Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello.

I'm having horrendous problems getting the fit right at the back between the inner wheel arch, the flange specific to the Traveller and the woodwork side frame. Of the three pieces, not one fits another and I'm not sure what to do.

All of the new bits, flange and inner wheel arch, came from ESM The woodwork of the old side frame is pretty knackered but does fit the profile of the outer wing, give or take a bit.
The flange is as it came from ESM but it doesn't fit the woodwork and is out at the front and back at the bottom
The inner wheel arch, as it came from ESM, took a lot of work to get it to fit but it does fit the inner sill/chassis rail. I have the wheel arch fitting the flange reasonably well but its miles out when compared to the woodwork. Inside it seems too big I can't adjust the fit of the flange as its welded together in a T shape and is pretty strong in just the direction I want to adjust.

I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to progress...any thoughts?

very rare to get panels that fit anymore,copies of copies etc. most have to be cut, reshaped .beaten with a calibration 5 lb hammer and so on. No easy solution to it unfortunately, sometimes you just have to make do with it.

Mine also came from ESM and while they weren't perfect they were acceptable - and their panels tend to be a lot better than A N Other major supplier's. I did a lot of microadjusting with a large hammer as suggested by Kennatt.

You've not much choice about the position of the inner arch as it's determined by the rear spring hanger hole. The flange needs to be lined up as close as you can to the inside face of the wood arch, if you're happy that this is pretty much where it is going to finally end up. (If you're going to replace much of the wood I'd suggest leaving the flange loose until you've done that). I think I'm allowed to quote Steve Foreman from Ray Newells' Morris Minor Traveller book - but you really should have a copy of this bible. "Do not be too concerned that the wood wheel arch does not follow the line of the metal flange. Normally it will be very tight to the lip at the front and drift away towards the rear. The most important consideration is that the inside of the wood seals against the upright flange."

Having said that, there does appear to be a lot of space around the rear of the arch. Is the relationship between the upright of the flange and the boot floor correct? I'll attach some photos of mine during trial fitting which seem to show the upright sitting at the end of the boot floor, where yours seems to be further in. May just be the angle of the photo, though.

Where the Traveller flange overhangs the inner arch I temporarily fixed them together with self tappers, carefully marked it to overlap, took it off and trimmed it, refixed the self tappers and then replaced them with plug welds.

Good luck - it took me a long time and a lot of swearing!

Mark

Just another thought. One of the crucial factors in positioning Traveller inner arches is the timber rear floor support, which is screwed to a small bracket welded to the arch. The timber support should fit snugly between the arches, so it is a good guide to whether the arch is correct vertically - and after all the hammering it may not be! It may seem obvious, but there has been a restoration on here in the past in which this was overlooked.

Have you tried fitting the outer wing? If the wing fits the wood and the outward appearance is alligned correctly then alter the inner arch to suit. If the t flange makes it difficult to work try cutting slots in it and then welding them closed again when they are in position.

It'll take me a while to unpack all of the help here, but meanwhile, many thanks to one and all, if you're ever in Northumberland I'll buy you a pint