Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi,

I'm a new member here but have owned a Morris Minor Traveller for the last 16 months. However, it has been away in Devon since September 2013 being restored by Minor Miracles.

I am sorry to report that this company has just gone out of business. My wife and I received a letter from them a couple of days ago informing us of the situation and that we should arrange to have our car removed from their premises as soon as possible.Only a small part of the work has been done, which if completed fully, should have included the welding in of new floor panels and the complete replacement of all the woodwork, amongst other things.

I have arranged for the car to be collected and will now have to find someone else to complete the work.

Very disappointing. I know there are other owners in the same situation, as the company had several vehicles there in various stages of restoration.

Sorry to make such an unfortunate first posting.

That's awful for you, hopefully you didn't pay too much up front

Such a great shame, Im sure your very disappointed.

Was the car complete when you left it in for work, with seats and wings etc? It would be worth a visit to retrieve as many parts as possible and not only the shell in case its all been stripped out for work to begin.

So sorry to hear of your predicament - David makes a good point about making sure your Traveller has all the panels etc that it had when it went to the company in the first place. Hope you find another company that suits your needs to get your Traveller back on the road again.

Thanks for your replies.

I have arranged for the car to be collected tomorrow and all being well it should be back in my garage tomorrow night. Only then will I know the full situation. I did attempt a visit last Saturday, but the proprieter was 'unavailable' so I couldn't even get to see the car, let alone pick up any loose panels, timbers, etc.

I am hoping that I may be able to claim back some of the money through my credit card company, but equally I may haveto jut write it off and put it down to experience. Hey ho.

I will post more information as the situation becomes clearer.

There website is still up and running with no indication of the company having a problem and they have cars for sale....

Alan

My friends dad knows Maurice at minor miracles (has a unit in the same estate). I have asked and it seems he has had to close the business due to a rapid decline in health preventing him continuing working. As far as I have found out its not been closed for financial reasons

Matt wrote:My friends dad knows Maurice at minor miracles (has a unit in the same estate). I have asked and it seems he has had to close the business due to a rapid decline in health preventing him continuing working. As far as I have found out its not been closed for financial reasons

There is a whole back-story to this, which it would indiscreet of me to disclose right now, except to confirm that there was illness in the family. Sad in itself, but galling to consider that we sent down a complete Traveller; what has come back is little more than a box of bits with some wheels attached, and only a small fraction of the work carried out. I'll try to post some pictures.

Childnurse wrote:There is a whole back-story to this, which it would indiscreet of me to disclose right now

Welcome to the messageboard. I sympathise with your predicament but just a reminder that this is not a forum for complaint or criticism of individuals or companies, or for posting personal details/information about individuals on an open forum without their permission.

It's not clear from your original post, but are you looking for recommendations for other companies who can take over the work?

Sorry.

No complaint or criticism was intended. It was just hugely disappointing and frustrating to see the car arrive back in the condition it did. However, we have now assessed the situation and reflected upon the fact that we have gained two door mirrors, an extra seat and, apparently, some mice! Every cloud has a silver lining.

We would very reluctant to let the car go away again, so I have decided to buy a welding machine and will learn how to use it properly before setting about the car. As a family we will undertake the restoration ourselves, however long that takes, calling in experts as and when we need to.

I would welcome suggestions on which would be the best welding equipment to buy. Also, once the welding is completed we will need to buy a complete new wooden frame set. Which suppliers would members recommend, please?

Thank you for the support and guidance of those who have contributed to this discussion. I will doubtless be picking some brains as we progress with the work.

for your wood use woodies the total woods should cost about £1200 and that includes your delivery they also allow you to pay in instalments, and also just sell sections.

welder get a mig with gas and play....

Alan

Hi .. Sorry to hear about your car and all the other people that were let down .. It was coming for a while ! How did you get on with sorting your cars welding ?
I worked for minor miracles for 14 years as the welder so i Know pretty much everything about putting them back together ! I am a fully qualified coded welder with steel and aluminium so if you need any information or advice i can help no problem !

Hi there I don't know where the other people got there information from that the MINOR MIRACLES WORKSHOP closed down due to ill health this isn't true, The truth of the matter is the company went BANKRUPT and went through EXETER COUNTY COURT No 201 of 2012.............Date of Filing Petition 10 September2012..........Date of Bankruptcy Order: 2 November 2012 Time of Bankruptcy Order: 10 26............................A meeting of Creditors has been summoned by the trustee under section 331 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (as amended) for the purposes of receiving the trustee's report of the administration of the bankrupt's estate and consideration of granting the trustee his release under Section 299 of the insolvency Act 1986 ( as amended ) Any more information wanted can be gained at EXETER COUNTY COURT, I hope this settles this Indifference

Those dates are before the car went in for its restoration. How odd.

