Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi all,
I bought Sidney in 2006 as a first car and a fun learning project, the car had an MoT but was looking scruffy and neglected, over the last few years work has been slow due to doing my A-levels and having exams every year then spending the last year away at university.
Here is the car before restoration commenced[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]
The following summer I stripped the car down to see how it all went together and with the hope of restoring it to original condition.
Inner wings, floors and engine bay were all stripped down and repainted[frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame] Luckily no welding was required, just a lot of scraping down of all the goo and gunge that had collected over the years!
The wiring loom was removed and restored, along with the engine so that the engine bay could be repainted, but then the car was left for several months with only minor jobs done here and there.
Recently I rebuilt the suspension with new polybushes all round and today refitted the brakes[frame][/frame]
Once I have got the barkes working fully the car will be ready for the final job, a respray in it's orignial shade of Yukon grey, I am going to have a go at doing this myself if I manage to find a replacement spray gun for my one that broke earlier this year!
In the meantime my mum has been very helpful in making a new interior for the car, it is based on the original pattern for a '61 car but with a addition of black piping 'just for fun'.[frame][/frame] she's done a really got job of it so far so I hope my finishing spray job is a worthy match!

Just a few more photos!
Here are the front panels in primer taking up the spare bedroom!! (No, I have no idea how I got away with that one either! ) but It slightly resembles a giant airfix kit![frame][/frame]

And here's the current state of our driveway![frame][/frame]

i like your interior andrew and great selection of cars to

Here is the 'DIY' interior so far, its not fully fastened on to it's frames yet but nearly there.
Also there are the door cards and scuttle panels that I made and are ready to be covered, we're yet to decide on the exact patterns and colour schemes.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame](apologies for the picture quality)

they look really good

Really looking the business. So your going for the standard look. I like it Your mum makes good seat covers

Yep I'm going for standard, it has the original 948 engine etc.. I'll fit inertia seatbelts all round and keep the flashing indicators (alongside semaphores) but that's it.

So is Sidney going to be ready in time for MOT UK then?????????

Only kidding, looking good so far keep up the good work

Looking good Andy, its handy having a decent driveway wish mine was that big.

Those seats look really good well impressed

A bit of good news for today is that I managed to fix my spray gun! It seems to have given a pretty good finish so far too except for the fact that I obviously didn't clean it thoroughly enough last time I used it (probably because I thought I'd never be able to use it again ) as it occasionally spat out small lumps of primer on my yukon grey top coat! I'll report back on how it goes once the gun is properly cleaned

For when I'm not painting the car I've set myself the task of rebuilding the wiring loom, it seems to have been bodged a few times over the years as the are a few loose wires hanging about and a few wires are the wrong colour too. Also, the trafficators had been disconnected and flashers fitted, I aim to remodify the loom to get both working simultaneously.

Hello Andrew crickey 4 Morris Minors you've got it bad you need to keep taking the medication their must be some cure, even though i've not yet found it, you have even managed to infect the whole family. Good to see Sidney's on his way back to the road after what is now a long break maybe see him out on a club run shortly. I presume the other saloon lurking at the back is the next project after Sidney. Good luck with Sidneys restoration (and if your stuck you know where i am) Ade. p.s. I have another minor a Traveller( he's a bit scruffy but fun a bit of a rat look. I think maybe its time we had a bigger rat scene on the Minor front, its all the rage with VWs and a lot easier on the pocket)

Hi Ade, officially only 2 minors are mine! The trav is mums and the 4-door is dads! But yes the 4-door will be the next project, i'm afraid that is going to be turned to shiny and original too but for while its off the road it makes for quite a good rat look complete with an inch thick covering of dust![frame][/frame]

Looks like its got measels, i'm not letting my Tourer near that car it may be contagious !! leave it exactly as it is (you know you want to) the ideal student hack, park it anywhere without caring, Mc Donalds wrappers, unpaid parking tickets and stolen road signs scattered within it, reminds me of being a student myself many years ago now Sob!! my hack of choice was a 1965 Mini handpainted i add. Ade

i like your seats i wish my mum would do mine its all looking good :0)

anymore work on your car yet

Just slowly working through the paint job, I'll post some photos when i've finished painting.

its coming along great though :0)

It seems everybody likes the seats here are some photos of how it was made. A set of old seats were taken apart and used as templates.
Heres mum cutting the sections for the rear seat from bits of an old one a memeber of the rugby branch kindly gave us (PS I've no idea what she was watching on the telly )[frame][/frame]
And here is the base of a new front seat compared to the old template[frame][/frame]

I hope your mum is wearing a pink T-shirt in that photo.