Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi all,

Unfortunately I found a significant amount of rust on my nearside mounting plate - looks like it's had anaerobic rusting that hasn't been obvious until now. Weird, as I've always made sure to put cavity wax in the holes under the rear seat, but maybe was compromised when I bought it 12 years ago and been on a slow decline.

Anyhow, living in central London means that welding is a nightmare - I do t know anywhere now after Chertsey minor shut and lmg Kent don't seem to want any welding work anymore. Question is, is this safe to drive at all, or does it need to be trailered?

I kept hammering away at the rust till I hit good metal, leaving quite the hole!

It looks to me as if most of the rust hole visible is actually in a previous repair panel covering the original floor pan/ undersill? The actual spring mount itself still looks reasonably sound. Obviously the original part of the floor has previously rusted too but you need to remove the repair panel (or part of it) first - in order to judge how extensive the corrosion to the structure actually is. You should be able to see this from above by shining a light into the rear seat mounting area - through the holes you say you have sprayed cavity wax into.
From what I can see the car doesn't look in an immediately dangerous condition but cutting out the rusted area and replacing what is needed should be done without too much delay.
Your cavity wax will have done some good but the material cannot reach into areas which have previously been patched over like that. Always a hazard where new metal has been welded over the top of rusted steel.
Rust in that area probably starts because rain water enters the car through a perished rear windscreen rubber and gets inside the rear box sections. I have found that it is most important to keep the car's interior dry as rust tends to start from the inside and work its way out. The area under the rear seat is one of the most difficult to repair properly because access from above is so difficult.

Thanks - very helpful!

What's your thoughts on this needing a specialist Morris repair shops experience, or a general welding shop? The latter is much easier for me given location, but willing to go for the former along with it's significantly higher hassle factor!