Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi moggy fans please help me with a problem.I have just started stripping the car,when i took off the offside wing it was rotten at the bottom and along the underneath too.I have repaired that ok,took a full day to jigsaw it together ,but i am quite happy with the result.Here lies my big problem.................I have tried to get the sill cover off,and there is no nuts,or bolts evident and cannot be seen by god himself,,,,,,,now what can i do to get it of because i need to check the boxing plate behind.I have stopped work on it today because it has me foxed,,,,,,,,,,,please help moggy fans before i commit hari cari It seeme d to me to belong there,but i know its not.
Pete

there should be a series of nuts and bolts along the underside of the cover holding the u shaped finisher, cover and outer undersill,think theres about 6 from memory. You can't see the bolt heads because they are up inside the finisher, the nut is often covered with underseal so they are dificult to see as well and self tapper screws on the inside of the cover holding it onto the top of the inner sill/door frame.Sometimes these are missing and the cover just sits over the edge of the frame.The whole lot could also have been welded up of course so out with the cutter if thats the case

Thanks kennat for your suggestion,however this morning i found it was all welded in place,so i had to spend a lot of time getting it of,,,,,,,,,,and then for the shock,completely rotten to hell,now i dont know which bits to buy, as this is bodge up,and i mean bodge up,has all been welded, so it must come in seperate parts?????which parts and where to get them?????
Pete

Follow this link, there is a cross section drawing of the sill which shows the different bits.
http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f= ... 1&start=15

well theres a lesson to be lernt,I would NEVER buy a minor with the sill covers welded up,its obviously been done for the exact reason as yours ,to prevent anyone easily looking inside before buying.

The trouble is unless you really know how the car should look when you go to buy, and what should be bolted on as opposed to what should be welded on it's easy to fall prey to this problem.

Well I should have known better,its my own fault,and it does hurt to think,the guy who sold this to me,he had to know this he had to dont you think.I can say this,i am 59 and have had lots of different cars,but back in 74 was the first time i bought one.I promised myself that i would buy one to do up in the future,well its taken me38 years to do it,and look what i got ,.I did not know at all that they had a sill cover kick plate,i thought and in my ignorance, i thought the sill was one piece only,and it looked solid,,,,I feel such a fool.I have to go to Tom Roys this wednesday to pick up £149,00 worth of panels,thats just for this side only,as the rot goes underneath too,i have had lots of encouregment from the people on here ,and it spurs me on now.I had planned to use her in the summer,and now i have had to put DORIS on a SORN,so with help- on here i will get through it.To all of you people who have given me their time and advice,i thankyou,especially Mike ,you know who you are.
Pete

Some years back when I was after a convertible, I went to look at a one in a classic car auction. It was a '53 which had been very nicely 'restored', superb respray and new hood and leather interior, BUT the kick plates had been neatly welded in place. Either the restorer didn't know they only bolt on, or it was hiding a bodge job. I considered the car, weighing up the balance of nice paint and trim against a certaing amount of cutting and welding and decided I couldn't face buying such a nice looking car that needed sill work. Think it went for about £4000 in the end, a good price about ten years ago. I bought the scruffy but more honest '53 convertible from the next auction which I still have...

Hi peetee,I take it your in the north east,using chris at tom roys. I'm in teesside if you get stuck with any of your rebuild,give me a pm happy to have a look and give advice.Done more car rebuilds,minors , mgbs and scimitars than I can remember. , and don't take it to heart too much,it's easy to get fooled by a clever bodge,you soon learn what to look for after you have rebuilt even one. good luck

kennatt wrote:it's easy to get fooled by a clever bodge

Yes, and some bodges can go unnoticed for years so it's possible that the previous owner wasn't aware of it either.

With all that rot - make sure you support the car wisely and brace the door aperture before cutting out the rot - to prevent the car buckling in the middle.

Thanks guys once again,i have it on supports 4 axles stands with a trolley jack in one position,and the 4 wheels underneath too.It is so gratifying to have so much help and support,thanks so much.It is 10 to eleven now and am about to go outside now and make a start on Doris (named after my late mother) I wont take any risks,and lets see how it goes.
Pete

Don't lose heart - yes it's a shock but it's not an impossible job. Have a read of David Miles thread on his pickup.

http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f= ... estoration
http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f= ... estoration
http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f= ... avid+miles

It sounds like you are starting from a much better position than he did and look at what David has managed to do. It will take some work but you'll be terribly proud of what you have achieved when it's done AND you will have saved another Morris from almost inevitable scrapping!

Good luck

Remember if you get stuck post a picture of the offending area and someone on here will be able to advise the course of action

If i am succesful here is a few pics to look at and let me know the first course of action??????

Pete

I have tried to upload some pics but am having problems,any help please????????????
Pete

I have tried and it comes up (your message contains too few characters)

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that was a test one,will try again

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