Rebuild saloon from scratch!

[Verity]

Hi All,

Help! I have rescued a jigsaw puzzle! There was a clearance sale and somehow I have managed to pick up a '56 split screen 4 door saloon! Trouble is, its in a million pieces! From what I can gather, it had been dismantled to be restored, but the owner passed away and the bits and pieces were just left in piles and boxes - suppose you could say its a barn find!? I have no idea if I have all of the bits and i will need to do some tarting around with the body frame (de-rusting and maybe replacing some floor pans).The sills, kick plates etc all seem sound and solid,but should i replace them anyway whilst the car is completely stripped?
I want to keep the car as original as possible, and to keep the dreaded rust at bay. Has anybody got any comments with regards to things like SPL processing - which sounds like a wonderful thing to do but maybe a bit expensive - is it worth it or are there other options?

I'm in this for the long haul and plan to hopefully use this car as an everyday runner once built,but where do i start to build? From the bottom up would be my guess.
I have a few practical and mechanical friends but none of us have ever rebuilt a car or for them guys, never even driven a Morris let alone work on one! Is there anything that i should be aware of or look out for?

Many many thanks
Verity

[Blades]

Ay up Verity and welcome to the forum

You will get plenty of help and advice from members more knowledgeable than myself but if you can put on some pictures that will help, also your location as some one local might be able to pop over to have a look at the car

Nick

[rayofleamington]

Hey Verity,
Starting with a fully stripped car certainly isn't the normal way!
Prior to a major resto I would normally recommend that the car is band-aided and driven for a few months - that way the owner can get a feel for whether they want to keep the running gear standard, and whether any of it needs fixing.

What condition is the body shell? Generally you'd start by getting that into good shape.
For a saloon - especially a 4 door, avoid doing any serious metal surgery without having the doors in place to check door gaps. For serious metal surgery it's best to brace the door gaps (to keep everything square).

If you don't need to do shell repairs then I would still try the door fit before going very far with the rebuild. If for some reason nothing fits right (e.g. shell has had major rebuild in the past and has twisted) then probably best to find a different car! If there's signs of accident damage, it can be a benefit to pay for a structural alignment check - chassis legs etc.. can be out of alignment.

Other than checking the shell the general process is:
1) Fit rear springs & axle, (you can pre-assemble the brake back plates, cylinders, shoes and drums)
2) Fit front torsion bars, front suspension and shocks (you can pre-assemble brake back plates, cylinders, shoes and drums onto the uprights)
3) Fit steering rack to shell and connect to front suspension
4) fit wheels and now you've got a rolling shell

5) Fit wiring loom to RH side of engine bay, then pass through part to the dash, and the rest goes under the car into RH corner of boot floor
6) fit the fuel pipe from engine bay to rear & add fuel tank, fuel sender, filler pipe, fuel pipe to engine bay.
7) Fit remaining brake cylinders, the master cylinder, brake pies and flexi hoses (doesn't need filling until you're ready to bleed it)
8 ) pre-check the gearbox as much as possible through all gears, turning by hand. Pre-check engine on the bench for compression test etc.. a pre-fit of starter motor should get the compression test sorted.
9 ) Fit clutch to engine, and then fit gearbox, checking that the clutch arm / release bearing is in the right place. Then add starter motor.
10) Fit engine/ gearbox together with the front engine mount towers and the gearbox crossmember.

Next order can be almost any order, apart from interior & lights - they are best to do last.

11) Add the speedo cable from gearbox into back of dash.
12) Add the propshaft and now you should be able to rotate the rear wheels using the starting handle! (when in gear!)
13) Add the fuel pump, connect fuel hoose and connect up the harness to engine / engine bay including the regulator box, dynamo etc..- at this point tape over the connectors for lights / indicators.
14) Add ignition switch, fit the harness & bulb holders to back of speedo & fit speedo cable before putting the speedo into the dash. Connect up the rest of harness in the dash for switches etc..
15) tape up the lights connectors in the boot
16) Add battery and battery cables & starter switch (on a 56 it's manual, not a solenoid) & cable to starter & engine ground (from gearbox to crossmember)
at this point you should be able to crank the engine...

If that goes ok, add the exhaust & the carb. with some fuel in the tank, check the fuel pump fills the carb and then stops.
Switch on ignition and check circuits to distributor etc..
Then try getting it running - but don't drive unless you've bled/adjusted the brakes and put a seat in!
Don't run for more than seconds - as you've got no cooling system!
The reason I'd run the first time now & not wait till later, is that you've not added bodywork yet, so less effort to check & fix - especially if it needs to come out again.

After it runs (briefly!), & clutch/gearbox does what it should...

17)Add the bodywork doors, wings, front panels etc
18) with front panels in place, add radiator & cooling circuit plumbing & interior heater etc..
19) fit out the interior & add all the lights & anything else missing! (windows?)

[mogbob]

Verity
Ray has set out things very well for you.
Yes the rust removal treatments aren't cheap but they get were manual rust removal ( i.e. wire brush or angle grinder with wire brush or power file ) can't get.
The time to have it done is when you think you've repaired all the major/ obvious stuff and you have what you think is a sound straight car with all the bodywork/doors/boot and bonnet fitting correctly.The treatment may well throw up bits you've missed but by and large if you've been careful there shouldn't be any great surprises.It's important to get the stripped metalwork " covered " immediately.Discuss with the company the various options.If you don't....overnight in a damp atmosphere the rusting will start all over again !
Nothing wrong with the manual method but it's long and laborious...no hiding the truth of that statement.If rust preventative
products are applied correctly to the repaired car, it should be good for another few decades .
The other advice I'd give for newbies is safety ,safety,safety.Good jacking up procedures, axles stands never the jack alone, wheels chocked,Protective equipment,goggles, masks,thick gloves,ear defenders.Welding .... fire extinguisher,leather apron, welding gloves, welding helmet,removal of all flammable material,wiring behind the panel you are working on, a "look out mate " if possible, shielding their eyes.

Clean, refurbish the bits you have as you go.Compare the bits to a catalogue /workshop manual as you go, to check you have the right bits or to list the bits you are missing.Obtain new or old replacement parts as you go.Buy any repair kits you need to make them serviceable.
Don't cut corners on safety related stuff brakes, steering,suspension fuel lines. Insure the car /bits you have...off road policy

Good luck with it.
Bob

[Verity]

Thank you so much Ray and Bob, all the information is a great help - totally fantastic! I now have some sort of 'lesson plan' to follow and hopefully will not get bogged down and know where to go!
Nick, I will get some photos and post them as well when I work out how to do such things! Hopefully I can get started sooner rather than later when the garage is finally repaired (damaged during storms this year) and then the adventure begins! If anybody comes to Lands End for a holiday, say in October, pop in, have a brew and lend a hand!!

Thank you so so much for advice, it will be well used

Verity

[Verity]

The body shell is in cracking shape,or it was until a roof beam fell due to storms in Feb and put a decent sized ding on the roof about 5-6 inches above the rear window. Everything else seems quite solid but covered in surface rust (hopefully it is only surface rust ). I will no doubt discover more things that need a good look at as I go along.........

Regards
Verity

[rayofleamington]

It's now less easy to find a good panel beater (and expensive due to the amount of hours needed) but getting the dent repaired by a panel beater is a much better option compared to filler.

If it's a modern car and destined to arrive at the scrap yard 5 to 8 years after a repair, then filler is a necessary evil.
For a Minor expect another few decades or more Filler can shrink over that length of time and reveal itself, even if it looked good to start with.