Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi all

What’s the easiest way to remove the front grill on a 1966 Morris Minor?

Thanks, Paul

Take the whole front panel off.

Remove the bumper, 2 large nuts.

Remove all the 7/16AF nuts and bolts from the bottom and the top corners of the front panel.

Remove the chrome "hockey sticks" 6xBA nuts.

Drain the rad and disconnect top and bottom hoses.

Disconnect the bonnet catch rod split pin.

Lift off the front panel and remove the rad 4x 1/4 Whitworth.

The pesky ones will be the hockey stick ones and the 7/16th on the bottom of the panel, clean and soak with penetrating oil ,not WD40.

Piece of cake.

Thanks Mark,

Is that the easiest way?


Paul

just the grille slats, or everything?

to get to the grille slats you need to get the whole front off anyway.

you want to take the front bumper off (two large nuts under the bumper)

you then undo the 'hockey sticks' (hockey stick shaped chrome pieces under each headlight) 3 nuts each which are inside both inner wings.

disconnect the bonnet release rod (there will be a split cotter through the cranked end where it meets an L shaped arm on the left hand side) - remember not to close the bonnet after you remove this.

undo the 2 bolts at the top on both sides where they meet the inner wings.

undo the line of 7(?) bolts on the underside edge (you will have hit your head on these when removing the bumper)

you can either bring the radiator with the front or leave it in place. to bring the rad with you, drain the system and undo the hose clips for the top and bottom hoses. if you want to leave the rad in place (good as you dont have to drain the system) just undo the 2 bolts both sides that seem to go into the side of the radiator.

remove the fresh air intake hose which is below where the bonnet release rod was. should be a large jubilee type clip.

i can't think of anything else that could be in your way, unless some of the wiring loom has been attached to the front panel on the inside (it's sometimes done) if you pull the front gently forwards and maybe get someone to have a look to make sure nothing is still attached.

that gives you your front panel all in one bit.

if you want to get the grille slats out, you have to remove the radiator from the front panel if you didnt leave it attached to the car.

then you must undo the 6 nuts that hold the long chrome strip on. this sandwiches the 2 panels together.

you should then see 4 screws that hold the grille slats to the front panel.

hope this helps!

dang MarkyB you beat me to it!

FATMAN wrote:Hi all

What’s the easiest way to remove the front grill on a 1966 Morris Minor?

Thanks, Paul

If you are doing this to paint the grill, you don't have to remove it. If you look at my tag, you'll see Betsy with a gleaming white grill... when I bought her, it was trafalgar blue, like the car.

I painted the grill without removing it.

1) Cut a piece, or pieces, of thin cardboard to fit, and ram it/them down behind the grill to protect the radiator;
2) Mask the bonnet, front panel, bumper, with newspaper;
3) spray the grill and leave to dry;
4) remove newspaper and card, et voila, c'est finis!

FATMAN wrote:Hi all

What’s the easiest way to remove the front grill on a 1966 Morris Minor?

Thanks, Paul

Angle grinder

Thanks all for your helpful advice.

Couldn't believe I got such a quick response, don't you all have anything better to do?

Ondergard knew exactly what I wanted to do, paint the grill. Masking is the way to go.

Thanks again, Paul

i did it my way a few weeks ago to paint my grille black. considered masking but as the colour was changing dramatically i didnt want to miss anything!

i did wonder if you were wanting to remove it to paint it, but that isnt what you asked!

How did you get paint to any of the rear surfaces?

MikeHA4 wrote:How did you get paint to any of the rear surfaces?

good point!

I know that this is an old message, but I have just found it after trying to remove the grill on my 1968 for painting. I'll go down the road of masking - I can't believe how difficult it is to get the grill off.

Can anyone tell me what shade of yellow the grill is? - or any modern equivalent? I am not going to worry if it is not quite right.

Thanks,

Roger.

Old English White

Well mine certainly isn't OEW, but I guess it should be, so thanks for that.
Roger.

Make it any colour you like ! It's your car....

Ford Dimond White from halfords is what i used in my pic you see below, wheels have been done but not the grill here. I just masked it off, sanded, primed x2 and sprayed x3.
Not a million miles away from what the wheels and grill was in the first place. More like the colour they used to paint old transit vans than a white tho but looks good.

Thanks for the tip cyclonethicone. Food for thought, bmcecosse,- now, what is the most outrageous colour to go with Almond Green....

If you want to stick to the more original colour - Old English White - try using "Rover - Arum White" from Halfords.

Personally not liking the cream I used Halfords own brand Appliance spray paint in Brilliant White, works well with a good prepping, and doesn't chip easily.