Morris Minor Owners Club

I'm going to have a go at bashing this grill panel back into shape. The top trim and hockey sticks have a few studs missing - can anyone advise me of the stud thread size - is it a BA size? Any idea where to get from?

The grill.....................! [frame][/frame]

rogerowen wrote:I'm going to have a go at bashing this grill panel back into shape. The top trim and hockey sticks have a few studs missing - can anyone advise me of the stud thread size - is it a BA size? Any idea where to get from?

The studs are 2BA. If you clamp the old ones in a vice you can unscrew them. Get new screws from Spalding Fasteners and cut the heads off at the correct length. Screw the cut end back into the hockey stick and it'll look like new.
Tip: When cutting the head off fit a nut on first. Clamp the thread in a soft jawed vice and remove the head. Clean it with a flat needle file and then unwind the nut - this will clean the last of the thread so it screws into the stick nicely.

And no doubt the 2BA studs snapped off the 'moustache' as well? fear not. grind them flat leaving about 1/4" in the moulding. Now cut down some screws and create a chisel tip on the cut end. You now carefully MIG weld the new stud in place using very short bursts of weld to fill up the chisel tip area. If you get the measurements right this blob of weld won't stop the stud going through the hole in the 'cheesegrater' top edge and if you get the welding right it will not blue the chrome plate. I saved £35 with this trick.

Thanks, that's good advice. By 'moustache' do you mean the chrome trim that runs along the top of the grill panel? Do the studs on this not come out in the vice like the Hockey Sticks?

Unless your hockey sticks are in good condition then I would buy new ones. By the time that you have bought and fitted new bolts you could easily have finished the job

Grille ..... unless you are fitting a barbecue grill to your Minor........

Watch out buying the new hockey sticks from Sri Lanka the chrome dulls very quickly and the metal is of poor quality

Like Barrys says, they are "BA. I had a similar issue. I filed the studs in the hockey sticks flat, centre popped them and carefully drilled and tapped out new 2BA. One actually cleaned out!. I then screwed in new studs using Loctite Studlock (green or blue one) If the hole wanders slightly there is enough clearance to get you out of trouble.

rogerowen wrote:Thanks, that's good advice. By 'moustache' do you mean the chrome trim that runs along the top of the grill panel? Do the studs on this not come out in the vice like the Hockey Sticks?

Most of the studs snapped off when removing the moustache (yep- the piece across the top) despite trying to be careful. The chrome was almost new in appearance so I suspect it had been replaced previously and the bolts not greased before reassembly.