1959 Morris in upstate New York

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mikec4193
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1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by mikec4193 »

So I have been lurking for a little while now...
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Wednesday Nov 17, 2021 this crusty ole man left Columbus Ohio
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Thursday evening Nov 18, 2021 the crusty ole man was sitting in my back door yard...
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I work 2 jobs so Sundays seem to be the day I get most of my work done...that and maybe an hour or so on my off nights during the week...

The former owners were a couple of brothers from Columbus Ohio...William was one and Leo was the fellow I actually sent my money too...I bought it site unseen...they sent a bunch of pics of it...underside and top side and inside too...

I think I want to call him William Leo Columbus....
mikec4193
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Re: 1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by mikec4193 »

I have never owned an English car before...my father was dyed in the wool German car guy...so I grew up riding around in now vintage VW's and Mercedes Benz's too...
These cars are so little...I have never worked on anything this small...
Yes he is a rough one
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Inner sill is a little humble
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Need to get to work on it for sure
Hoping it wont be too long to get is patched up...the former owner told me he had it running 2 weeks ago...
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One area that surprised me was the rear trunk area...that sheet metal was still intact...

So the first thing I did was get the ole man inside to dry out...he rode a long ways in the rain.

WD 40 to get his color back into his out skin...I buy in the 1 gallon can and put it in a spray bottle
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Classiccars
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Re: 1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by Classiccars »

Good luck with the resto and well l done for saving a moggie
King Kenny
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Re: 1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by King Kenny »

It looks like you have a lot of work on your hands. Don't despair and take your time. We are with you every step of the way.
1969 Traveller in Almond green. Owned since 1979.
mikec4193
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Re: 1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by mikec4193 »

Still trying to figure out little things that need to be done as we go along....I saw the coil just laying in the belly pan in the front of the car....
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I went into my stash of junk steel I have around here....years ago I rebuilt a 1947 Willys Jeep...well the rear bumper bracket I still had kicking around and a coil mount too....

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So I plan to bend the bracket at about 1.25" from the end and use the existing holes to mount it to the inner fender panel...

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I bought these before I bought the car...so far the only thing I have used it for it to take the fuel tank line off...

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I have not had in a lot of years had a car with wood inside of it...

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Another eye opener was the fuel tank was held in place with tiny sheet metal screws...

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I am still amazed at how small this little hot rod is...

I pushed the car into my garage alone...so that is a good thing...

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I gave the old guy some more lotion last night....well not really lotion...WD-40 in a squirt bottle...he seems happy to be getting worked on again... :)
Clayton James
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Re: 1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by Clayton James »

You have an interesting project on this thread. The rims on this car remind me of the American Racing wheels Ansen model. It will be a long way to go before you can finish it, good luck. 8)
mikec4193
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Re: 1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by mikec4193 »

So I had a day off from both my jobs...been seeing a lot of tin worm action going on in the underside of the old man...
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I had piece of 18 gauge left over from a 1953 Chevy truck I rebuilt years ago...so why not do some banging on it and cutting too...

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I still dont have a clue what I am doing but I figured the best way to learn is jump in so I did...

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This are is under the back seat mounting area...I have not tried to save a unibody vehicle...I did have 2 Beetle recently but even they kinda have belly pan so this is uncharted territory for me...

I think the rust was going to overtake me but I finally found some metal that was shiny enough to weld something to...

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I welded the inner panel back in once we got the new 18 gauge patch panel...the sheetmetal on this car is so thin that when I got to weld I have to start the weld on the new panel and then draw the welder over to the Morris metal...

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I am learning every time I tinker on this old car...

The former owner had put Subby seats in it but the mounts had cracked the original floor panel so I made up 3"x5"x1/8" thick metal plate and I made up stronger mounts for the seats to sit on...

the old car seems to liked being welded on...
mikec4193
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Re: 1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by mikec4193 »

Had a day off from both jobs...So I spent the day in surgery with the old man...

