Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi, I think I've asked this question before, but I'am in the slow process of bringing the wood on my 69 traveller back to better condition by removing all the varnish and bringing the wood back to a nicer condition.

But one of the jobs I have to do is to replace the window channels and both lower rails on the inside of the car. The question is this - how do I remove the inner lower rail ???? I've unscrewed all the screws and brackets etc but the rail won't budge. Is there another screw or something that I have to remove first or am I doing it totally wrong ? Somone told me that I have to remove the rails (its rotton anyway) to properly remove the sliding windows and replace the runners and seals, but how do I go about this properly ???

Any advice would be really great as I'am not entirely familar with the right way to go about it. No doubt I'll be back for more advice on something else soon too.

Cheers, Ian.

I think that Steve Foreman does some work sheets that may help you.
http://www.morriswoodwork.co.uk/
I will have a look this evening as I think I have some detailed instructions somewhere.

You're into the realms of "why do people fit complete sides?" The window channels and windows can be removed simply by (a) removing the inner wooden capping on the waist rail (chrome raised head screws and the rear seat backrest brackets and the door stay brackets), (b) sliding the glass out of the vertical slots front & back, (c) pulling the glass gently inwards at the bottom. The old channels will disintegrate nicely. Now you're left with the main wooden waist rail, which is where the fun starts.

Look at any parts catalogue illustration (try http://www.mgm-spares.co.uk/catalog.asp ... 7336001347) & you'll see that the waist rail uses mortice & tennon joints to connect with the front and rear uprights. Therefore, to replace the rail you have to dissassemble most of the frame. The top rear corner is joined using a metal bracket, the lower wheeel arch is bolted to the rear upright, the bolts concealed by the wing. Sometimes there is a diagonal screw near the rear of the rail going down into the rear post.

So now you've taken off the wing, removed the aluminium panels for which you removed the trim to get to the screws (assuming that you could get the crews out) and probably the seats to get good access. You've got the glass out already. You try to split the existing joints without damaging the remaining wood - some of which will almost certainly have got rot in it if the waist rail is as bad as you imply. You now clean up what you can, and fit the new rail. After putting everything back together CONGRATULATIONS: you have one shiny new piece of wood in a tired and slightly rotton surround, and you've spent ages doing the job. Apart from the fiddling with guttering & tacks, it's far better to just bite the bullet and replace the entire side. (IMHO). Good luck anyway.

PS it's quite feasible to trim off some of the joint on the new rail and hammer it into place. Just remember that it is supposed to be structural, not cosmetic.

You don't have to remove the side rails to replace the window runners and seals do you?

I agree, unless you're a good enough carpenter to make up and "let in " new sections of ash, the best route is a new side.

No need to remove rails- just the inner cappings which screw on and then (as said above) slide the glass out, the rear slides forward, and front slides back to remove etc.

On re-reading, just wondering if I mis-understood: Is it only the inner capping that is rotton, or the waist rail itself? If it's just the capping that you want to remove then with all screws & fittings removed it will come off with the aid of a chisel - it's likely to have some sealant that is holding it to the main waist rail. However, if the capping is rotton then in all probability so is the main rail and then we're back to the whole side.......

If the main rail is OK then clean away all traces of the old runners, fit new runners to the top, then the bottom. Two options: Fit lower runner and bend inside edge down to allow insertion of glass then bend back up; OR fit runner to bottom of glass and push in as a single movement. I've seen runners secured by pins, staples, screws, or just faith. Top ones do need fixing, lower ones only at each end to stop then curling (which can be done after fitting glass), the capping will retain them sideways.

On re-reading, just wondering if I mis-understood: Is it only the inner capping that is rotton, or the waist rail itself?

Hi, Yeah its just the inner lower capping rail that is quite rotton and needs replacing, as far as I can tell the waist rail is ok. But so are the rubber seals for the sliding windows which I have to replace too. I did unscrew all the relevent screws and brackets etc but the wood would'nt budge, so I was wondering if I was doing something wrong. But obviously its just a sealant behind it thats holding it on, so I'll have to persuade it off .

Thanks for all the advice. Keep it coming. I'll need all I can get to do the job with the wood. The wood is ok, its just a matter of stripping off the varnish and sanding it down and replacing some of the inner capping rails and window channels. I'll let you know how I get on or if I hit any problems.

One other thing - I have to replace the two rear doors totally. What is the right way to go about refitting these, in terms of drilling new holes for the hinges, locks etc. I've left one of the doors on so that I can line it up properly when the time comes, but any advice on this issue too would be very welcome .

Cheers,

Ian.

The instructions from Foremans will help you greatly. I cleaned off all the old varnish when I got my car 7 years ago - let the wood dry out thoroughly then soaked it with Cuprinol 5 star wood treatment - several doses - let it all dry and then treated with Teak oil. For me - No varnish - it traps moisture in the wood - but my car lives indoors and only gets out in summer - and then only (as far as possible) when the forecast is reasonable !

but my car lives indoors and only gets out in summer - and then only (as far as possible) when the forecast is reasonable !

So its a Show Queen Traveller then