Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello, I am in the process of doing a cavity seal on my Morris Convertible. However, I have no idea how I get to both side skirts (Doorsill). I can not find an opening. I have removed the carpet from the side. Here also unfortunately no holes. Does anyone have a tip for me how I get in there?

Thanks

I expect you mean under the (usually silver) kickplates at the bottom of the door aperture? You will need to remove the finisher rail that runs under the door. It may be a sod 'cause the little nuts and bolts that hold it on are invariably rusted together. May be quicker to cut/chisel them off if you can. Then the kickplates are removed by the screws that are at their top - and you're in!

First of all thank you for the answer
Is difficult with me. Could I drill two small holes inside instead and go in that way?

Yes, you could do that, but it is better to get the kick plate off so you can see inside and clear out any flakes of rust that may be lurking in there......unless you know for sure there is no rot in the sills. Obviously if the sills are very rusty there is no point shoving waxoyl in there before they have been repaired properly.

To be honest I'd take the will finisher off and the kick plates, then you can have a good check inside, treat any rust and actually paint waxoyl or whatever in with a paint brush and spray what you can't reach. It's not a hard job but as said you may well have grind the nuts off, you could then replace them with stainless steel ones. By the way there may be some self tapping screws on the top of the kick plates, also when I did mine I didn't bother with the full number of replacement screws.

Are you talking about this bar that should be taken off?[

It may be a sod 'cause the little nuts and bolts that hold it on are invariably rusted together.

A good advert for what I always put them back together with and don't have that problem afterwards -- good old Copper Grease (link below).
Best wishes,
Mike.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Granville-Co ... SwGBpeBjDy

Hi,
Below is what you should find underneath (although not in primer), so as you can see, no need to drill any holes, as there is plenty of access for waxoiling. I have now drilled some small holes in the 'A', 'B' and 'C' posts though, to get a waxoil nozzel through and help protect the insides of these.
Best wishes,
Mike.

Definitely take of the covers otherwise you will not get the protection where you need it.
Mine had been done by squirting it through some holes in the sill covers and it just covered some very local areas with virtually none getting into the hollow sections inside. Luckily mine had not started to rust in those areas yet.



I would also remove the gearbox cover panel so you can get into the main chassis rails properly, I also added some additional entry holes in the A & B posts and into the chassis rails where the rear seat fits.

Phil P

"Are you talking about this bar that should be taken off?"
Yes, once that is off you can then remove the kickplate and you will see what is shown in Mike and Phil's pictures, above. That is the recommended route, already endorsed by others - and think yourself lucky you don't have a four-door Minor, as the finisher rail is much longer and has even more of those rusty nuts and bolts!
As I mentioned above, you could drill through from the inside but much better to open it up and see what it looks like. Your car looks pretty tidy but that doesn't guarantee the sills are rust free inside. And if they are found to be sound, that is extra peace of mind - and also enables you to get the waxoyl into areas which would otherwise get missed by just skeeting it in through some drilled holes.

I have removed the outer bar. Went without problems because the screws were intact. But the kickstep does not go down, because a previous owner has welded the kickstep at both ends to the frame. See photos. Now there is probably nothing left but to drill from the inside. Do you have any tips on how best to go about it. I would now assume the holes as far down as possible to set to get with the probe as deep as possible in the spars Right?

What in God's name did they do that for?? I know its more work - and one job often then leads to another - but I'd be tempted to cut that kick-plate out just to see what's there underneath........I don't like bodges that suggest someone has tried to hide something. I hope I'm wrong in this case. If you lie under the car, how does that area all look from below?

myoldjalopy wrote: ↑Tue Mar 16, 2021 3:10 pm What in God's name did they do that for?? I know its more work - and one job often then leads to another - but I'd be tempted to cut that kick-plate out just to see what's there underneath........I don't like bodges that suggest someone has tried to hide something. I hope I'm wrong in this case. If you lie under the car, how does that area all look from below?

Depends when it was done. My SII is in a similar position, it was rebuilt in around 1998/99 and from past discussion around here, replacement panels were not as easy to come by as they are now, so more was done as bespoke engineering. Basil has what the manual unhelpfully describes as the 'late type' jacking points on the cross member, not that they are useable. I have no idea at what point they were introduced, but was it as early as the 'revamp' SII?

But even the Cross Member looks to have been bespoke built, because as I discovered, it doesn't have torsion bar adjustment....

I can't see why a scarcity of panels would lead anyone to weld the kick plates to the car - its madness! Are you saying Basil has had the same thing done? I don't think the jacking point was ever on the crossmember end on the SII - mine is a 1955 'revamped' model but still has the jacking points in the wheel arches for the screw type jack. I believe the change came in late 1956 with the early 1000 models, which used the triangular-frame type jack and the crossmember jacking points.....

Well it is what it is. There is nothing I can do about it. At the bottom the floor looks very good. Cutting it open I will not do. Desgalb remains for me only the solution from the inside drill. Does anyone have a tip for me regarding the location of the holes. According to my idea, I would put the holes ziemich down to get as deep as possible to the rear. Opinions or tips?

The type of action depends on how far you want to go with your vehicle, the length of time you think you will keep the car, the condition of the rest of the bodywork, etc. I would be wondering why that welding was done, especially if I was buying. From the pictures your car looks ok, in which case, and again if it was me, I’d be getting the angle grinder out ! —- but as mentioned it may lead to more discoveries entailing more work, so I’ll refer back to my initial considerations. Good luck either way.

You posted just before me. I now see you will not consider removing the panel, so ignore my advice.

"Cutting it open I will not do". Very much your choice, and there's no right or wrong in this game. However, just to add weight to the open it up argument, the picture below is what I found on my quite clean looking Traveller when I did manage to remove the corroded bolts. Remember that this is a major structural element, more so on a convertible than any other model. The extent of cutting involved may be a lot less than you think - those welds should come off quite neatly using a Dremel with a Speedclic cutting wheel, and a touch in of the paint afterwards.

I’m not too sure about ‘flexing’ on convertibles and where it occurs but could it be the cover plate welding was an ill advised attempt to either strengthen the body as a precaution or to attempt a solution to an underlying weakness.
Each to their own regarding the remedy !