George!!!

[scotwood59]

Well I am now the proud owner of a 1968 4 door Blue Moggy (actually I don't pick him up until Saturday) called George.

Although he is apparently driveable (the seller has told me to trailer him home!!!!) he does need some work doing. I am looking forward to getting stuck in.

He is going to hopefully be my every day car. I have no idea where to start so I am going to take him to my local garage who I know is an MG enthusiast and trustworthy. I am sure he will be able to tell me what needs doing to get him fully on the road and then give me the long list of things that need to be done after that.

I am keen to do as much of the work as I can though my knowledge of engines is limited. Just what I have picked up from my Dad (who restored a 1939 Rover) and my brothers. People can't understand that why, as a woman, I would be interested in cars!!! I am going to keep a record of all the work and it looks like I will have to spend a while going through the message boards to pick up tips etc.

I expect I will be asking lots of questions so I hope you are all ready out there!!

Once I have got him driving properly my first goal is to go to the National Rally, I will have to see if my tent is any good and book the dogs in to the kennels!

Happy motoring everyone.

[ASL642]

It's nice to welcome yet another female owner - actually there are quite a few on this board and hundreds in the Club. Look forward to meeting you at the National Rally.

[davidmiles]

welcome scotwood, let's see some pictures of George.

[scotwood59]

Thank you for your welcomes

I am picking George up tomorrow (SO excited!!!!!!!) and I will certainly take some photos of him once we get him home.

I have a suspicion that he is going to take over my life!! With 2 dogs, a grandchild, amateur dramatics and my sewing hobbies and working full time something is going to have to give!

I need to meet a very rich man so I can give up work!!

[irmscher]

Any pictures of George yet

[scotwood59]

Well!! We picked George up on Saturday and my brother kindly towed him with an A frame behind his long wheel base Range Rover. Poor George disappeared from view behind the monstrosity but ran along quite happily behind. He looked so small and vulnerable (sorry I will have to rein in my mothering instincts )

There were no dramas on the way home apart from the aerial flapped about and bent (strange that there is no radio in the car!! )

Once we got home my brother had a good look at him and concluded that he was in fairly good nick but needed some cosmetic work. Someone has resprayed the n/s/f wing and make a terrible job of it. The bottom of the doors need attention (no surprise there then!) and the seats all need a repair. Someone has drilled a hole in the silver dashboard for a horn so I will have to hunt for another one as it looks awful. Someone has also fitted a modern water temparature gauge which is a bit worrying.

On Sunday we took him out. He started almost immediately: my fault he didn't - I forgot about the choke!!!! I couldn't reach the pedals comfortably; I have got very short legs and I felt very low down. Anyway, we took him around the block and he sounded absolutely wonderful. I just love the sound they make when you change gear!

4 of us took a 10 mile trip and I pushed him up to 56 mph. I was well impressed.

I can't wait to give him a clean. The engine looks good but needs a clean. One of the wipers is a bit desperate and I want to replace the headlining and the carpets eventually as they are a bit sad

I will take some photos tonight and put them on here. The guy I bought him from gave me the Workshop Manual so I was pleased, I started to read it to try and understand all the bits of the engine but I got a bit lost after No. 67!!

He will definitely need some disc brakes and an alternator (I am afraid I have a CD/Radio with a connection for my iPhone which I want to transfer) and the side lights don't work.

The underneath has been sealed with that black goo so I am going to get the carpets up and see if there are any nasty surprises under there.

He has door mirrors but I can't see anything out of them. I think they have been put on upside down or on the wrong sides. I have seen a thread on here for making new arms so I will have to study that if I can't adjust them enough to see anything.

All in all I am very pleased. It may tunr out that I have to spend a lot of money on him but as I normally pay about £3k for my everyday cars I have enough left in the budget to get work done to make him properly roadworthy!!

[ASL642]

Let's have some pictures!

[MarkyB]

Don't go ripping out the headlining until you have done a search on here about them.

Which are the greasiest pages of the manual and where does it fall open ?

Did you get any history, bills etc with it? They make interesting reading.

Can't wait to see some pictures

[scotwood59]

Well here is George!!

I haven't got much history, just a couple of MOTs.

I had a good look at him last night and there are a few things even I can see that need doing. I am a bit suspicious about the n/s front wing. It has a crack in it down towards the bottom near the door and I think it might be fibreglass. I shall have to get my magnet out and check. As you may be able to see it is a different colour and has been resprayed and had a bit of handpainting done! He also had a towbar fitted at one time.

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As you can see someone has put a water temperature gauge in but as far as I can tell it doesn't work!!!

I welcome any opinions on George but be gentle, he has already got under my skin!!!

[scotwood59]

Thank you for the advice about the headlining markyb. I will certainly search on here and probably give it a clean first and see what happens.

I haven't noticed which page has been popular. I will test it and let you know

George is going into the garage tomorrow, I need to get an alternator, disc brakes, servo and inertia seat belts as a first step. He is going to be my everyday car and my knee is already complaining about the effort needed to stop!!!

I will let you all know what the garage says.

[irmscher]

George looks in Quite good condition

[ASL642]

He looks a nice clean car. Something to start from. Just needs the TLC I'm certain you're going to give him. Enjoy driving him.