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I love the patina on this ole car...I did not want to cut into it...but the inner panel was in need of repair...

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We got shelves junked at worked so I snagged a couple of the shelves for patch repair...

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This is for rear floor behind the rear fenderwell...

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I wanted to use these clamps but I cant but it enables me to line up things...

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I was gonna cut the whole sill out but as I was cutting it out the front half was fine so I left half of it in...

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I got some of floor work done too...

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Another view from the bottom side...old shelving to the rescue...

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It was good day....

I am very impressed with the quality of sheet metal...I can weld to rusty metal and the MIG welder takes it in stride...

I had the old man was groaning as I welding and grinding too...not sure if he was in pain...or just groaning in ecstasy...

He still seems happy to be getting worked on...
mikec4193
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Re: 1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by mikec4193 »

The ole man has been in surgery again...

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This is the panel in the rear frame area with home made patch panel to the rescue....still gotta patch the inner fender well area...

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I did buy some ESM panels tho...(test fitting in above pic) I am trying to keep a budget on this...the ESM stuff is top notch but the exchange rate is kicking my butt...

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I think I am a better grinder than a welder...laying on my back and welding has never been my strong suit...but we keep doing it anyways...

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A little sill action going on here....

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Once I got the bottom of the ESM patch welded I went up top and cut a 1/2" wide slot in the OEM floor pan and then welded it so now it is welded top and bottom...

I am still getting use to the size of this car and the quality of the ESM panels...not something I am accustomed too for sure...

FYI...this side is good side...the right side is really got a major case of the tin worms...
JOWETTJAVELIN
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Re: 1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by JOWETTJAVELIN »

This is great Mike, keep at it. New York seemed to be well supplied with British cars.
mikec4193
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Re: 1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by mikec4193 »

I am trying to work on the old man everyday...even if it is an hour at night...

The surgery went well...

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I wanted to do the rear frame rail but I had the car setting on jack stands on the rear leaf spring mounts...then I saw that hey maybe we can block it up off the rear pan in the trunk...and I tried it and that panel seemed strong enough hold the car...

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So we were off and running...took me several evenings to get it all set the way I wanted it...still not sure if it is right or not...

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And then there was this little deal going on here....I had some scraps left over from the shelving unit I snagged...

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A think I grind better than I weld....

The ole man was taking the heat rather well...he was groaning a little bit but for the most part...I think the ole man is liking all his new parts...
mikec4193
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Re: 1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by mikec4193 »

Had a short weekend but I was able to steal away some time in the garage

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Cut cut cut...grind grind grind...

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and in we go...

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thought I had some black paint...I did the can wouldnt spray...so grey it is...

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I think this is supposed to be a little straighter than this...

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I had to straighten this out before I put the rear fender back on...I did with my handy dandy torch and my big hammer...

I think I love the size of this car...I was able to push it outside...turn it around out side and push it back inside all alone...no tractors no extra hands either...

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tonight I will be cutting into the right side of this old heap...he seems to be happy with me so far...
mikec4193
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Re: 1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by mikec4193 »

So I keep sneaking out to the garage...cutting grinding and welding...I bought the first week I owned the old heap patch panels from the folks at ESM...still amazed at the quality of these parts...I am so used to the "made in china" stuff from my other projects...

I was told years ago the drivers side on any project should done first as it would be worse side to fix...so I jumped in with both feet and got most of the drivers side done...well roughed in at least

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Yea ole tin worms were very active in this area....this is the right side...I welded a support in to keep the door posts in the same spot while I hacked away at all the crusty stuff...

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I love painters tape...

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tack tack tack.....grind grind grind...repeat..

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The old tin worm nest...

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So Sunday after church,,,I snuck out again...

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tack tack tack....grind grind grind...

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one patch a day keeps the doctor away...

