Minor in Devon needs a piggyback ride

[busmanjohn]

A 2-door Minor in South Devon with a poorly damper needs a lift to a repair shop - can anyone help? We would drive it but the damper can only be secured by 2 of its 4 bolts. Does anyone on here have (or know of) a 4x4 plus trailer who would be prepared to give us a one-way lift? Obviously we are happy to pay a fair price.

Has anyone asked a recovery firm to carry a classic car as a commercial job? Were you charged a reasonable price?

Thanks in advance!

[bmcecosse]

Two bolts will be fine if they can be done up tightly - just drive slowly and avoid potholes. Or - just fix it where it is !! How difficult can it be ? Are the other bolts snapped in the holes - or stripped thread - or just 'missing' ? Surely there must be a 'garage' within few miles of the car ???

[Big Jim]

When I bought my Minor it was brought back on a recovery truck . 50/60 miles for £75. I thought a bargain . Found him on Ebay .

[RobThomas]

Drain the fluid out of it by undoing the big nut at the bottom. Stops the twisting motion on the body of it.

Alternatively, join the AA/RAC. Leave it a couple of days and get them to bring it home?

[LouiseM]

If you don't want to do the work yourself have you tried asking the garage you're planning to take it to? If they don't have a recovery truck themselves they're bound to know someone local who does.

[bmcecosse]

How far is it to the nearest 'garage' ? It doesn't need to be a specialist/classic/Minor garage for a simple job like this......

[busmanjohn]

Two bolts will be fine if they can be done up tightly - just drive slowly and avoid potholes. Or - just fix it where it is !! How difficult can it be ? Are the other bolts snapped in the holes - or stripped thread - or just 'missing' ? Surely there must be a 'garage' within few miles of the car ???

One bolt has sheared off in the hole and the one below has a stripped thread. You cannot gain access to the rear of the mounting without cutting a hole in the inner wing and I don't have the tools or the skills to tackle that. We're taking it to a MM specialist about 25 miles away.

[busmanjohn]

Drain the fluid out of it by undoing the big nut at the bottom. Stops the twisting motion on the body of it.

Thanks Rob, if we can't get it trailered we'll drain it.

[busmanjohn]

If you don't want to do the work yourself have you tried asking the garage you're planning to take it to? If they don't have a recovery truck themselves they're bound to know someone local who does.

Thanks Louise, the garage man has given me details and I now have a quote.

[bmcecosse]

You don't need rear access - the stripped thread will just need drilling and taping to next size up (which may be metric) and the broken one can maybe be extracted if there is a stub showing -or again drill and tap to next size. All easy enough to do, and certainly no cutting. Just make sure the plate doesn't move by keeping two bolts in it at all times. I'm not so sure draining the damper is a great idea -- I wouldn't do it. You'll probably end up paying over the odds at a ' Minor Specialist'.. have you asked at your local garage ?

[RobThomas]

John. PM on the way with some sensible advice.

[les]

Here's some sensible advice ---------drive the vehicle to the garage, just take it easy.

[bmcecosse]

Exactly - this is a simple job, crazy to spend any serious money on it.

[philthehill]

It has to be remembered that not everyone has a well equipped workshop or the mechanical bent to be able to undertake this repair jobs however simple it is considered.
The bolts holding the damper to the cross member are a safety critical item(s) so do require the repair to be undertaken by a knowledgeable/competent person.
Having undertaken the repair of the damper mounting bolts myself I know it is not as easy as is made out above.
If in any doubt about the ability to repair take the car to a knowledgeable and reliable garage.
Phil

[oliver90owner]

We're taking it to a MM specialist about 25 miles away

Entirely your choice. Well done to state your intentions clearly. TBH the choices were there, but you have made your mind up. Sensible to have it repaired at a competent repairer.

I advise you to ignore those that try to suggest you are wasting money, that is an easy job and can be done by anyone. That may be the case, in that perhaps your local agricultural engineer could easily make a perfect repair, per eg. But it is clearly going to possibly cost more than the minimum possible. But only possibly. The job can be a simple one but a broken tap, stuck in the hole, could easily complicate the repair. Even the wrong length bolt can cause immediate or later problems. Possibly it has already been tapped one or more sizes up. That in itself might complicate the repair.

Philthehill is spot on. HIS advice is sound, as is that from some others.

[RobThomas]

John now has some diagrams, dimensions, part numbers and links to suppliers of the correct grade bolts. It looks like he's happy with his plan and has instructed a garage accordingly.

As Oliver suggests, only a bodger would drill the hole oversize because they'd need to drill the damper body through as well or the bolt wouldn't go through. How long would that last??? [frame][/frame]

[philthehill]

The front dampers have a built in deficiency in that they have soft alloy bodies which allows the body of the damper to compress/deform where the bolt passes through when the bolt is tightened.
This compression/deforming allows the mounting bolts to loosen their grip over time and once loose they start to chew at the threads in the threaded plate mounted in the cross member and the bolts can ultimately snap off or destroy the threads in the plate allowing the bolt to drop out.
The bolts do need to be checked for tightness on a regular basis but of course the locking tabs give a false sense of security in that it means that it is assumed that as they are locked they will never loosen the grip on the damper.
In my case I have ditched the locking tabs and use a thick flat washer and spring washer under the head of each of the high tensile Allen headed bolts now used.
The Allen bolts are tightened sufficiently and checked on a regular basis for tightness.
Phil

[BLOWNMM]

I have done the same with my shock retaining bolts ever since I've had the car. The first thing I did was to bend back the locking tabs and check the tightness of the retaining bolts and leave the tabs bent back to enable regular checks on the bolt tension. When I dismantled and rebuilt the shocks I spot faced the outside of the bolt holes with a slot drill to give a full face. The rears were also skimmed (all together) to ensurs they were in one plane. Replaced using new tab washers without bending them over to enable regular checks on the retaining bolts. So far after initial tensioning they have not required any more.
Bob

[RobThomas]

https://www.lasaero.com/site/products/a ... =S01UJF67X

Good place to start since they are of known quality.(Not made in China from recycled Lancia door panels)

I'm embarking on engine steady Mk2 and have a sturdier design in mind so will work out the exact part numbers needed and will post them up.

[busmanjohn]

Wow, thanks chaps. I'm blown away by the time folks have taken to reply to my simple request! I joined the MMOC even before I'd bought my first Minor and this is one of the reasons I've not looked back since.

As noted above, I have made a plan and the car will be repaired by a MM specialist. I know him, he's done repairs for me before and he's a long-time member of the MMOC. I trust his advice and that of several people on here. I will post again after a successful outcome.

Thanks once again.