Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi to you all,I hope you all can help me,I have just taken on a new winter project for a mate of mine....welding,sills chassis ect,it's in a bad way,I'm not to sure what to start on!The poor old moggy is 50 years old and needs a lot of welding(I'm a fitter/welder on h.g.v.s)It has had a quote of over £5000 plus parts,just to get it through the mot!!I'm hoping to do the work(labour free) for under £1000 for all the new panels,paint ect.
My main questions are:-
1/After bracing the doors/shell do I start at the sills,floor or crossmember.
2/Can I have the car off the wheels(about 3 feet off the floor)
3/Can somone recommend the best supplier of panels,chassis parts,that fit!!
4/All the spring hangers need doing,is it best to strip out the springs ect (new springs poly bushes to be fitted after welding)
Thanks for now hope it's o.k. to keep asking for advice,will try to keep you all informed of my progress,injurys ect......
RUSS

Hi Russ, sounds like a mammoth task.

I had some similar work done to my 2 door and the bloke doing the welding started with the centre x member and worked out from there. He worked with the car in the air wheels off the ground like you are and seem quite used to this arrangement. I would drop the back springs and axle and give it all a good clean up on the floor and fit new springs with poly bushes. Repair panels come from most good suppliers (I don't think we are allowed to recommend one) but quality and fit can be a bit iffy so maybe don't buy all your panels at once and see how you get on with your first supplier. Don't always look for cheapness as this isn't a measure of quality.

Hope this helps but I'm sure others will be along in a while with different suggestions.

1 tip is to post your location as there maybe a local club with willing volunteers to give advice. Also if you post up a list of parts required you maybe able to find club members with items they are willing to sell.

Welcome to the forum! Sounds like quite a project you have there. Probably best to roll the car on it's side - either with a special jig - or if it's down to a bare shell - roll it carefully onto an old mattress or two. It's also possible to make a 'spit' to go right through the car - then you can spin it at will - again only if it's down to a bare shell. You can often pick up panels on ebay - or on here - from abandoned projects, or simply due to over-ordering. Best start on sills and floors first - then you will have something to weld the crossmember to. Springs will need to come off - but take some accurate measurements before cutting anything away!

Just completed replacement of rear chassic extension/spring hangers with bits from bull motif - no problems with the parts
Johnathon at JHL is extremely helpfull even though I'm not a customer yet.
I would have a good look at the post by Taupe - 'Rose Taupe Traveller Restoration' its better than most books you might find

Repair panels come from most good suppliers (I don't think we are allowed to recommend one)

It's perfectly OK for posters to recommend good suppliers, just don't criticise bad ones

OK, I used Tom Roy, Bull Motif and MMC Birmingham. I have to say if anything was wrong they sorted it out but usually there was no problems. Make sure you check the prices as sometimes they can vary by a few £ and if you are buying a lot it all add's up.

Some co's do a 'free delivery' if you buy enough at the one time - although that may not apply to large panels. But generally - Bull Motif have always been good for me!

Just be careful with the 'free delivery' - if you live in the back of beyond like me it isn't free

Thanks to you all,fantastic help! Order going in to Bull Motif next week,to be honest with you all its not as bad as we expected it to be,but it's going to be a belt and braces job!I always tend to over engineer all the jobs I do!so it's new boot floor,rear springs and hangers with poly bushes,rear 1/4 repair kit.The sills are as solid as a rock,we will put a new floor in as we work forward,it would pass a m.o.t. but it's patched to hell,the cross member is sound exept the jack points,so that's just new ends and jack points,I will try to post some photos and keep you informed if you are interested.So thanks again for your help so far, no doubt I will be back to you all when I have a panic or get stuck!!!!
Thanks Russ.

esm are really good

I got all my stuff from ESM Russ, they dont like answering their emails. But on the whole are good.
Ive just completed much of what you have to do welding wise. Ill send you a link to my photobucket album.
Start at page 13 and work your way to page 1!!

http://s166.photobucket.com/albums/u118 ... ?start=240

YG

can you roll it on its side with the wheels still on?

I wouldn't bother fitting new jacking points to the crossmember - you should never use them anyway, and if missing they are not 'MOT' able!
Rolling on side depends entirely on number of bodies available to lift it - and to stop it rolling right over on it's roof!

Hi bmc. The jacking points on my car are going rusty and starting to move about if I jiggle them (i never use them). The crossmember itself is solid. It looks like old jacking points were welded badly onto a new crossmember a few years ago.
Can I just cut off the jacking points and paint what's left?

tingo wrote:Hi bmc. The jacking points on my car are going rusty and starting to move about if I jiggle them (i never use them). The crossmember itself is solid. It looks like old jacking points were welded badly onto a new crossmember a few years ago.
Can I just cut off the jacking points and paint what's left?

Yes, cut them off, they add nothing to the bodyshell strength and actually act as rust traps. As long as the crossmember is sound there is no MOT issue - but if you leave rusting jacking points the rust will soon attack the crossmember.