Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi - I'm new to this site so please bear with me if I don't know all the jargon and phrases used. Looking through some of the messageboard notices you all seem a very friendly bunch, willing to help out with answers and tips so here goes...

I have a 1964 2 door saloon Mog - taupe and maroon which has been used everyday for the past 15 years. She's got a Marina 1300 engine, 5 speed gears and does almost 60mph on a good day (although all conversation ceases above 55) It's actually my husband's car but he generously 'gave' it to me and got himself an Audi - something wrong here?
Anyway, I adore my Mog. She's gathered several mod cons over the years like a heater, heated windscreen, electronic ignition etc. and has had quite a lot of structural work done on the body - so basically she's in good nick.

Although the paintwork isn't bad there are rust bubbles starting to appear and there's no lustre left - years of over-enthusiastic T cutting!
The quotes I've had from garages for re-sprays range from £2000 to £9000. The hugely expensive one apparently involved taking the entire car to bits and baking it in an oven (is this normal practice?) I'm not well up on the technical details of this sort of thing - I just drive it.
I did have the bumper re-sprayed about 5 years ago and all the paint flaked off within 6 months so I apprerciate doing on the cheap ain't going to work either but there has to be some kind of midway point.

Can anyone recommend or suggest where I can go to get this work done that isn't going to cost an arm and a leg? I'm in Poole, Dorset.

All suggestions gratefully received. I'll post a pic next time I'm on.

Ultimatly with spray Jobs you get what you pay for....

The best thing you can is make sure you take the car for the quote and ask to see previous work. Then budget for the unexpected too....

I've never had a sprayjob done so can't really comment on prices but I'm aware that for a proper home job you are looking at around £600 in paint, primer, thinners and all the other little bits and bobs, when you factor labour in (and it is labour intensive) then the price will shoot up more....

Someone a bit more knowledgeable will pop up in a min I'm sure.

Hi Ellen, welcome to the forum. I'm not sure if you were joking about the "does almost 60MPH" as even a standard 948cc car will do better than that. A 1275 engine with a 5 speed box should be able to go much faster unless it is quite poorly.

Jonathon is probably the guy to talk to as he owns a professional body shop. He works to a very high standard but unfortunately good quality resprays don't come cheap because of the large amount of labour involved.

Thanks Dan and Alex for your amazingly quick replies!
I don't think it's "poorly" it just seems unseemly to go faster than 60 in a Mog....actually I've never tried. The engine sounds fantastic. Maybe if I fitted some carpet it wouldn't sound like a 747 taking off and the fear of it shaking itself to bits if it went any faster would reduce.
Who is Jonathon and where can I get in touch with him?

You can PM him via here. His username being Jonathon.

his website is at http://www.jlhmorrisminors.co.uk/ although its a little out of date in places. Theres a place in Totton that I've heard do good jobs at reasonable prices - might be worth a quote at least. I can find out the name if you want

£9000 seems excessive. I'm sure someone could find a way to justify that but you could get a concours car for that and have change...

Does the inside need painting? Often it has an easier life than the outside and you could save money if you don't need to do the inside.

JacksonEllen wrote:I don't think it's "poorly" it just seems unseemly to go faster than 60 in a Mog....actually I've never tried. The engine sounds fantastic. Maybe if I fitted some carpet it wouldn't sound like a 747 taking off and the fear of it shaking itself to bits if it went any faster would reduce.

I don't have a carpet in my daily driver. I just turn the stereo up when I go on the motorway!

I don't think it's "poorly" it just seems unseemly to go faster than 60 in a Mog....actually I've never tried.

Wait til you send the needle off the clock.
Its thoroughly wrong in every way but you'll probably never experience such adrenaline.
They're actually remarkably smooth and well behaved at speed, if very noisy and twitchy...

How far are you willing to travel? Theres a place locally (Weymouth) that will do reasonable, cheap resprays. Costs go down depending on the amount of prep needed.

'Scuse me for sticking me oar in but....If the car already has a good coating of paint and you just need a 'quick once over' to even the panel colour up what's the relative cost?

have you tryed the morris minor center in bristol i had my travaller resprayed,with some new pannals,a lot of new chrome and a service for about £3000

dunketh wrote:

I don't think it's "poorly" it just seems unseemly to go faster than 60 in a Mog....actually I've never tried.

Wait til you send the needle off the clock.
Its thoroughly wrong in every way but you'll probably never experience such adrenaline.
They're actually remarkably smooth and well behaved at speed, if very noisy and twitchy...

I suspect that if the crossmember had more than just a vague memory of being attached the the rest of the car the twitching would be a great deal less!

Hello Ellen.
What are you like with a roller? Have a read of this thread, started by me, and see what you think. Very good results can be had very cheaply.

http://www.morrisminoroc.co.uk/index.ph ... ic&t=20153

If the car already has a good coating of paint and you just need a 'quick once over' to even the panel colour up what's the relative cost?

Bucket of soapy water.
1500 wet & dry paper
Then fine cutting compound after. You can use Tcut but it'll take forever so I'd suggest something more abrasive. G3 paste or similar, I've even used non-descript halfords yellow 'compound' tines before with care.
Most expensive part = Elbow Grease!

After all that a good polish will have her like new.
Re-painting is only ever a very last step when all other efforts have failed.

I suspect that if the crossmember had more than just a vague memory of being attached the the rest of the car the twitching would be a great deal less!

Probably. I count myself lucky I never had cause to test the structural rigidity of the car.

I ran a spray shop for 10 years up until 3 months, for a 'Blow over' I usually charged £600-700.
That would be minor repairs, very good sand down, depending on car primer and paint. Only solid colours though at those prices.

Cheers nick. Sobering reading though.
Dunketh, I should have mentioned the paint is a bit thin in places.

Thanks to everyone who's replied so far. It's so comforting to know there are genuine enthusiasts out there who are willing to give advice and expertise for free!
I'm going to try and get along to the Avon Country Park, Ringwood, event on 12th July and, rain permitting, may have a go at the elbow grease solution first.
Do I have to be a member to get in?

No you dont need to be a member. The Dorset Branch organising the event are really friendly and will answer any questions you may have.