Inspection?

[mrs.smith2012]

Evening all,
I plan to revisit the little mog I saw last week this weekend… and I know they say “you should never buy the first one you see!” But honestly unless her wheels have fallen off I think I’ll be going for this one

As you guys know I’m completely new to all this but I did take a very knowledgeable, trustworthy friend with me who gave the car a really good checking over and he could not find any evidence of rust or any mechanical issues.. we took her for a road test, my friend drove her as well as the seller and that all went really well. She’ll also have an MOT and full service before she goes to her new home, the seller has already said he will sort that out.

So my question is, is it worth paying a couple of hundred quid for a company like the RAC to inspect her? Would they be able to tell me anything different to what my friend (who has owned and restored classics for years) could tell me? The seller too was very honest and genuine, didn’t get the impression he was trying to flog me a wreck lol. I feel quite comfortable with everything tbh but what do you guys think?

[myoldjalopy]

If your friend really is 'knowledgeable and trustworthy' with years of experience of owning and restoring classics, and if 'he could not find any evidence of rust or any mechanical issues' then then I would save the £200 for future repairs etc. I can't see the RAC would find anything he hasn't.
It sounds like you do like this little car (and the photo you posted show its a pretty one!) and you have to weigh up whether you are likely to find a better one nearby. Go see it again with said friend and make your mind up - but don't wait too long in case someone else buys it!
Good luck!

[mrs.smith2012]

If your friend really is 'knowledgeable and trustworthy' with years of experience of owning and restoring classics, and if 'he could not find any evidence of rust or any mechanical issues' then then I would save the £200 for future repairs etc. I can't see the RAC would find anything he hasn't.
It sounds like you do like this little car (and the photo you posted show its a pretty one!) and you have to weigh up whether you are likely to find a better one nearby. Go see it again with said friend and make your mind up - but don't wait too long in case someone else buys it!
Good luck!

Thank you, you’ve echoed my thoughts really, I don’t want to cut corners but I don’t want to spend unnecessarily either as like you say, that money can go towards future upkeep.
My mind is made up to be honest, I want this little car… the seller knows I’m serious too

[Chief]

If you don't already know, it may be good to ask if it has been converted for unleaded fuel - otherwise you'll be using fuel additive (as many do) along side the E5 petrol.

The RAC are unlikely to start un-bolting things like the kick plates to dig around for rust in the sills etc. and, £200 can buy a lot of E5 petrol and/or fuel additive !

[mrs.smith2012]

If you don't already know, it may be good to ask if it has been converted for unleaded fuel - otherwise you'll be using fuel additive (as many do) along side the E5 petrol.

The RAC are unlikely to start un-bolting things like the kick plates to dig around for rust in the sills etc. and, £200 can buy a lot of E5 petrol and/or fuel additive !

Haha I thought that. She is converted yes, she takes E5, no additive required

[geoberni]

I would say that if your friend knows the Minor, then perhaps you've already done this, but have the outer sill panels removed so you can see the Boxing Plates underneath. What Chief referred to as the Kick Plates.

I'd never had a car where Sills were removable, so I didn't know they came off on the Minor . I found out later they weren't supposed to be welded on.
Luckily, when I drilled a small hole and inserted a fibre optic camera, I found Basil was solid under each of them.
Although he's structurally sound, the Boxing Plates under the Sills are not factory design, they're obviously home made.
What do I mean by Boxing Plates? It's these bits with the holes in...
Basil's are solid, with not a hole to be seen including the ones that are supposed to be there..., that's how I know they're home fabricated.

Boxing.JPG (34.06 KiB) Viewed 7409 times

[mrs.smith2012]

I would say that if your friend knows the Minor, then perhaps you've already done this, but have the outer sill panels removed so you can see the Boxing Plates underneath. What Chief referred to as the Kick Plates.

I'd never had a car where Sills were removable, so I didn't know they came off on the Minor . I found out later they weren't supposed to be welded on.
Luckily, when I drilled a small hole and inserted a fibre optic camera, I found Basil was solid under each of them.
Although he's structurally sound, the Boxing Plates under the Sills are not factory design, they're obviously home made.
What do I mean by Boxing Plates? It's these bits with the holes in...
Basil's are solid, with not a hole to be seen including the ones that are supposed to be there..., that's how I know they're home fabricated.
Boxing.JPG

Do you mean the step bits by the door? We couldn’t take those off as a previous owner (not the current seller) has ‘sealed them in’ not sure of the best way to describe it? I’ll see if I can find a pic. She had some kind of rust prevention treatment way back and everything was ‘wax sealed’ it appears to have done some good as we could find no evidence of any rot, she appears really solid all round.

[mrs.smith2012]

d7015382-8fef-4c72-9e6d-d3c83300040f.jpeg (224.57 KiB) Viewed 7398 times

[Chief]

Almost looks like Sikaflex 512 - in fact, it looks an awful lot like Sikaflex 512 sealant.

Also, unless some cars had them (ours don't) those screws aren't normal.

Basically the sill finisher (the blue bar under the black sealant that runs the length of the doors) is hooked over rusted bolts and nuts that are underneath the car.

