Morris Minor Owners Club

Myrtle failed her MOT today on silly things. The hose connecting windscreen wash to wipers needs replacing, bulb had gone (I checked these last night grrrr!), the sealant around the windscreen needs replacing and she needs some welding. Was quoted £250. However, what my boyfriend has failed to tell me was that two weeks go he ripped the material on the inside (roof) in two places getting his bike out the car. He didn't tell me cos he knew I would flip out and he has been quoted £500 to replace it all arrrrghhhhh. Any suggestions what I can do and where I can get it done at a more reasonable cost.

I have also just cancelled my renewal insurance with Lancaster because it has gone up by £200 from last year to £450. Any good and cheap places. I have tried Footman James and they do a good deal but car needs to be kept in a garage. I also have had my license for 2 1/2 years which is sometimes an issue.

Thanks.

Was the £250 quote for fixing all of the MOT failings? If so, fixing the easy things like the hose connection, sealant and bulb yourself will be cheap and won't take much time at all. (I didn't realise that the windscreen sealant got tested as part of the MOT )

With regards to the rip to the roof material do you mean the headlining? New ones for a saloon cost around £70 and although not the easiest of things to replace can be fitted yourself with a bit of help. There's some useful info on the forum about how best to do this. Presumably if you haven't noticed the rips in the last two weeks they can't be too big I fixed a rip in mine with just a few stiches, and others on here have used patches or tape to repair them.

Regarding the insurance, if you are a club member did you ring the designated Footman James phone number rather than try to get a quote on the general phone number or via the internet? I've had no problems in getting cover with them in the past without the car being garaged. The contact numbers are here: http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=49304

Hi,

Yes, the £250 was for all the MOT failings. Which to be honest, I didn't think was too bad considering when my Corsa failed it was about £400 to fix brakes and sensors etc. I didn't realise the windscreen sealant was part of the MOT either. It has been leaking a bit in bad rain. If anyone can clarify if it is part, that would be great.

I haven't been in the car for 2 weeks. The boyfriend has quite clearly been trying to get me to avoid going in the morris. I will have a go at stitching it myself.

I'm a club member, so I will give footman and james a ring tomorrow. See what they say about the garage situation. Last year my insurance was £230 and this year it has crept up to £440. Absolutely ridiculous.

I didn't realise the windscreen sealant was part of the MOT either

That make 3 of us, I'm afraid they are extracting the urine because you are female.
Sort the bulb and the hose out then take it somewhere else, preferably classic friendly.
Someone here may be able to suggest a better place.

It was actually my boyfriend who took it for the MOT and the garage is classic friendly. An independent garage and the owner has morris minors and travellers himself. I've since spoken to my boyfriend about the windscreen sealant and he seems to think he has heard wrong and it is something else entirely. It appears the bulk of the money is for the welding, which I know can be expensive.

Was the windscreen rubber actually specified on the MOT paper certificate as a failure or was the mechanic/tester pointing out that the windscreen seal was perished and causing water to penetrate inside the car which could lead to further rust problems. He could be trying to save you from further expense.
Your last post MAY have answered the above question but check the paperwork.

Oh well, £250isn't too bad.
All sorts of alarm bells went off with the suggestion that a leaking windscreen is an MOT fail.

A real tale relating to rain and the MOT test albeit a few years ago now.
A car came into the garage where I was employed as mechanic and MOT tester for its annual MOT test. It did not look too bad from a distance parked up ready to be tested. I had not seen this car before so knew nothing of its condition.
Before I could get to MOT the car the heavens opened and it poured with heavy rain. Eventually I went to get the car and the bodywork was full of rust holes. The owner had patched the bodywork with poly-filler which of course is not waterproof and to make matters worse he had painted the car with ordinary water based emulsion which ran at the first contact with rain so the ground around the car was covered in mushy poly-filler and emulsion paint .
As you can imagine the car did not pass the MOT and if I remember correctly it was a Riley 4/72 which went for scrap soon after.

The only way of judging this is to post the exact RfR's (reason for rejection) listed on your VT30 (Fail Sheet) on the left hand side. The right hand side is advice only.
Yes windscreen seal has no relevance in MoT test!

I live about ten miles from Stamford (near Oakham), and for some years have been going to W H Higgins & Sons Ltd, at Station Garage, South Luffenham (right by the level crossing) 01780720361. They are very classic car friendly (the owner has one himself), and even give a reduction on MOT fee. Give them a try when you go for retest - they won't find anything nonsensical (like windscreen rubbers).

Do they specify what welding they are going to do?? Is it just a MOT patch up job - or are they going to fit some decent replacement panels underneath?? You really need to go there yourself and find out........ Why was there a bike in the back seat? When I first read the post I thought perhaps some other back seat activity had caused the rips........

I'll try that garage next time.

There was a bike in the back seat because my stupid boyfriend decided to put it in there to get to rutland water. He was taking the bike out, slipped and now the headlining has ripped. He didnt tell me because he knew i would be mad. Rightly so! He has promised me he will get it sorted. But he has been quoted £500 which seems very steep. You can get the headlining for about £70 but how easy is it to fit yourself?

Instructions for fitting a headlining are here: http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=20065