Strip down - rust?

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Blumpygrumf
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Strip down - rust?

Post by Blumpygrumf »

Just a link here to this car I'm working on, a quick walk around video so you can see what I'm dealing with. I'm particularly interested to hear your thoughts about the rust in the boot and the right rear wheel arch.

No need for in depth diagnosis here, just your initial thoughts are more than adequate at this stage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB10meyoWeM
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jagnut66
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Re: Strip down - rust?

Post by jagnut66 »

Hi,
To be honest I've seen allot worse. Are there more areas that are in poorer shape?
The lip just below the bolt holes for the rear wings does suffer and some people eliminate it entirely to solve the problem.
If you are bothered by the patches and want to replace it, the rear inner wings are available (reproduced). They will require a little fettling to fit properly but will eliminate your patchwork quilt look. It depends what you are aiming for.

As a side issue, when you refit the rear wing beading (if you are not retaining the original which should have some shape to it and already be slit at intervals to help in the shaping), allowing it to soak in boiling water (kettle boiled - it's hotter) for a period of time helps to make it more pliable.

Best wishes,
Mike.
1954 Series 2: 4 door: "Sally" -- Back on the ground with (slave) wheels and waiting to be resprayed......
1970 Triumph Herald 1200: "Hetty" -- Driven back from Llangollen in Wales (twice.....)
Blumpygrumf
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Re: Strip down - rust?

Post by Blumpygrumf »

Thanks for that Mike......

I'm just looking for people's views at this point. I have zero experience of Morris Minors so have no idea how this rust compares to the typical 60 year old example of a barn find. In my mind the rust is not excessive, I've also seen far worse in my time and I know miracles can be achieved if you're prepared to put in the time and effort (and expense). The rest of the car looks in fairly good shape from what I've seen though I'll not be certain till I've completely stripped it and had a real good inspection of everything.

Our aim for this project has yet to be decided but what I can say is we want a good overall finish in every respect, and the car will retain it's original spec, there will be no major alterations or modifications. Having said that, much as we'd like it I doubt we'll end up with a show winner, time and money is the boss I'm afraid.
ManyMinors
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Re: Strip down - rust?

Post by ManyMinors »

What we can see will just be the tip of the iceberg. Those inner wings have had a great deal of patching and full replacement will be the best answer. Replacing he flange above them which the wing itself bolts to, is a tricky repair but will be necessary to obtain a good standard of repair. Make sure you purchase the best quality panels available. I would say from what little I can see, that your car is pretty typical of a Minor "restoration project". You need to take the sill rails and kick panels off to reveal the inner sill/boxing panel area and have a proper poke around underneath. My guess from the condition of those rear inner wings is that the rest will also require a great deal of time consuming and expensive work - but ALL can be done of course!
Blumpygrumf
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Re: Strip down - rust?

Post by Blumpygrumf »

Thanks ManyMinors, useful info there. I'll post photo's here as the strip down continues, who know's what we'll discover from here on?
IslipMinor
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Re: Strip down - rust?

Post by IslipMinor »

The areas needing attention look very typical for a Minor, and generally very similar to what we found when stripping our Minor back in 1992. The biggest surprise was the state of the inner sills, once we had removed the cover plates - for the MOT the outside had been repaired, not the inside.

We did not have so much patching, and I wanted the repairs to look as invisible (but properly done) as possible. With the exception of an existing patch at the bottom rear of each front inner wing, that has been achieved (why on earth I didn't replace those patches was very silly!). They are now the ONLY obviously visible signs of repair!

I made the decision then that I wanted to do this just once, so replaced the whole 'perimeter' of the bodyshell. On both LH and RH sides:

Front half of inner front wing
Chassis leg
Tie plate
Front x-mbr
A-Post repair at the base
Complete sill assembly
Complete floor panel
X-member (hateful job No.1)
Rear qtr panel lower repair
Rear half of rear inner wing
Lower part rear inner wing repairs
Spring hanger replacement
Bump stop mounting repair
Complete rear wheel arch repair strip (hateful job No. 2)
'Slam panel' - bottom of boot opening (hateful job No.3)

Repeat for the other side!

It took 6 years of very part-time work, including a break of 18 months part way through (work commitments).

The bodyshell was very well prepared by the paintshop ahead of painting, and 21 years and 60,000+ miles after completion of the restoration, the underside is still as near perfect as can be. It is garaged, which is dry and does not freeze, and unless unavoidable it does not go out when there is salt on the roads. All other weathers are normal use.

It is not, was not and was never intended to be a show car, just one that does not need constant attention to the bodyshell.

If you are planning to do the work yourself, then the cost of the panels is not really too expensive, and to my mind it is well-worth doing a bit more now, to avoid having to do it again it in the future. Paying someone else is another matter!
Last edited by IslipMinor on Thu Oct 17, 2019 11:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Richard


Blumpygrumf
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Re: Strip down - rust?

Post by Blumpygrumf »

Hi Richard, some very informative details there, many thanks. I think this project is likely to come down to cost in most ways, so I and it's new owner need to look at all options and start making decisions. Like yourself we want this job only doing once, and we want it to end up as nice as possible taking into account expense and costs. Luckily I'm able to do a lot of the work myself, so that helps a lot. At the moment our main focus is on the chassis and bodywork, as that's likely to be where the bulk of the work and expense will be. I'll keep you posted here as things develop.
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