Morris Minor Owners Club

Thanks, guys. I think this head may have been skimmed a few times so it might explain why it fouls (and why it is quite a fast MM) so I'll resort to a bit more grinding and an extra gasket or two. The log manifolds seem to be the early ones, of which I have a couple but the later manifolds are the curvy ones with better flow characteristics. The early ones have tubular bits jutting into the carb end and making an awful mess of the airflow!

Fortunately I have a rather well equiped garage at home.

Still awaiting delivery of the shell. The sandblaster had a burglary and they pinched his gear (about £7000) so my shell now will nead another complete blast to clean off the residue of light surface corrosion from the damp air and unpainted sections. Hopefully home in the first week of November.

Strange that the new steel bits welded in don't seem to have suffered from corrosion so much.

Rob[frame][/frame]

Not that strange if they didn't remove the rust before they painted it .

Oh, it hasn't been painted. He blitzed the shell and then went home, leaving the dehumidifer switched on. The burglars came in that evening and swiped his kit.

He has had another Minor owner visiting and they've asked if I want to sell the shell.

Maybe the media that he used was not agressive enough, maybe he needs to go over the rusty parts (which originally were rusty before blasting) with a more agressive media ( anyway i thought you were having it acid dipped )

The acid dip idea was shelved when they upped the price by about £1000. The shell, whilst rust-free, suffered from the damp air after the paint was blasted off but then left unpainted for 3 months after the theft of the compressor, as mentioned above. He's going to have to completely reblast the entire shell again.

how much is the blasting costing if you dont mind being asked and what type of etch and other coatings are you putting on the bare steel before top coating

Hi Rob,

I don't know if you know, but your car is shown on Ebay under the classic car section as an example in an advert by a bead blasting company. When I saw it, I thought, I've seen that car somewhere before and came straight here.

I have a couple of questions.

I had a convertible splitscreen shell dipped and stripped a couple of years ago and the process got rid of everything! I'm talking paint, rust, lead infills plus unfortunately areas of 'thin' metal'. What I got back from the dippers was beyond my talents to restore.

I have since found a better example to restore (see my 1952 MM Restoration thread on here) and after my previous experience I am looking at bead blasting.

What I would like to know is on items such as the rear face of the bootlid, cill sections and door internals for example, can the process reach into all the nooks and crannies, and if it can, is it possible to extract all the blast material satisfactorily before the painting process begins?

Also would you recommend blasting before or after body repairs have taken place? I feel I need to put some strength into my shell first.

Great project by the way!

Cheers Ian

Sorry, Ian. I've only just noticed this post.

I'd recommend opening the car as much as poss to get the benfit of the blasting. It will be better for welding with as much rusty steel out of the way and then the good material will be blasted enough to provide a good surface to weld to. Maybe add some bracing and pop off the outer sills, if poss? I will only blast what can be seen from the end of the nozzle.
The material can be hoovered out if you keep at it but there will always be a bit of stuff dropping out from some nook. If the media used is fine enough then it comes out easier, the finish is better, the tiny rust pits get blitzed and the grit can be 'lost' in a coat of primer filler if it gets stuck in a small corner.

I wouldn't recommend 'Oldfields Shotblasting' in Dauntsey, Wilts, since the police are now involved in recovering the shell which he has locked in a workshop and bu66ered off

Sorry to hear you had so many problems Rob. I hope you get your car out soon and get it to a reliable blasters who will etch prime the shell immediately after blasting it!

I think the reason why the repairs didn't rust and the rest of the body did is due to bi-metallic corrosion. The new steel repairs you let in so neatly are of a slightly different grade of mild steel than the original- so the new remains rust free overnight and the rest of the body starts to rust preferentially. Plus the dodgy blaster bloke you used may not have been sufficiently dilligent in blasting the rust out of all the rust pits.

Good luck in getting the car sorted and keep us posted!

One day left before Trading Standards step things up and start court action. Guess who phones me? "Oh, yeah, I've been away but tried calling you lots of times / My phone doesn't seem to ring properly sometimes / I've lost your E-mail" etc etc etc.

Anyway, it should be back by Friday of next week or the bailiffs are going in. Strange, but I was looking forwards to getting nasty!

At least you will be getting her back. Thats the main thing eh!
Lets hope she's not too worse for wear after her ordeal!

I'm keeping my eye on that '49 shell on Ebay, just in case.




Just in case anyone missed it.....Stuart Oldfield.......Oldfield's Classic Shotblasting, Dauntsey, Wiltshire.

Strong Aussie accent.

Think I'll stick with the "paint stripper on the drive" - at least I know where the car is

Rabid lawyers deployed and finally the shell comes back for delivery to a more competent blaster. Here it is after a quick blast and before the firt coat of etch prime gets added. Total cost for all of the metal components on the car, inc paint, will be about £500[frame][/frame]
Little bits of grot inside that box section under the knees of the rear passengers. Looks like moisture gets trapped in there. A day of welding ought to sort it out.
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The worst bit of rust is at the front of the chassis leg. Not too serious but will need cutting out and replacing tidily.[frame][/frame]

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If anyone wants any specific photos or measurements, now is the time to ask!

Hi Rob

Loveley looking shell and so glad youve finally got it back

Can I please have the overall dimension across the leaf spring front mounting brackets outside edge to outside edge (at the flat face where the mounting pin goes through and the nut tightens against) as Im just making up a jig and need to see if ive got this dimension correct.

Thanks

Taupe

Hmmmm. Minimum dimension comes out at 53.78mm and goes up to about 54.9mm, depending where you measure it. I guess these legs on the bracket have been pounded a few times and there is also a bit of excess meat around the bend radius, if you see what I mean. The rear edge of the bracket has also splayed out a bit where it has been welded on.

Won this on Ebay last week. It will match in nicely. Not seen one before.[frame][/frame]

Sorry Rob

I wasnt very clear - its the width measured right across the car over the two brackets Im after - should be around 42 inches?

Taupe