Breaking News December 2011/Jan 2012: LMC Hadrian Panels
Following the sale of LMC Hadrian we are very pleased to announce that in partnership with Nic Harding of Morris Minor Centre (Bath) Ltd we have successfully purchased all of the LMC Hadrian Morris Minor panel tooling and so secured the future production of these panels. This excitingly includes the original Henric tooling and will allow us to continue the manufacture of these panels in the U.K. for a great many years to come. Whilst there is in excess of a hundred tools, that clearly will take a considerable time to relocate and re-commission, we will be working flat out to do so and will of course prioritise getting the panels back into production that are most urgently needed. The photo above shows the tools being loaded up from LMC Hadrian's premises in Westbury, Wiltshire. We will update on our news page here as things progress.
Welcome to ESM
Having recently become aware of some inaccurate information on the web and in the press regarding Morris Minor disc brake kits I felt it necessary and hopefully helpful to put a few facts here on our news page
Graham Clayton Managing Director ESM Morris Minors Ltd.
GMP050
This Kit originates from the "Mr Grumpy Marina Disc Brake Kit". The confusion here is regarding availability of calipers and hubs as original core stock of Marina and Ital parts is now very scarce. This kit has been updated to include newly manufactured calipers and hubs. Neither require exchange or return units and are in plentiful supply. Also to note that the hubs are steel, do not require a collar or sleeve on the stub axle to fit and take bearing No's 30203 and 30205 as common with DSK100 and not the original Marina bearings.
DSK100
This kit originally started life as the "Owen Burton Ford Sierra Kit" but as with GMP050 all parts are now newly manufactured and many development and improved design changes have occurred along the way, notably using calipers that allow for the wheel to be fitted directly onto the hub without the need for a spacer.
Since it's inception in the mid eighties well over a thousand of these kits have been sold with very few problems and a great many happy and satisfied customers around the world.
However in October 2004 a batch of one hundred hubs were manufactured with an incorrect tolerance for the recess for the bearing's outer race. This resulted in some bearings prematurely failing and the hubs correctly being sited as the problem. Necessary changes to production were put in place, including sourcing from a different manufacturer, to make certain that this error never occurred again, which it has not done. However, perhaps understandably, the failed hubs from this batch have, it appears, resulted in the false belief that aluminium alloy HE30TF is not a suitable material with which to manufacture disc brake hubs.
Aluminium alloy HE30TF in fact is used at the higher end of the market for racing and rally applications. I have provided a couple of links here for those interested in further details re uses and applications. RevingtonTR and PistonheadsHE30TFapplications ( follow google search results ) . Hubs used by Marcos at Le Mans were manufactured at the same shop as ours as well as uprated hubs for Triumph TRs.
Whilst aluminium alloy is a very suitable material, it is of course a softer metal than steel and accordingly there is a higher risk of damage to the hub during bearing removal and fitment. If not done correctly using a press then it is almost certain to damage the hub. In addition to this the fact that manufacturing the hubs out of steel is less expensive for us than using aluminium alloy we have decided to introduce an option with the DSK100 kit to have steel hubs. We hope to have the steel hubs available for summer 2012. As always we welcome customer feedback on any of the products we sell with the aim of bettering them wherever we can.
We've re-invented the wheel! Newly manufactured by MMC Bath - 4.5 x 14 Morris Minor wheels. They are the width of the original wider van wheel but have the added benefit of a safety bead allowing safe fitting of tubeless tyres. Top coated in Old English White they are an ideal upgrade option for saloons, travellers and convertibles as well as being replacements for rusted or damaged commercial wheels.
MMC Bath's Original BMC Bumper Tooling on the move. There she goes! The "stretch bender" and presses were loaded up from Bradford on Avon near Bath where they have been happily producing the Minor bumpers for the last few years. They are being relocated to the midlands and look set to carry on producing Minor bumper blades for another......... 60 years?!
New Product 2011- Silicon Hose Set, Part No SIL100
Vintage wrap styled classic hoses that last. This set consists of a top hose, bottom hose ( with heater take off ), fuel filler hose, two pre shaped heater hoses and a bypass hose ( not vintage wrap syle, available in blue ). We can also supply a set of clips for all of these hoses.
Previous postings
Tom Returns triumphant in his "Saved from the Scrapper" Moggie . Tom Child, ESM Stores co-stock controller, returned from his charity run to Croatia . He and his co-pilot Lee Stockwell made the journey in Pete, a Peat Brown 1967 two door Saloon Morris Minor.Tom carried out a few mods to help him with his low budget Mog including some comfy ebay seats and a 1300 Ital engine.
The purpose of the trip apart from blessing the Europeans with Tom and Lee's presence was to raise money for a good cause. The trip was organised by the Charity Gemin-i, who are committed to dealing with some of the world's greatest issues through education using technology. Through the Internet, debate and forums they can teach children to make positive changes. Therefore the trip is helping educate children about HIV/Aids, malaria, conflict resolution and human rights.
Tom named his team the 5,6,7/8'S, "well it sounded catchy and it sounds rock 'n' roll. So obviously it suits us perfectly!".
Here's a piccy of Tom with Pete.
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RP202L/R U.K. Manufactured saloon roof guttering section. This is the profiled gutter that runs above the front doors along the roof edge on all models. It is long enough to completely replace a Van/Pick up gutter. Far better quality than previously available. The gutter section is supplied etch primed.
U.K. Manufactured from original Morris Minor Centre (Bath) Ltd Tooling- Steel Bootlids RP130 ( Bath Part No PAN147 ) The inner and outer skins are primed before assembly and sealer is also being used between their join on the lower section below the handle. This was never done on factory originals and makes these new boot lids far better protected against rusting .
Here are a couple of pictures from our visit to the pressing plant showing the "rubber" press used for production of the Bootlids. The first, pic 1, shows the main bootlid tool having just been removed from the press and having had the bootlid pressing removed. The second picture shows the pressing. This is then pressed again using the new intensifier tool which acts as the other half to the tool in pic 1 and is vital for producing the required definition in the panel. Finally the pressing is trimmed and finished.
