Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi,
In amongst a selection of spares that cam with Elsie May is this horn push (image below), however it feels 'limp' with no return to it when pushed, so I took it apart: The bakelite I can clean / polish up but am I right in thinking that there should be a spring in here?
If so is there anywhere I might get one from?
Many thanks as always for any help / advice.
Best wishes,
Mike.

From memory of my Series 2 there was a spring with a copper cap which located on the centre spigot between the contact segments.
Difficult to find on its own I would imagine.

From memory of my Series 2 there was a spring with a copper cap which located on the centre spigot between the contact segments.
Difficult to find on its own I would imagine.

You're right Boomlander and I was having a 'Doh!' moment, as I have Sally's functioning horn push stashed under my bed, waiting to be refitted, so I opened it up to find: So if anyone has a scrap early horn push out there with the parts I'm missing in it I'd like to salvage it, to restore the one at the start of this post.
To clarify, as Boomlander said, I'm looking for the copper cap that sits inside the push button and the spring.
I may have to put an ad in the 'wanted ' section.....
Best wishes,
Mike.

Well, they say necessity is the mother of invention........
With no original spare parts in sight and rather than scrap it, I substituted the copper plate in the button for a couple of copper washers 'Gorilla' glued in place and then found a spring of (near enough) the right tension and cut it down to size. Next, the contact plates inside the main body needed to be 'adjusted' upwards to meet the new copper ring when the horn button is pushed.
I then put it all back together and tested it, success!!
It was harder getting a respectable sheen on the bakelite. It took several applications of Autosol, wire wool and then bakelite polish (Paste Polishing No 5) to get it to where it is now and there is still that unusual 'stain' on one half of the outer section. I suspect something has 'splashed' onto it at some point........ Anyway, the point of this post was to show that with a little thought (and a few odd spares) these things can be returned to working order.
It's not perfect and I will polish it further. However it does look better viewed normally, rather than close up in a picture.
Plus I'm thinking of the money I've saved by repairing it, rather than having to source and pay for another at some point.
So if you have a hornpush in need of repair, give it a go, if I can do it anyone can.
Best wishes,
Mike.

And you have the satisfaction of having make it useable.
My approach with such things is "if something's totally useless anyway, then I can't make it worse, I can only fix it or discard it, so might as well try".

Just as with my Dip Switch repair last year.
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=71829

I think my handbrake lever might be the next thing to have some 'fettling', as it can sometimes slip off sideways when applied.
Although it's not original, as it's Chrome. I think it might have come from a Mimi.

That was a good useful video you attached to that previous post.
You say it

can sometimes slip off sideways when applied.

Do you mean literally or that the mechanism is loose in some way?
Best wishes,
Mike.

jagnut66 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 22, 2021 10:09 am
Do you mean literally or that the mechanism is loose in some way?
Best wishes,
Mike.

I need to take it out and see if the teeth are worn.
When pulled on, and I always press the button in, not click it up the teeth, when I release the button it occasionally holds momentarily and then drops a bit.
I think either some teeth are worn or there's too much sideways play.
Just another job for winter.