Once they're removed with a saw blade, angle grinder, expletives, etc. -or if you're lucky, just un-screwed slightly without such effort- the silver plate (which is what I called the kick plate) should just lift off, once you peel up the doors draught excluder strip slightly, it also holds the carpet in place.

Even though you can crawl underneath and hit your hand on the bottom of the sills to make sure your hands don't go through them, you don't know 100% what's going on inside them - as an example mine while still structurally okay, when I last checked them were rusting away nicely - I was pulling large (and I do mean large, some pieces were hand-sized !) chunks of completely rusted metal out of them.

In my case I sent photos to my trusted restorer who assured me that it won't be an expensive job on my car (and told me I needn't have gone quite so mad with my hammerite spray can with which I attempted to slow down the corrosion after cleaning them out) - but it shows how things can happen without you realising.

[KeithL]

If you haven't already done it then it's probably worth checking the MoT history and tax details just to make sure everything is as you would expect.

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history
https://vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/

[stuffedpike20]

Some years ago I was hesitating about buying a convertible body shell, plus a complete donor car.
I was hesitating because the door pilars of the shell were drilled for interior light switches, which a genuine convertible shell should not have.
I phoned Rob Thomasson to ask his advice. He said 'If you do not buy it.....I will!'.
I bought it all for £350, got the convertible back on the road; used it for years and then sold it for £2,700.

You need someone to say to you 'If you do not buy it.....I will'. It is a lovely looking little car that seems well looked-after. I would not be concerned about what is under the kick plates....it can all be done if needed, and it might be fine. Buy it and then move on to the next stage....getting to know it and enjoy it.

For anyone thinking of getting a minor, I would recommend getting a copy of the Haynes book 'Morris Minor & 1000 the guide to purchase and DIY restoration'. There are copies on ebay. Very good book.

[rocco]

I think most of us will agree that we don't, and should not, expect a mint condition car even if the exterior looks fantastic.

Expect to do a few jobs and budget for them. We can always find excuses not to do something but ultimately you are treating yourself to something you are going to love. You've already been more sensible than most people are so just do it, enjoy it and be prepared to spend whenever you need to. I haven't looked but things like new sill finishers or kick plates at ESM are unlikely to break the bank anyway.

[mrs.smith2012]

Thank you all,
Have checked the tax and MOT stuff and everything lines up in terms of millage and what the seller has told me. She passed an MOT last year, and she will be MOT’d before she’s sold.

I guess I won’t know what’s going on under those kick plates til I get her home, the seller has been wonderful about me poking and prodding but I think he’d draw the line at me tearing those off

And yes, I have had someone say that if I don’t buy her they want the sellers details as they will have her! I had pretty much made my mind up already at that point but that confirmed it!

I appreciate the advice and encouragement!

[myoldjalopy]

Its quite normal for the kick plates to have self-tapper screws at the top. And the sealant may simply be an attempt to prevent rain ingress, although there are (should be) drain holes underneath the sills. I can't see the owner allowing you to remove them as it will require loosening off the nuts and bolts that hold the sill finisher strip on - and as 'Chief' has mentioned, these are inevitably rusty and do not come off without a struggle and may need to be cut/broken off.
Yes, you can't know what's underneath without removing them but if it is solid underneath, chances are its OK/not too bad inside. However, you could tap along the sills underneath with a small hammer and if they are really bad the sound will tell you (your friend will know the difference between the sound of solid metal and very rusty metal). Just remember, no ancient car is going to be without needing some TLC and, quite honestly, they do need periodic attention, so expect that. As I mentioned before, take your 'knowledgeable friend' with you a second time and, if all still seems good, you can make your final decision......

[mrs.smith2012]

That is the plan, he will be coming along with me and unless we discover something untoward, which I don’t anticipate… I shall hopefully be doing a deal. I will keep you guys posted!

One thing I did not confirm with the seller is if she is ULEZ exempt. She is 1960 so I know she would normally be automatically exempt but would the engine upgrade change this? She still has an a series engine but it’s a 1275, not the original 948.

Currently I do not live in a ULEZ area, but we are fairly close to London so that could change

[ndevans]

And any corrosion in the sill area is not too difficult to repair, as it's easy to get at once the kick plates are off. So I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it.

[mrs.smith2012]

And any corrosion in the sill area is not too difficult to repair, as it's easy to get at once the kick plates are off. So I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it.

Thanks so much! I notice you are driving a 1275… is she/he ULEZ exempt?
According to the ULEZ checker my future car IS ULEZ exempt/compliant but I’m aware that her engine size has not been updated on DVLA, I will need to do that

[ndevans]

It is CAZ exempt but not ULEZ exempt I believe. I've only just sent in my V5 to inform DVSA that it is now a 1275, so we'll see if that changes.

[geoberni]

Do you mean the step bits by the door?

That's the ones, but if they're sealed up then, on balance of the rest of the car condition, I would buy it and investigate later.

[mrs.smith2012]

It is CAZ exempt but not ULEZ exempt I believe. I've only just sent in my V5 to inform DVSA that it is now a 1275, so we'll see if that changes.

Aah damn, that could potentially throw a real spanner in the works. I don’t want to have to sell her a few years down the line because our area ends up falling under ULEZ… I will need to investigate that