Body measurement help, please?

Post by **Bluesman** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:12 pm

Hi good people - I could use some help from one of you with a perfect body

- that is a perfectly straight Minor 1000 2-d body

Our 1960 2-d Betty has undergone some 1970:s repair work/butchering after a frontal or frontal/diagonal accident, and before I start cutting the rotten and twisted bits, I need to know some measurements. No single panel or fixing point in the front end of this car can be trusted (it´s all been beaten and "straightened out" in the "repair"), so I need your help.

I will need to know

1) the distance in mm between the inner (or outer) sides of the chassis legs, measured a) at the rear crossmember b) at the front crossmember - are they 100% parallell all the way?

2) The distance in mm from the center of the suspension eyebolt hole to where the chassis leg joins the rear crossmember

3) the distance in mm from the center of the eyebolt to where the chassis leg joins the front crossmember

4) Ideally, I´d love to know the true distance between the rear end of the chassis leg and the various places where the body panels join the chassis legs, i e at the firewall, in order to establish which parts have been compressed/moved backwards - but I guess that´s asking a lot from you..

5) Likewise, I need to have some horizontal reference point too (to make sure the chassis legs are not twisted or bent horizontally with respect to each other or the horizontal line of the car) - but how to establish it? I´d love to have a 100% flat & horizontal floor - and a LASER BEAM thingy (as avertised on TV shop

)!

Failing that - whatchamagonnado?

Tips and accurate measurements welcome - as always!

Cheers from Sweden/Richard

Post by **alanworland** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 5:59 pm

I have just been out to the garage to do a bit of measuring for you (I used to be able to slide right under the Morris from side to side, must do a bit of dieting!)
Anyway my unmolested/unwelded chassis measures (with a Stanley Powerlock) as follows:-

1) Distance between chassis legs at front is 407mm and at rear 416mm (this is because each chassis leg narrows at the rear)

2)Front of the rear cross member (not the 'tabs' on the chassis) to suspension eyebolt measures 994mm.

3)Rear of front cross member to suspension eyebolt measures 488mm.
The above were measured in not ideal conditions so I would allow +/- a mm or so.

The 'official' Morris Minor workshop manual has some very usefull dimensions in.
Hope this helps.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 12:08 am

I'll try to scan these sizes from manual for you tomorrow - but dunno how useful they will be.

Post by **Bluesman** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 1:00 am

You guys are extremely helpful - a big THANK YOU to both of you!

/Richard, in a slight haze of Laphroaig but digging into Betty before noon, promise

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:07 pm

Well - here it is. For whatever use you can make of it.

Post by **Bluesman** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:21 pm

Yes, I could make something out of it. Sort of. Problem is that all the frontal measuring points in this diagram cannot be trusted, since some butcher has tried to correct the steering geometry with the RHS chassis leg out of whack, so the box pattern I would get if I chalked up the points and lines from the sketch on the floor would only say just so much.

However, (after much scraping of goo and grease from the chassis legs )it turned out that the RHS leg has been bent inward, with the bend visible just front of the gearbox crossmember. Looks like the car got hit on the RHS wheel, with the eyebolt pushing the chassis leg inward. The RHS leg has then been pulled somewhat straight again (there´s still 8mm missing between the chassis legs @ front), but the kink in it is visible, just as the 90 degree bends (between the vertical sections of the leg and the lip where it is spot welded to the upper parts) are not 90 degree anymore just aft of the eyebolt. Things are skewed, so to speak.

So - now I need to remove the gearbox and suspension and start working on cutting this chassis leg out.

I can´t tilt the car, so this bit of work is going to be a major pig.

How to proceed - drill out what I can of the spot welds, then carefully use a pneumatic chisel to separate the chassis leg from the floorpan, tie plate etc? All from below, I guess - any special tricks or tools involved, like special drill bits etc?

Cheers /Richard - THANKS for measuring, Alan, and for the scan, BMC.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 5:08 pm

It really will need the engine out - and would be much easier rolled on it's side. I am planning on making a simple roll - over frame from angle iron, since there don't seem to be any in Ecosseland! If you can see spot welds - then yes try drilling them out - slight problem - they tend to be very hard! Otherwise just chisel it off and then grind the old metal away back to clean flat surface. Good luck with it!

Post by **Bluesman** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 5:21 pm

Engine is already out..I just "forgot" to take the gearbox out at the same time (hoping I wouldn´t need to work that far back). Ah well...
From "fixing some easy hands-on small things" in September to a full-blown total restoration project (I haven´t told you about th erear end yet...ghaaa)...If I only had known, I would have looked for a better car, "but that´s what you get, loving a hurricane" (John Hiatt). Ah well, this way, at least I will KNOW it´s safe and sound once I am back on the road. And no, rolling her over is not an option. No space.
Time plan? MOT on May 1st, at least that´s our goal. It´s been sortof revised a few times, but...
*sigh*

/R