Morris Minor Owners Club

Looking at those pictures, the reality is a new floor pan with cills and crossmember including the spring hangers, big work I know. A sound shell would be good and a solution but a decent shell would be hard to find and also probably need work so, in view of that, and if you are determined to keep the car, my preference would be to bite the bullet and repair. If you get a garage to just get you by, you’ll be forever having to do work in future. All or nothing type or thing. Of course the biggest battle is finding a company that do good work. Good luck whatever you decide.

I've seen their work on Minors before, it's more of a matter of how broke I go I think!

I understand what you’re saying, people have different opinions/thoughts on a subject and what’s seen as value for money, and rightly so. My particular thoughts were, I wanted a vehicle to last me out, with no more work as such. Needing no tax or mot, I viewed it as a good standby if a regular vehicle played up. Of course, no one knows where motoring is heading but if its still feasible to be on the road, I see the Minor staying with me for the foreseeable.

Monty-4 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 16, 2021 6:05 pm it's more of a matter of how broke I go I think!

It's my belief that everyone on here would be millionaires by now, if not for the fact they own a Minor

Running a Minor is likely cheaper even if it requires restoration every 10 years or so. It just requires forward planning!

Monty-4 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 16, 2021 9:42 pm every 10 years or so

12 years, my restorer has a 2 year waiting list (sadly mine has reached that 10 years and is now booked in).

2 years to save up !

If you rust proof it properly and maintain it there is no reason you should need a re-build every 10 years, I have a car (TR7V8) I restored 25 years / 100,000 miles ago including everyday use for the first 15 years which has only recently needed some welding, one area where treatment has not penetrated into a seam and the other a load of 6 inch long cracks where the rear suspension mounts.

Every year I go over any area of surface rust or loose paint and every 2 or 3 It gets a treatment with cavity material (used to use clean oil/ waxoyl mix), using a modern Bilt hamber product now.

Some progress from the restorers for those interested.

I would have expected the door openings to have been braced before cutting away the side panels and part of the floor as shown.
If the car/door openings are not braced there is the possibility that the centre of the car will sag resulting in misaligned door openings.

Is that still the case with it being a van? I thought it was only the monocoque body of the saloons being overall structural that required bracing?

I would still brace the door opening even though the van/pickup has a chassis. The less things move the better

I did question this and will specifically ask about the doors, although it looks like they've rehung them better than I had them anyway.

Fingers crossed the car having no weight in it - being sans engine, gearbox, fuel & diff - means less force to sag anything too.

Monty-4 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 22, 2021 8:04 pm Fingers crossed the car having no weight in it - being sans engine, gearbox, fuel & diff - means less force to sag anything too.

And with the floor pans cut away you can drive it Fred Flintstone style and not worry about petrol becoming obsolete in the future

T'other side!

Should get the car back next week, then I can figure out how much wax I can fit in the sills and how many inches of tar I can cover the floor with.

Great progress I didn't find that I had to brace my own 4door saloon when I rebuilt the underside. I did leave the doors on because although they sometimes got in the way, it meant that I could check the door fit from time to time. The car didn't sag at all with the floors cut out. I too did one side at a time. Your restorer has clearly re-fitted the doors successfully anyway.

With regards to rustproofing, I haven't found that thicker coats of material help much. It is the quality and coverage which is more important. I have always used Bonda Primer (2 coats brushed on) as an initial primer coat followed by 2 further coats of enamel paint. As a rust preventative I have generally used Supertrol sprayed inside the box sections but anything is a lot better than nothing. there are many products on the market. Even diesel or engine oil will get into the joints well if you don't want to purchase a particular product.

Given the number of products on the market I'm skeptical of the difference between a £10 tin of gunk and the £50+ tins of gunk. Therefore recommendations are appreciated especially when it comes to which are easiest to apply effectively.

I used to use bonda primer but recently I have been using epoxy primer which really seems to stick, under the car I Follow this with stone chip then a brush on enamel ( teamac metal) finally a coat of wax, I used to use waxoyl mixed with some clean engine oil but lately we have been using bilt hamber dynax ub which seems a lot tougher.

Have the car back, the last couple of photos:
As per the advice here I'm thinking a high zinc epoxy primer, then I have some body colour paint in a tin to perhaps brush on thick, then an underbody wax like the aforementioned Bilt Hamber product. Likely their S-50 product sprayed into the cavities too.

Not going near the stick on sound deadening bitumen-like pads again, they're a pain to get off and likely trap moisture. Perhaps an underfelt like this (link) instead.