Morris Minor Owners Club

My ‘refresh’ is turning out far better than anticipated. The paint work is excellent when I expected a quick blow over, this necessitated new chrome to match and the traveller now looks great. So the wood looked a tad disheveled and new rear doors were fitted and all the varnish stripped from the sides and lovely sikkens applied.

The PO had already fitted new carpets and headlining but the seats look tired. They’re mostly intact but have one or two splits and a few marks here and there. Nothing too bad on a runabout but definitely letting down the appearance of my car. As too are all the door cards and side trim which again have nice and wrinkles.

Pricing up the trim is around £1300 as a diy proposition (which I’m ok doing) but has anyone tried an alternative approach, if there is such a thing? Anyone tried using a trimmer to make new seat and door covers? How did it work out. I’d want similar vinyl and that’s about £150 for enough material I understand. But the flutes etc would have to be stitched and that would look ok I guess

Any ideas welcome, particularly if they involve less expense.

Cheers.

There are many different designs of interior trim used during Morris Minor production and you don't say which your car has. If the car is a late model, the patterns on the vinyl trim will be formed by heat which is impossible to correctly replicate by stitching. You would have to speak with a trimmer in your local area to know what he could offer but generally I would say that the products offered by Newton Commercial are a fair price when compared with getting a trimmer to fully retrim a car from scratch. If you just want repairs carried out, the costs involved will naturally depend on whoever does it and what they charge you. The vinyl trim material becomes more brittle as it ages and repairs are not always easy to achieve.

I did completely retrim one of my Minors using a kit from Newton Commercial. The finished job looked very good and was moderately expensive but worthwhile I felt. It depends on what you want to achieve. I wouldn't do it to a car which was just to be an inexpensive "runabout" but if you want a car to look really good it is probably worthwhile.

Yes mines a late vinyl interior with the heat moulded flutes. I’ve seen the same design stitched into vinyl and quite like the look but if it costs the same might as well stick with the original material.

Don’t really want to fork out another £1300 though.

Tight wad I guess

Just an alternative idea...If the seats and trim are intact you amy want to save some money and buy some vinyl seat spray paint,I did my old Moggie seats and door cards several years ago in red and they came up fantastic.

If undamaged, it may be possible to remove the vinyl door trim etc. from the backing cards and carefully (some gentle warmth?) straighten out the wrinkles and fit taught to new door cards.

Thanks chaps. I’ve painted vinyl in the past with good results and I’ve rebuilt door cards too

Mine have nicks and scratches and frayed edges if I’m being picky.

It all looked ok, even pretty good before I painted the car, fitted new chrome and restored the woodwork. (It’s a traveller)