[dalebrignall]

does look a nice tidy car and welcome to world of morris minors we are all friendly on here any questions just ask .

[scotwood59]

I think I will be asking lots of questions!!

George has gone to my local garage today so that Ben the owner can give me a list of things that need sorting. I hope it is not too long and that I can do most of it myself.

I have been trawling through a couple of restoration books (kindly reccommended on here) and I realise that I need to understand how the engine actually works. I know the general principle of the spark, the pistons, the fuel etc but I need to match all the jargon with the actual parts!

Can anyone reccommend a book that will explain how all the parts work and what they are for and where they are in my car??????

One problem I have discovered is a leak in the radiator/cooling system. Someone has disconnected the heater cable as "stuff" leaks out of it when you open the valve. I am hoping the garage will sort that out.

[scotwood59]

Well. George has made his first visit to my local garage.

I had a look underneath and there is a lot of patch welding at the rear (where the suspension spring is attahced to the chassis?) and both the chassis legs have been extensively patched but George's "doctor" says that he feels it is not urgent that we replace both chassis legs. He suggests I concentrate on the cosmetic side at the moment and just keep an eye on them. Perhaps when the MOT comes up in August will be the time to replace them.

The water heater valve has gone and we have ordered a new one. Until then I can only potter around the village and just top him up every couple of days.

I asked Dr. Ben about putting in an alternator as, yes I am afraid I want to put a radio in. Actually it is a CD/Radio/USB unit. He said I didn't need one as the battery is huge and until the winter comes and I have everything going it will cope very well!!

We also talked about brakes. My brother said I should put disc brakes in and a servo. I have dodgy knees so I am finding the brakes hard. Dr. Ben said just to try putting in a servo and see if it helps. Hopefully that will help.

He has never worked on a 4 door before so is well interested!

His conclusion was George is quite a good car. I could spend lots on him to make him perfect or I can run him as he is and gradually work on him. I could have him stripped down and have everything restored but it is not urgent. So really he is not so much a restoration project as I thought he would be. It is going to be difficult to strip him down completely if I am driving him every day.

I can be getting on with lots of cleaning, there are bits and pieces to do like the sun visors, the seats, the carpets.

[scotwood59]

I decided to clean the inside of George yesterday and when I got the carpets up the floor is in a bit of a state. Some patch welding and lots of rust and I could see a couple of small holes!

Feeling very worried I decided to look up his MOT history!!!!!

In 2009 the MOT tester failed him for various things including brakes not being aligned properly. The most worrying thing was he said that the underside was extemely corroded and the welding that had been done was of a very poor standard.

Now I am worried that I will fall through the floor one day. Poor George.

Should I strip him down completely and get the chassis sorted (if it is salvageable) bearing in mind he will be my only car come June time? Should I try and find a chassis that is good and swap it over?

Not sure the best way forward.

[taupe]

Hi

You dont need a full strip down to sort corrosion in the floors!

You dont say where youre located but your best bet would be to get a fellow club member or a local morris minor specialist to have a look and give you an honest assessment of any repairs required.

It looks from the outside to be a nice car so well worth doing this.

Taupe

[scotwood59]

Hi

You dont need a full strip down to sort corrosion in the floors!

You dont say where youre located but your best bet would be to get a fellow club member or a local morris minor specialist to have a look and give you an honest assessment of any repairs required.

It looks from the outside to be a nice car so well worth doing this.

Taupe

Thankyou Taupe,

I live in North Devon, so if there are any members near me that would be of great help.

He is a lovely car and the body work has got a few small areas of rust here and there but I think I can sort them myself and then get him resprayed as he is several different shades. Whoever resprayed him last didnt do a very good job and there is paint on the glass and the chrome around the doors and on the carpets!!!!!!

[ASL642]

Try Tim Lang (Taunton) http://www.minormagic.co.uk/www.carrestorationuk.co.uk 01823 461 861 They offer everything from MOT to a full restoration service.

[scotwood59]

Try Tim Lang (Taunton) http://www.minormagic.co.uk/www.carrestorationuk.co.uk 01823 461 861 They offer everything from MOT to a full restoration service.

Thank you ASL642.

I happened to be in Taunton on Friday and went in to see Tim. Had a good chat and I was well impressed with his welding. (I know I am not an expert but it looked good)

I would trust him to do a good job but the problem is Taunton is over an hour from me.

I had the garage replace the water heater valve and now George is driveable again.

I have decided that the most important thing to do is the chassis. The MOT is not until August but having seen the underside and the poor welding I have to prioritise and I would be happier if I knew that the chassis was good and solid.

I think the bodywork and seats etc aren't too bad and could be done at a later date. I am sure I would be able to get rid of the rust and prepare the bodywork for respraying. There is paint on the windows and door frames so that needs to come off!!!

I have discovered that when I put the head beam on the headlights go out, the fuel gauge doesn't work (I filled the car up and it still says it is only half full) and as someone has drilled a hole in the dashboard I need a new one!!!

George is going in next week to have a brake servo put on as I have a dodgy back and right knee and pressing the foot pedal is causing havoc!!! Oh the joys of getting on a bit

He will also be getting inertia seat belts in the front!!

Keeping an eye on the budget as well. Very important not to get carried away!!!

Jules