Restoration or modication? Felix

[Madame Pika]

I'm fixing up a 63 minor 1000, 2 door saloon. It's my first project. Yay! ^-^

The engine turns over, gives spark, and has compression so I'm not worried about that. (Though currently it has no oil in it.) In fact, Felix seems like a pretty neat moggie mechanics wise. I have access to a welder for a month.

Recently when changing the brakes, I discovered that the passenger side door could open when it was lifted up on axle stands (and before it had been jamed shut). The sill has many holes in and is missing the jacking point and some of the cross member.

My mechanic friend said he reckons the chassis is sagging in the middle.

What do you think I should do?

[kevin s]

Its possible the chassis is sagging but more likely is the A pillar is crumbling. If you can lift the back of the door until it fits the apperture around the roof and is parrallel to the b pillar it is probably the A post.

[irmscher]

Maybe needs serious sill work take the kick plates off and have a look

[thecount]

HI congratulations on your first project, it's exciting isn't it.

Guess first you have to concern yourself with the structural rigidity and integrity of the car and once that is done you can decide whether to go down the original or modified route.

It's your car so follow whichever path makes you happy. If your after a show winning original then the path is clear, if your after a comfortable car that reflects your personality and still pays homage to the original vehicle then go ahead and modify it as you feel you need to. Sometimes bigger engines and better brakes are what you need, sometimes better seats and more updated electrics.

Mine looks mostly original though I have different lights and upgraded some other parts to suit the way I want to use it and that is the way I want it. As long as what you do makes you happy with it and you enjoy using it, that is all that matters.

Decisions can wait till its solid again though

Cheers

Gav

[Daddybear1984]

Hi and big congrats on your moggie, i look forward to seeing your progress

Kind Regards

Scott

[rayofleamington]

Rotten cross-member ends and missing jacking points are a pretty common occurrence.

My mechanic friend said he reckons the chassis is sagging in the middle

A 2 door saloon is monocoque - ie. the shell is structural and doesn't have a separate 'chassis'*.
Monocoque is/was a french term - in blighty the nearest equivalent is 'body shell' but monocoque is pretty universal.

(* from the bulkhead forward it pretty much is designed like a chassis - so the front end structural members are commonly referred to as chassis legs)

From the bulkhead back to the rear seat, the shell structure/strength is a combination of sills, A-post, B-post, centre crossmember, bulkhead crossmember roof and floor..

If the door aperture is distorted and/or changes shape depending on where you jack up the car - my guess is your sill construction is completely shot (and you are likely to have a rotten A-post as well).

The crossmember helps link the shell structure with the 'front chassis legs' and assuming the shell is weak, it's likely that the front chassis legs are rather more free to move than they should be as well!

In short - with a bit of thought it's possible to get the important bits lined up well prior to welding new structure in place. In reality it may be much cheaper / less effort / better end result to start with a much better shell!

[Madame Pika]

It did turn out to be the chassis. The person who was going to weld with me said it was too advanced for me to learn from.

Unfortunately not only have I not learned how to weld but I am now having to sell the car since I can afford to have Felix professionally done up.

It is for sale here.

I would like to thank all of you for your help anyway. I have learned a bit more about Morris Minors and feel more confident about asking for help on any future projects. Plus I was able to sound like less of a fool when I was talking to the teachers there. ^-^