Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi All
I am about to start a restoration on my 1965 convertible I acquired a few months ago. I believe it's fairly sound having a letter from Charles Ware dated 2005 which says 'the chassis has been fully rebuilt'. Floors, sills and pillars all seem good and it has been garaged by it's long term owner.
My intention is to have a bare metal respray, and later on, recondition the engine and gearbox.
I have worked in a bodyshop one or two days a week for the past 18 months to try and acquire some knowledge and skill. I'm not as good as I'd like to be but at least I can do the prep work and know someone who can do the finishing and spraying.
I have prepared a barn at the in-laws farm having run an underground cable for an electrical supply and fitted two 1000 watt halogen floodlights. I've also collected boxes and made space in the attic to store parts. I'm now ready to start stripping Molly. I've taken a shedfull of photos and will continue to do so as I go along. Is there any order to stripping down and have I forgotten anything? Any advice now and along the way would be really appreciated.
By the way (I'm computer illiterate) how do I attach photos - is it via 'image' or 'attachment' .
Thanks
Dave

Hi. That's a big question. When I rebuilt a convertible (from a two door saloon) I removed the big panels first. Wings doors bonnet and front grill panels. They were treated independently from the shell. That will allow you to strip the interior when your hands are clean, and the engine/gearbox when they are not. They can be restored/cleaned as necessary. The rear axle and front suspension will be the last parts to be dealt with. I built a wooden trolley to move the car in and out of my single garage, it sounds as though you will have plenty of room to prepare the shell, wings, doors and bonnet in your barn (lucky guy).
As for photographs, reduce the size of your image so the longest edge is 1200 pixels wide and save as a JPEG then just click on attachments and look for you image.
Hope this helps and good luck.

Thanks King Kenny, much appreciated. I'll try uploading some photos tomorrow.

The starting point.

Looks a good starting point. I hope it is as good underneath. I look forward to seeing your progress.

Looks very nice

I've dismantled the car and started work on the panels. I'm rubbing down to bare metal, using Fertan rust converter, then epoxy primer before normal primer and top coat. Fertan has caused me lots of headaches so I would appreciate advice from anyone who has used it as a base on a bare metal restoration. I rub down to bare metal, clean with soapy water then degreaser, apply the Fertan with a brush, wait 48 hours, wipe over with a soft damp cloth to remove the black dust, spray on the epoxy primer, wait a further 48 hours then rub down with 320 grit. That's when the problem arises. Due to the fact there are some areas which have a coating of black Fertan whilst others don't (it's been wiped off as black dust) means that the surface under the epoxy primer is not level and thus when you sand it down the black fertan underneath gets sanded as you try to get a smooth surface. I'm told by Fertan that this black layer should not be removed. Has anyone any advice please? Also I tried loading photos but they are sideways on?
Thanks for any help
Dave

I use Fertan a lot but your Surface Problem has not been a concern. I wash it off after it has cured liberally with water where possible. I suppose it is the non metal Areas ( e.g paintwork) where it does not cure and if not washed would remain sticky for eternity and spoil any subsequent paintwork.

I have lots of photos to upload but when I do they are rotated 90 degrees Can I turn them here or do I have to rotate before loading. They are the right way up on my computer?
Thanks
Dave