Morris Minor Owners Club

Halloo all you cool cats at Ma-Mock,

My Mog's sills are in bad shape and I'm wondering what I can do. The bad sections are roughly these:[frame][/frame] Each of the bad places are on the down-side, parallel with the ground. In each, the holes are so large I can stick my fingers through, and on one I can bend the remaining metal with the force of one finger.

I know a repair section is made that covers the outer under-door sill (http://morrisminorspares.co.uk/shop/pro ... e45904f5fa), but I don't think that's what I need for that front section. I've been doing research on how the sills are constructed and it doesn't really make sense...is there a single 'box', or is it welded together from three or four or eight pieces?
This is the bad bit of under-the-driver's-door-sill:[frame][/frame]You can see right through to the boxing plate! The top side, and the boxing plate itself, are in okay condition. It's just that bottom that's gone.

Next, and in somewhat better condition, are the rears of the sills, in the wheel arches, just forward of the rear spring mounting points. I'm unable to tell definitively if these are curved pieces or not. ESM offers repair sections here, too, but I'm again unsure if it's exactly the section I need: http://morrisminorspares.co.uk/shop/pro ... e45904f5fa
The left-hand side, which is in worse condition:[frame][/frame]
And the right-hand side:[frame][/frame]

What's my best avenue for repairing these so they'll last? I want my car to hold up a very long time...

All the panels are readily available, from your pics and using ESMs repair panels you will need at least
RP113L Boxing ext
RP109l Boxing plate
RP134l floor edge inner
RP135L floor edge rear
RP108l outer undersill,
Rp138l rea spring hanger, these are all left side.

You may also need 1/4 panel repair section, kick plate and sill finisher, plenty of time and patience and lots of tea!!

..... and a large reel of welding wire. Good luck you'll get there

Haha, lots of tea and welding-wire. Ask me three years ago what I'd need and it wouldn't be those two...

Luckily, David, the lower part of the quarter panel, the kick plate, and the sill finisher are all in okay condition. (Just the last two removed right now.) I'm not in a financial position to renew everything down there...and, aside from that, are you sure the boxing panel is in bad condition? It feels strong to me. Just a lick of surface rust on the inner. I think the outer undersill is all right, too.

Not that I'm calling you wrong or anything -- you're probably actually right. It's just that what's not holey, thin, or warped has to wait. No fear, though -- I'll grind off rust from sound(ish) panels and paint them in anti-rust primer, and then good-quality undercoating.

So let's say, in a worst/best case scenario (depending on your outlook), I need the two halves of the floor edge. Is this the upper or lower? Remember it's the lower that's got the holes. The upper (what's inside the car) is surprisingly strong. So it has to be the lower.

I want to make absolutely certain which panels I'm buying...

You can of course just fabricate panels from sheet steel !

Fingolfin wrote:-snip-
The left-hand side, which is in worse condition:[frame][/frame]
And the right-hand side:[frame][/frame]

What's my best avenue for repairing these so they'll last? I want my car to hold up a very long time...

You will be shocked at how much metal you think is sound simply vanishes in a cloud of rust and underseal in those areas when set to with a wire brush on grinder.

Looking at those pictures you are really looking at replacing the rear spring hanger. This is a very important piece as the rear suspension attaches to it.
You can get these pieces and the inner wing closing panel it attaches to. - although you can make this from flat sheet steel if you like. Take lots of measurements to ensure the panel goes back in the same place!

Simmilarly, the sill pieces are available, looks like you need a floor edge panel. This panel spot welds to the outer sill edge panel and the floor pan. Clean up the rest of the sill with wire brush on grinder first though as you only want to weld the new piece onto a clean sound panel.

If you are not an experienced fabricator I would not attempt to make these pieces as they are quite complex and can be bought easily from the usual suppliers. Patches won't last as there will still be rust inside these box sections as this will soon spread onto the new pieces undoing your work!

Certainly you would need to buy the rear spring hanger sections (and I suggest if one side is bad - so will be the other.......) - but flat pieces/even sill sections are not beyond home manufacture. I do also think however that you may be in for some nasty surprises when you start ripping into the shell to remove the rust. As CJ says - use a 'knotted wire' brush in an angle grinder - not just a hand held wire brush which will barely scratch the surface! Survey the whole car carefully - to find ALL the rot - before you start spending money on it. You don't want nasty/terminal surprises after you have invested time and money on the car.