Morris Minor Owners Club

OK peeps. Ten years ago the two front wings of my car were repaired with metal, where rust occurred at the bottom near the front doors - a classic spot for rust on a Minor.
Roll on ten years and the rust has appeared again in the same areas, so the two wings will have to be repaired and re-sprayed again. A bit annoying as the car is not often out in the wet. Is there anything I can do to stop this happening again? The rest of the car is rust-free.

Basically you have to use a good quality steel to carry out such repairs and then a good quality anti rust primer prior to good coats of paint on BOTH sides. Then you have to protect it all with a good rustproofing wax on the inner surfaces.

You haven't done too badly in some ways.... I recall purchasing a Morris Minor when only just 10 years old (the car, not me ) and both front wings were falling apart!

From memory, that part of the wing rusts from the inside out due to curved strengthened/fitting piece on the inside. Where they come together, there is a slight gap and all the water, mud and road salt from the wheel gets fired straight in to that gap - with these results. If ember reading about a Minor owner who, before fitting the wing, poured liquid fibreglass resin into the gaps to fill and seal them up before painting and stonechipping the inside. Possibly even a semi structural body sealer or similar could seal that gap off. It would be great if someone could develop inner wing liners similar to those on new cars, that could slow down or stop the rot on the front and back of the wing.

Thank you for your replies.
'ManyMinors' - how do you judge 'good quality steel' as suitable to make the repairs?
Philip - I seem to recall having seen some kind of baffle fitted at the back of the underwing area, but don't know where now, or whether it was effective. The problem is undoubtedly water getting in behind the wing and rotting from inside. Most will come from that thrown up by the wheels, but I think some may dribble down from above in wet weather, or even washing the car. What would be disastrous would be to seal the wing in some way and yet still have ingress of water from somewhere that then gets trapped by the sealant. Any further thoughts welcome, as I don't want to have to do this again in another 10 years.

I'll be interested to hear developments in this thread. My car is getting new wings right now. The originals lasted 55 years but now it is uneconomical to repair them and they are being replaced instead. My wings rotted in the usual place too, in a vertical line near the door. Interestingly, my wings did not rust near the headlights.

Stephen

Are you sure they are uneconomical to repair if there is only a little rust near the door-line? Looking at the price of new wings, I would think it much cheaper to cut out and weld in a new piece of steel if that is the only area of rust........

myoldjalopy wrote: ↑Sat Feb 15, 2025 11:57 am Are you sure they are uneconomical to repair if there is only a little rust near the door-line? Looking at the price of new wings, I would think it much cheaper to cut out and weld in a new piece of steel if that is the only area of rust........

One of the wings has rusted through completely in quite a long line and is flapping about.

Stephen

Oh dear, yes, that sounds much worse than mine! I've just got a little bit of bubbling under the paint at the bottom.

Well, I was over-optimistic about the extent of the rust. When the wings came off to be repaired, there was more rot in the inner wings All repaired now and looking good But I don't really know how this happened in the last 10 years, as it was good when the wings came off 10 years ago and the car was 60 years old then. Maybe something wasn't sealed properly when the wings were replaced back then?

All these cars can hide quite a bit of rust. They rust from the inside out, so was probably pretty rusty 10 years ago but not right through? Also, it is clear from the photos that the inner surfaces of the box sections had never been protected with a rust preventative which is essential if a long life is sought. The rust in your inner wings is very typical of these cars I would say and serious rust proofing is the only way to prevent this

Yes, it is possible that the rust was there but not visible externally 10 years ago.....

I made some plastic wheel arch liners for the front wing of the Traveller. I welded on some tabs to take push on Spire Clips, then used some screws used to hold on modern plastic undertrays as these have a large head to spread the load.
I did this on another classic 16 yrs ago and the last time I checked (about 2 years ago) it still looked as good as the day the car was finished. There is also an edge seal between the liner and the wing. A bit of work, but worth it in the long run.
As as already been said, internal box section need to be wax injected with Dinitron/Waxoyl etc to prevent internal corrosion.

Nice job - keeps the muck out!
I seem to remember there was a company that sold wheel arch liners for the Morris albeit a few years ago!

Alan

Yes, I don't know how effective they were/are. If not entirely sealed off, mud might still get trapped behind and start rusting where you can't see it. For this reason, some prefer to regularly hose down the wheel arch and attend to any areas which need attention, even if just a quick rub down and coat of paint. Having said that, MinorOCD's solution would seem to be pretty watertight.

I believe several modern vehicles use some sort of 'carpet type' material in wheel arches for the benefit of sound deadening but they just hang on to all the water and debris and promote corrosion!

Alan

I can attest to the effectiveness of these home made versions. I did the same thing on my other classic 16 years ago and nearly 40k miles. It’s seen plenty of wet weather, but still looks good. I did use a rubber seal on the edge (against the outer wing) to keep the muck out and applied Dinitrol wax to the surfaces. With the lack of muck, the Dinitrol repels any water that may get in. All the plated bolts are still clean and shiny.
Paul

When I got new steel front wings for my Traveller I poured fibre-glass resin with hardener into the joint and let it set. This has sealed out the water and (hopefully) prevented rusting in the joint.

Hi, has anyone got photos or write up on DIY welding repair of front wings?
There are some awkward shpes to get correct

I've sent you PM's millerman