Morris Minor Owners Club

A rare event in The New Forest and the snow usually doesn't last long. But - everything closes including schools and kids go nuts riding anything that slides on snow. Met some lads this evening who had been tabogonning on a canoe![frame][/frame]

Careful leaving your moggie outside when it's snowing. The chrome bumpers make excellent runners for toboggans.

I'll see your chrome bumpers and raise you a Minor bonnet - trust me there is NOTHING and I mean nothing like a good (or bad) bonnet for shooting down hill at a rapid rate of knots! Also good for stripping back to bare metal too I'll expect to see pictures posted tomorrow of the process in action - time to look out the silly hats chaps and chapesses

brucek wrote:I'll see your chrome bumpers and raise you a Minor bonnet - trust me there is NOTHING and I mENA nothing like a good (or bad) bonnet for shooting down hill at a rapid rate of knots! Also good for stripping back to bare metal too I'll expect to see pictures posted tomorrow of the process in action - time to look out the silly hats chaps and chapesses

Fond memories of tobogganing down our local slopes on a moggy bonnnet as a young chap, happy days!

Snow here too in Co.Antrim though not too much. I put the radiator muff on the green machine and a paving stone in the boot for a bit of extra grip on slidey roads, makes a big difference

About 2 inches or so in Lincolnshire so things will probably grind to a halt at some point!! Trying to summon the motivation to spend the day in the garage - it's only the thought of a glorious summer with the hood down, heading through France after MOT and on to Geneva that is keeping me going

One more cup of coffee and then I'm going to stop replying to posts on the forum and start - I promise

Heater in the workshop/garage - it's the only way for a whimp like me! I've got a 2 car workshop (filled in car-port) with a propane space heater and a single car shed with an electric fan heater. What I find is that it's too uninviting to work in a cold environment - especially when you can't feel your fingers! All I need to do is stick the heater on for 10 mins before starting work and once you get going you can turn them off again. Sure, it's a bit of a cost - but it's the only way I can get out there.

Saving up for a pair of pot-belly wood burners - that will keep the running costs down.

Also - look out for padded overalls - Lydls (spelling?) have them occassionaly for £20! They're brill.

Thanks Roger I'll certainly bear that in mind when I build my 'big' garage in the summer/autumn. Actually, it's not too bad out there at the moment, tee shirt, sweatshirt, fleece and overalls are keeping the cold at bay at the moment.

Tea/lunch break and then it's back to wrestling with the wiper rack and, if some parts arrive from ESM this afternoon, finishing off the front suspension refurb

I admire your tenacity! If I can drag myself away from Ebay..........................

Myrtle is having to be kept outside during this bad weather. I don't have a garage or a car port. She has already become a victim of a flat battery. Anything I can do to keep her in reasonable shape during icey/snowy weather. I've been putting a car cover over her. Taken it off to let her get a bit of air. I've noticed the chrome bumpers have already started to rust. Oh dear! Any tips?

Would it have been a good idea to take the battery inside with you and keep it in the warm? Also remove the snow off the car everyday

carrying a car battery in and out of my house isn't a very practical suggestion. I have to sometimes park the car a couple of streets away and have you ever felt the weight of a car battery?

One of these solar trickle chargers would be a good idea if left stood or in the cold, also has the seal of approval of bmceccose ;) and at £10 is a bargain

http://www.maplin.co.uk/solar-powered-1 ... rger-98358

kind regards

Scott

Daddybear1984 wrote:One of these solar trickle chargers would be a good idea if left stood or in the cold, also has the seal of approval of bmceccose ;) and at £10 is a bargain

http://www.maplin.co.uk/solar-powered-1 ... rger-98358

kind regards

Scott

Seconded! I've used one for several years keeping the battery charged on my TR4A (long story). Anyway, the cars inside a car-port with a plexi-glass roof and the solar panel sits on top of the hood. It still gets enough light to keep the battery lively enough for a weekly turn over - don't want the valve springs sitting too long in a closed position as over time this can weaken them.

[quote="Daddybear1984"]One of these solar trickle chargers would be a good idea if left stood or in the cold, also has the seal of approval of bmceccose ;) and at £10 is a bargain

http://www.maplin.co.uk/solar-powered-1 ... rger-98358

I have one too and can say it does what it says on the tin.

xlollx wrote:Myrtle is having to be kept outside during this bad weather. I don't have a garage or a car port. She has already become a victim of a flat battery. Anything I can do to keep her in reasonable shape during icey/snowy weather. I've been putting a car cover over her. Taken it off to let her get a bit of air. I've noticed the chrome bumpers have already started to rust. Oh dear! Any tips?

Best thing for chrome I've found is to give it a good clean with Autosol chrome cleaner or similar and then when is nice and shiney apply copious amount of a resin based protector - something like Auto-Glym, that way it gets sealed from the elements for a bit.

The worst damage that can happen to a car is the underside, it's prone to attack from stone chips, salt, water, horse **** and heaven knows what else! Probably too bigger job to manage in one go, but if (when weather permitting) you can sort out a section at a time you will be rescuing your Moggie. My tip is;

Clean mud and stuff off an area and let dry, wire brush any loose stuff (peeling underseal etc), then slop on lots of Jenolite rust treatment (if rusty), let this dry - then overcoat with a strong primer (I use Iron Oxide) not sure if it's still legal???. Got loads that is used on buoys at sea (don't ask me where that came from - something to do with being very close to Southampton). When that's dry overcoat with chassis black or any strong metal paint. If you like you can finish off with a coat or two of underseal for 'Belts and braces' approach. With all this lot on you can expect your car to last longer, pass more MOTs, go slower and use more fuel!

Fab! I shall invest in one of them solar trickle chargers. You can't go wrong for £9.99!

I'm looking to move house soon. One of the requirements and priorities to find somewhere with a drive (at least) and garage.

I shall get there once the weather is warmer and sort out the chrome. Someone suggested tinfoil and water as well!

rogerowen wrote:

Daddybear1984 wrote:One of these solar trickle chargers would be a good idea if left stood or in the cold, also has the seal of approval of bmceccose ;) and at £10 is a bargain

http://www.maplin.co.uk/solar-powered-1 ... rger-98358

kind regards

Scott

Seconded! I've used one for several years keeping the battery charged on my TR4A (long story). Anyway, the cars inside a car-port with a plexi-glass roof and the solar panel sits on top of the hood. It still gets enough light to keep the battery lively enough for a weekly turn over - don't want the valve springs sitting too long in a closed position as over time this can weaken them.

just ordered one

brucek wrote:I'll see your chrome bumpers and raise you a Minor bonnet - trust me there is NOTHING and I mENA nothing like a good (or bad) bonnet for shooting down hill at a rapid rate of knots! Also good for stripping back to bare metal too I'll expect to see pictures posted tomorrow of the process in action - time to look out the silly hats chaps and chapesses

We have a bonnet that was converted a few years back!
Here it is in action yesterday! [frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

Dodo is under her cover, I've shaken off about 10cm of snow today in central London.