Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello…..

My husband and I are newbie’s to the site, club and to owning a Traveller, and we have a few questions. There is a lot of information available already, and we have been foraging our way through it…but thought a new post might clarify some things.

One side of our’66 Traveller is in good nick, but some of the joints have opened up a bit. What is recommended to fill the joints? We are in the process of taking off the varnish, bleaching etc.

The other side has a few problems, mainly the foot rail is totally rotten, and there is also some rot to the top of the front pillar and the corner of the front rail arch. Can we replace these pieces of wood without taking too much of the car apart? How do you unglue some of the joints, and is the front pillar in two sections or one long piece? Where are the bolts located for all these pieces, what type of glue and sealer should we use? The rest of the wood on that side looks in good order, so it would be less costly and hopefully less of a headache to replace the offending parts only. Should we buy new bolts, and where are all the bolts located? Is one wood supplier better than the other?

There is quite a diverse split regarding ‘to varnish or not to varnish’. We will be using the car daily so she will be used in all weather…what is recommended for this kind of usage? Once we have stripped the varnish, sanded, filled the joints, bleached…what else needs to be done before we either varnish or oil? Also is it wise to use masking tape to stop oil/varnish spills or will this pull off fragile paintwork? What is the best course of action to match paint if we can’t afford a new paint job? One more quick question….what is Dum Dum used for and what product should we use to fill small rust patches?

Phew! That’s it for now and we really appreciate in advance everyone’s input and knowledge.

Check Woodies website for advice http://www.morriswoodwork.co.uk/index.html But I think you pretty much need to take the whole side off to attend to new bottom section and pillar. Plenty of folks on here have done the job - I'm sure you will get good advice soon.

Hi there,
Go to woodies to start with, Steve Foreman who runs it is brilliant. He supplied me with the new sections of wood I needed and all the fittings. He also has sheets of information regarding changing sections and how this can be done. I work in Dorchester, which may not be too far from you, if so I am happy to meet you and give you some advice. Some of my woodwork is 55 years old and cleaned up very well! Mine was stripped, bleached with "Super Bleach" which ammonia is added to to make it very strong, then oxylic acid. Washed off, left to dry, then lots of Cuprinol 5 star wood preservative, then stained and then Ronseal exterior wood varnish (oil based and gloss). This has been on for 5 years and looks as good as the day I did it, and the car is used daily in all weathers (1000 a month)
Let me know if you want to pop over!
Good luck,
Phil

Thank you both for your reply. Phil thanks for your offer…let’s see how we do on our own first….
Some new wood has been ordered, and we have stripped one side…so we are on our way. I also just noticed the thread (post) about wood restoration and finishing posted by Kevin as a sticky on the bodywork forum…. which is very helpful. I guess I posted this in the wrong place.