Morris Minor Owners Club

hi folks
i have just been to check a van out to buy
it was rebuilt 14 years ago with a new chassis and all other metal done to a very good standard (proffesionally)
however when the gutters were replaced it seems they were tidied up with quite a bit of filler actually in the guttering to achieve a smooth finish
this is now cracking all around and in one place quite severely
the van has been garaged and used very little in the last 3 years
there is no trace of rust staining in the cracks (could they have formed with the metal expanding as it corrodes underneath)
the car lives within 100 yards of the sea and i am concerned when it gets wet it will be like a time bomb going off
appreciate your comments!
also it blowing a little oil from the tappet chest breather pipe - is that a problem?

oil from tappet cover could be just need tightening or new gasket thats all reall, possibly a breathing issue

gutters not so good really, if they were that bad they needed filling they may be non existent, the roof, guttering and sides form tthe 3 parts

It may be that the filer was applied to smooth the welded area from fitting new guttering. I would look carefuly on the inside to see if this shows evidence of filler or cracking too and if so it sounds like a bodge. If inside is solid metal all round then its probably just cosmetic issue.

As above, but if it turns out to be bad inside, be wary of the rest of the 'professional rebuild'

on the flip side - to find a Van that has no rust on the gutter (and never been repaired) is pretty unlikely!
If you want a very good van you'll need to be very patient and/or very lucky. Vans were great work horses and were used as such - and when old and tired were usually bodged and patched for a while before being scrapped as a newer workhorse was needed.
When they started to become extinct, more people realised their value and more got restored including some pretty rough ones... but one man's restoration is another man's bodge job.

You need to be sure the van is ok everywhere else but if it's only the gutter that's a concern then think on. If it's priced accordingly then budget for having the roof gutters re-made if needed.

After an hour of proding (last week) I managed to find some VERY bad repairs on my Marina van. It was a shame, but I couldn't believe it had 'never' been bodged in the past, and I was expecting to find something when I looked hard enough.

If you want to see how bad it can be under the filler, look at my post about 4 weeks back. You may be looking further than just the actual gutter section!!