Morris Minor Owners Club

wot ho, any hints on replacing the window channel on a traveller??? one side of the traveller is fine, the drain holes in the wood match up with the holes in the channel but on the other side they are no where near the mark! I had thought about turning it around but then thought I might as well get new ones put in as they are a bit tired...have small green shoots popping out of them...I hate gardening in the garden let alone having to weed the car , so any ideas, at the mo it looks like they are the ones in the metal channel. As I have never done this before I thought I would get some input.
Ta very much

Not sure if they are 'Handed' need Alex to come along as he did his not so long ago.
If they are handed then maybe the one is fitted wrong way round?
Do remember him saying the absolute importance of keeping the drainage holes clear though.

Interested to know about this as starting to stip the body panels this weekend including teh rear windows & channels to get at the woodwork. Mine are currently sealed in with wooden beading & discoloured silicone, but given the weather here it's not surprising that happened somewhere along the line by previous owner rather than replase the channels.

Drill new holes in the channel to match the wood (insert a punch up the holes in wood and give it a tap to reveal where to drill). Then soak the wood and channels in cuprinol 5*, then waxoyl to protect the channel.

That sounds a bit iffy? Do you mean drill new holes then fill the old in the channel?
Just seems if you didnt it would = potential long term water seapage points where there is a hole in the channel but none in the wood underneath.
Guess new holes in the wood to existing holes would be better but would provide a weakpoint alltold with extra holes in it.

As an aside when you buy a new wood side e.g. do they come pre drilled?

No, drill a hole in the metal/felt channel to match the existing hole in the wood. So the water can drain away properly.

Proper drainage is essential to preserve the wood.

Reading the 1st post, it looks like he has holes in wood and channel that do not match up. Hence my suggestion to drill holes in the metal channel that match up with the existing holes in the wood. There should be a layer of dum dum putty between wood and channel to ensure water drains and does not sit on top of the wood.

There are grooves cut into the top of the wood so water can run along them to the drain holes in the wood. There was no dum-dum between the wood and the channels when I removed the old ones and I believe they had never been replaced before.

What right the way along? how many ? grooves or a V?

The dum dum bit makes sense but so soes the none and the grooves....

If its no DD then maybe there are more holes for just such a purpose?

Does seem though that some would get trapped in there though?

They may have changed manufacture between Alex's car and mine , early 60's to late 60's. Production variabillities, the travellers were not built by robots, they were built by "Roberts".

My Travellers wood was definitely the original and it had a layer of dum dum there.

Yes thats very possible, well mines a late trav so will see the next week or two whats there or not.
Also possible that Fencurch was a friday afternoon special
Dont worry Alex - I'll still swap you FC for scabby if your worried about the buiild quality

the travellers were not built by robots, they were built by "Roberts"

Will have to investigate the family tree being a Roberts

I might go down the line of drilling ( the husband has got use to my perloining his tools for my stained glass work and work on the Traveller) so as the sun is shining and the rain is not raining here at the mo I will have a look. at least the water can run out and I can still replace them later, perhaps when I clean the wood up....won't that be a fun job...where's he hidden the sander!!!

If you want to see what it looks like with the channels removed send me a PM as I have it all removed at the moment as I am replacing the channels and refinishing the interior fillets.
Pat I would check that the drain holes are unblocked first as this is often overlooked.

RE the Dum Dum - was looking at the channels in th BM price list the other day, right next to the item is Dum Dum so for sure it must be used at least on some.

You do need to use dum dum to seal the inner rail to the outer rail after replacing the channels, otherwise water in the channel would run into the car.

I was cleaning the channels which is how I spotted the problem, hoofing out various bits of foliage that was growing in them, and digging out the sludge, bit like dredging the estuary really I have not had a chance to drill them out yet as I have been busy sourcing material for the glove box compartments and the parcel shelf, but have rechecked and the holes do not match up, but would appreciate a pic of what the channels should look like, thanks

Replied to your PM Pat.