The old man seems happy to be getting some surgery done on him...
myoldjalopy
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Re: 1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by myoldjalopy »

That is a big project for a small car - but you will love it when its finished and you can proudly drive around NYC!
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Chief
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Re: 1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by Chief »

And since it's NY, he's probably close enough to Rhode Island so that when he is finished (if he wants) he can get it shown on Scotty Kilmers' YouTube channel - after all, he already had a couple of baby Austins on previously (I never knew they were exported).

Though videos I've seen of NY cars makes me think that one of the most important things that a NY car will require is an excessive amount of cavity wax and underseal - even more than if it were in the UK (which is saying something! :D ).
mikec4193
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Re: 1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by mikec4193 »

Had a rainy icy day so I was out bangin on the old man...

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what was left...
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a little shock mount action here...

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I drove around this track like 5 times to get this all welded up

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I think I grind better than I weld...

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This home built piece is going up under near where the front leaf spring mount is...

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This is the hole we are filling...

It must be a Morris Minor thin but I have never seen a car where they put undercoating on the car but on the inside panels not the outside panels...never seen this before...but then I have never owned one of these little cars before...

Keep on grinding and welding and cutting...
ManyMinors
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Re: 1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by ManyMinors »

The whole bare body was dipped in a huge tank of paint and rotated (this was called the rotodip process) to ensure that every inch of the bare body was covered in primer to slow corrosion. Over the years, the paint has obviously gone from the outer areas but some of the dark brown coating still remains in hidden areas.
mikec4193
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Re: 1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by mikec4193 »

ManyMinors wrote: Mon Jan 10, 2022 6:11 pm The whole bare body was dipped in a huge tank of paint and rotated (this was called the rotodip process) to ensure that every inch of the bare body was covered in primer to slow corrosion. Over the years, the paint has obviously gone from the outer areas but some of the dark brown coating still remains in hidden areas.
I remember my father telling me about his experiences with English cars and....so far I am very impressed with this little car...even the patch panels that I have bought fit pretty darn good too...

My biggest gripe so far is the exchange rate from UK and the USA....

Shooting to get the old heap running by spring of 2022...every night I am not working my second job I am out cutting and grinding and welding on him...

If anybody is looking for a left hand driver let me know this spring...

MikeC
mikec4193
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Re: 1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by mikec4193 »

Had some time to get more cutting and welding done on the ole heap...

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a little before shot here....

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I found one of the pieces I bought from the fine folks at ESM I had cut apart but I found that the bend was the same as with this piece...

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This part gave me a little fit....put it only to have to cut it apart as it was skewed about 1/8" when I went to test fit the OEM quarter panel I was trying to refit back onto it...so thankful I don't do woodwork...

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A little inner fender well action here...

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I grind way better than I weld...

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not sure what this area is called but it was a tin worm nest...

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so I cut everything rotted out and lookey here...all shiny and new again...

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In the trunk area...found a little hole...

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and like I said before...I grind really really well....

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I broke a captive nut off...so I cobbled up this little piece...

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a little blurry but it is going to give me a nut to bolt the rear fender on with...

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another blurry one but this is looking down at a cement floor...

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and now you cant see the cement floor...

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gotta keep hammering away on this ole heap...time is my enemy on this one...
mikec4193
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Re: 1959 Morris in upstate New York

Post by mikec4193 »

Been cold at the homestead...

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The old man needed new sneakers again...the ones were really old and weather checked...found 4 of them online for less than $200.00 for all of them...

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Not sure what I was supposed to do here...

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Cut cut cut...grind grind grind...tac tac tac

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Took me many many weeks to finally get this OEM part back onto the old heap...

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Had some thin areas ...so thankful for scrap sitting around...

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Tac tac tac....grind grind grind...

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For some strange reason I looked under the front end of the car...the right front strut rod was hanging out in the breeze....

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I cleaned up the original mounting plate....tac tac tac we go...

Got another order in for strut rod bushings and lower control arm bushings too from the fine folks at ESM....love those guys...

Keep on grinding everyone...
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