Here you are STEVE CLEM if you Google this you'll get some of your answers John Phillips | Final Meetings | The Gazette

Tonyrobertoreed wrote:Hi .. Sorry to hear about your car and all the other people that were let down .. It was coming for a while ! How did you get on with sorting your cars welding ?
I worked for minor miracles for 14 years as the welder so i Know pretty much everything about putting them back together ! I am a fully qualified coded welder with steel and aluminium so if you need any information or advice i can help no problem !

Sorry for the late reply - work is keeping me very busy. Anyway, thank you for your kind offer of advice, which is much appreciated. We found a local company that said they could undertake the work and they have ordered the woodwork from Woodies in Sussex. However, I met with the local guy this morning and he informed me he is selling up the business. He's spoken to Woodies about the situation and given them my background story and they have said they would be willing to take the job on. Understandably, I have mixed feelings about this. Yes, they will do an excellent job, but it means having to send the car away again and even more delay to a job that should have been completed 8 months ago. I've been advised it could be another three months before the car can even be considered for an MoT and I really needed it for September, but that is now unrealistic. Problems, problems. Hey ho.

beezerbill2010 wrote:Hi there I don't know where the other people got there information from that the MINOR MIRACLES WORKSHOP closed down due to ill health this isn't true, The truth of the matter is the company went BANKRUPT and went through EXETER COUNTY COURT No 201 of 2012.............Date of Filing Petition 10 September2012..........Date of Bankruptcy Order: 2 November 2012 Time of Bankruptcy Order: 10 26............................A meeting of Creditors has been summoned by the trustee under section 331 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (as amended) for the purposes of receiving the trustee's report of the administration of the bankrupt's estate and consideration of granting the trustee his release under Section 299 of the insolvency Act 1986 ( as amended ) Any more information wanted can be gained at EXETER COUNTY COURT, I hope this settles this Indifference

That's interesting. If they filed for bankruptcy in 2012, how come they were still trading in 2013? Cor, wish I'd known!

Childnurse wrote:

Tonyrobertoreed wrote:Hi .. Sorry to hear about your car and all the other people that were let down .. It was coming for a while ! How did you get on with sorting your cars welding ?
I worked for minor miracles for 14 years as the welder so i Know pretty much everything about putting them back together ! I am a fully qualified coded welder with steel and aluminium so if you need any information or advice i can help no problem !

Sorry for the late reply - work is keeping me very busy. Anyway, thank you for your kind offer of advice, which is much appreciated. We found a local company that said they could undertake the work and they have ordered the woodwork from Woodies in Sussex. However, I met with the local guy this morning and he informed me he is selling up the business. He's spoken to Woodies about the situation and given them my background story and they have said they would be willing to take the job on. Understandably, I have mixed feelings about this. Yes, they will do an excellent job, but it means having to send the car away again and even more delay to a job that should have been completed 8 months ago. I've been advised it could be another three months before the car can even be considered for an MoT and I really needed it for September, but that is now unrealistic. Problems, problems. Hey ho.

Hi No problem i am also very busy with work etc. Its a shame to have to move your car again but if its going to a reputable company with years experience of welding morrises then it is probably going to be worth the wait ! Don't let the bad choices of bad companies make it a bad experience.. Its still going to be your pride and joy just a little later ! Hope you get it all sorted ok
Regards
Tony

This is for mike for your information that the business stopped trading through ILL HEALTH this is not true he had two men working there one for 14 years doing most of the WELDING AND THE MECHANICAL SIDE OF THE WORK AND ANOTHER WHO WORKED THERE FOR 20 YEARS WHO DID BODYWORK, PAINT SPRAYING AND MECHANICS, He didn't want them working there anymore so got rid of them to please his SON doing the DIRTY ON THEM BOTH, It took them just 2 years to run it into the ground and went BUST The firm went through BANKRUPTCY AT EXETER CROWN COURT NOVEMBER 2012, These two men would have done the work and carried on but had found alternative work, The last I heard The POLICE WERE LOOKING INTO JOHN RICHARD PHILLIPS FOR FRAUD TAKING PEOPLE'S MONEY AS A DEPOSIT (£1,000) TO DO RESTURATION WORK That's the last I heard if I get any more Information I'll let you all know..........................