Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi Everyone,

Looking for a bit of advice regarding some rot I have found on my 61 Minor, its on the drivers side, at the bottom of where (I think) the flitch bolts to the inner wing,. As you can see the bottom has rusted away right on the corner.
Can this be repaired by just welding a plate over it or should the flitch panel and inner wing be replaced?

Thanks in advance

Rick[frame][/frame]

Well if a job's worth doing...

Welding a plate over the hole is nothing more than a short term bodge. It is a fairly common sight though, due to the relatively low value of these cars and people trying to keep them on the road as cheaply as possible!

You need to remove the wing, cut away all the rusted metal and then you should be able to see/gauge the extent of the corrosion inside. Most likely no need to replace the flitch panel and inner wing, but they will probably need to be repaired by welding sections in.

Spend some time looking through the restorations and you will see the likely scenarios. Mostly much worse than yours and all repaired.

Id recommend a proper repair job rather than a MOT patch. MOT patches dont fix a problem they just hide them until the next MOT and the rot just spreads/gets worse behind.

Your Inner wing just needs a localised lower section replacement and the same for the lower flitch panel. Your sill boxing plate looks fairly ok too, but I suspect you may need an under sill panel.

cheers

Steve

Thanks Guys for the replies,

It will be repaired properley, the annoying thing is that I can weld it up myself but dont have a mig welder.

It breaks my heart to pay some one else to do a job I could do myself......

Last couple of questions though, will it fail an MOT due to this? If I remove the wing, prep up the area for welding and make up the new metal sheets to be welded in, could I drive it to get the welding done? then bring it back and tidy it up for painting and reassembly etc?

If you can weld yourself look into hiring a welder for the day. Then you will be able to do the job to your own satisfaction and you won't have to drive it.

BUY a secondhand welder - or maybe some kind person nearby will lend you one! Since it's not within 300 mm of a suspension mounting or a seat mounting or a seatbelt mounting - it may not be a fail. Just ask the tester !

Thanks again for you help guys,

Is this the panel I need to buy to repair it? (Part no 6) http://www.morris-minor.co.uk/p446.htm

Also from the same page will I need part no 5 to repair the box section? or depending on the amount of corrosion could I repair it with 20 gauge steel plate?

Cheers

You will only need the bottom section of #6 -easily made from scrap steel. I wouldn't be wasting money on panels for this !

Here is my inner wings recently repaired[frame][/frame]

and after[frame][/frame]

Looks OK, I'd use chassis Black or Hammerite rather then underseal though.

If you are happy with it shoot some Waxoyl or similar in there to protect the inside.

MarkyB, if you are refering to my second picture that is chassis black paint and not underseal !! Car underbody has since been waxoyled after picture taken.

Minor65,

What gauge steel did you use for the repair? also did you weld it yourself, if so,using a mig, what settings was the welder on? (amps/wire speed)

I am looking at buying a gas mig welder from Machine Mart, I know I need one that goes up to 130 amps. Anyone got any recomendations?

I have a Clarke 150TE that has been great for years now. The 130TE model should also be good although won't go quite as thick as the 150.

as for the gauge of steel, in this area, the sill boxing plate and under sill panels are ~1.2mm, the inner sill step about 2mm and the "kidney panel", inner wing flitch, wheelarch bowl and a pillar cover are all ~1mm mild steel.

I have to say that buying a welder was the best bit of kit I've bought in the last few years. I have a variomig 1800. It's a little hefty (.8 wire) for the job and needs some fine adjustment for your 'delicates'. But it will weld almost any gauge steel.

I had a Clarke one years ago and was happy with that, perfect for sheet steel, until it was stolen! In the long run it will pay for itself.

As for how to use it, this will depend on how thick the metal is and finding the balance between, having enough power to get a good weld or too much and 'blasting' a hole through the steel. I have as yet, not found the need for the wire speed to be greater than 3 on the dial (3 1/2 tops). This will depend on the machine though.

As for the gas, I would invest in a refillable bottle, as the throw away ones are expensive. Apparantly there are some very useful tips on 'youtube'.
I would suggest practicing on sheet steel, old (rust and old paint removed) and new just to hone your skills.

Top tip, buy a fire extinguisher.

Sorry 'Trickydicky' didn't do the repair myself, minor services here in Waringstown, N Ireland did the repair. Have no idea what gauge was used.

Well, just invested in a mig welder from here, http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=175509

For those who maybe thinking of buying a mig welder the discount on this one is too good to miss,the reviews are good

They also have a good deal on 600grm Co2 cannisters at the moment, http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=26819

Should keep me busy for a while......

I have to do a similar repair on my 1968 saloon, both sides, I plan to replace the rear quarter of the inner wing and also the door pillar will need to be replaced at the same time. Can this be achieved with the car resting on its wheels without risking the body becoming distorted or will it need to be rolled to avoid distorting the body ?
Any tips would be much appreciated .