear it was necessary to provide a secure fixing under the floor but without reinforcement was not rigid enough.  Finally Trevor made a bridge that went across the boot floor and then securely bolted into new bushes that had been welded into the box section.

The front needed some experimentation before the designer was satisfied that the mountings were strong enough due to the limited space available and the need to incorporate mountings for an anti-roll bar. The end result is stronger mountings both front and rear.

In case the fuel becomes contaminated during the Marathon, a second tank (from a mini-traveller), with its own separate fuel pump, is mounted in the boot area above the original tank.  The two fuel pumps, equipped with an independent fuel filter are all situated in the rear boot area; their location to help guard against fuel vaporisation while travelling in hot climates.

Once the modifications were finalised and made, the body shell was sand-blasted to remove the surface rust and old primer then electro-coated and finally painted.  The Henley blue colour I chose (and I think it looks fantastic) is not an original Morris Minor colour but I hope my actions will not have me ex-communicated from the Morris Minor Owners’ Club.

Once the doors were hung, windows, head lining and roll-over bar fitted onto the body shell, soundproofing glued inside the panels, the back axle, engine and gearbox were finally installed.

The Minor is fitted out entirely with stainless steel braided flexible brake and fuel hosing, routed internally through box sections wherever possible, to protect from flying stones and possible grounding.

Other precautionary measures taken include a sturdy sump guard and an exhaust system mounted higher than normal with the silencer mounted parallel to the back bumper bar.
Wiring the car proved to be no simple chore.  With extra gauges, more fuses than standard, different layout of the fuel system, two speed wiper motor and reverse light, the first task was to design a completely new wiring diagram followed by a careful and systematic wiring procedure.

Eventually, months over schedule, well over budget, and only weeks before the start of the Marathon, the day arrived when the Minor emerged from the workshop finished and ready for its first test drive, a two mile journey to the local garage for its MOT.  And it passed with flying colours – the mechanic commenting that it was the cleanest floor pan he had ever seen.

It was rather nerve wracking driving the Minor for the first time after the best part of a year totally committed to its rebuild.  I kept imagining that strange noises were coming from every component but after a few miles I realised that I must be suffering from a severe dose of post restoration anxiety syndrome.

In reality, although at this stage only driven at slow speeds to run-in the engine, the Minor appears to be noticeably more torquey than the original 1,098 c.c. engine even with a small throttle opening.

The brake pedal needs a firm pressure but stops in a positive manner, which makes me feel more confident about hurtling down narrow mountain roads.

The steering initially has a slight lack of sensitivity due possibly to the chunky treaded Avon van tyres, but on turning into corners responds very nicely without the usual Minor understeer.

The ride is quite firm with minimum roll when cornering– the telescopic shock absorbers contributing to a feel reminiscent of a 1950’s sports car.

We need to cover a few thousand miles yet before the start of the Marathon, to be assured that every component is functioning perfectly and to carry out any necessary fine tuning, but I am confident that this Morris Minor will pull up in front of the Sydney Opera House on 4th July, intact, after completing its epic journey.