firewall holes

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niftyrodman
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firewall holes

Post by niftyrodman »

Two questions. What did the original Minor have above the firewall bulkhead where across there is a series of holes as though there was a special moulding strip across where the bonnet was seated.
Secondly. What color was the boot interior painted. Was it the exterior colour ? Thanks .
ianmack
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Re: firewall holes

Post by ianmack »

The row of holes through the top of the bukhead take the clips that hold a piece of sound insulation on the dashboard side.

Inside the boot the metal is body colour and the wooden floor is black.
ManyMinors
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Re: firewall holes

Post by ManyMinors »

I'm not sure about early cars but my Minor 1000 saloons have black painted boot interiors as original.
niftyrodman
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Re: firewall holes

Post by niftyrodman »

Thank you I never would have guessed. May I ask. Was the original material for soundproofing a material similar to underfelt with a black painted surface facing out? I vaguely remember that stuff, I wonder what it is or was called?
Thanks anyway, that is terrific. A great forum.
ManyMinors
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Re: firewall holes

Post by ManyMinors »

My Minor 1000 still has completely original carpets etc so should be a good guide. There is a black surface to the bottom of the underfelt. Hope this helps. No doubt more effective materials are available for soundproofing nowadays but this is what they had originally.
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63 front carpet fixings.JPG
63 front carpet fixings.JPG (361.32 KiB) Viewed 1952 times
ianmack
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Re: firewall holes

Post by ianmack »

As luck would have it mine is out for some wiring work. It is felt with one black side and I think it is original. Here’s a photo together with the clips.

I have browsed ‘Original Morris Minor’ by Ray Newell and the boot photos all show body colour inside.
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616C2D0D-DB8C-40C0-8B59-F03F64D5DCBE.jpeg
616C2D0D-DB8C-40C0-8B59-F03F64D5DCBE.jpeg (1.97 MiB) Viewed 1944 times
ManyMinors
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Re: firewall holes

Post by ManyMinors »

Apologies, I thought you were referring to the soundproofing under the carpets. The original bulkhead soundproofing pictured above and made from 2 different materials sewn together does indeed look the same as mine, It is a thicker material than that used under the carpets.

I am not sure how "original" the 2 Minor 1000s are whose boot interiors feature in Ray's book. One of them is somewhat earlier than mine and the other is a convertible. The convertibles differ in that they were not sprayed with the sound deadening/stone chip material used on the saloons and it is therefore possible that they also escaped the black paint? All 3 of my Minor 1000 saloons have the original paint inside and out and all 3 have black boot interiors which were firstly primed, then sprayed with the sound deadening/stonechip coating, then body colour and lastly the immediately visible areas were rather crudely brush painted in satin black. Every Minor 1000 saloon I have owned has had this finish from new. I am not sure that it applied to earlier cars or any convertibles or travellers however.
Attachments
boot interior 3.JPG
boot interior 3.JPG (268.03 KiB) Viewed 1933 times
boot interior 2.JPG
boot interior 2.JPG (317.25 KiB) Viewed 1933 times
boot interior 1.JPG
boot interior 1.JPG (307.17 KiB) Viewed 1933 times
ManyMinors
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Re: firewall holes

Post by ManyMinors »

If you wished to replicate the factory finish of the black paint, I believe you would have to use about a 3inch brush AND be blindfolded! All 3 cars are finished in exactly the same way. The white car most clearly shows that where the black paint has been rubbed off, the white body colour is visible underneath - although this too would just have been a quick "lick" of paint during the spraying process and no white paint is visible in the upper areas where the spray gun didn't reach. These were cheap cars and the paint finish inside the boot and under the bonnet were not considered important - hence my doubts that the gleaming boot interiors in the "Original Morris Minor " book are very "original"!.
ianmack
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Re: firewall holes

Post by ianmack »

How fascinating! I’ve just had a look at mine and it has black paint just like yours. I never imagined this was a factory finish, I assumed a previous owner had slapped it on after repairs. Where it is chipped body colour shows through. It does not seem to have been applied thoroughly and is mostly on the vertical surfaces.
Mark Wilson
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Re: firewall holes

Post by Mark Wilson »

niftyrodman wrote: Tue Jun 11, 2019 9:11 pm Thank you I never would have guessed. May I ask. Was the original material for soundproofing a material similar to underfelt with a black painted surface facing out? I vaguely remember that stuff, I wonder what it is or was called?
Thanks anyway, that is terrific. A great forum.
Woolies Trim sell Hardura, which appears to be the same or similar material to the original soundproofing.

https://www.woolies-trim.co.uk/product/ ... felt-black
ManyMinors
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Re: firewall holes

Post by ManyMinors »

ianmack wrote: Wed Jun 12, 2019 3:45 pm I never imagined this was a factory finish, I assumed a previous owner had slapped it on after repairs.
I imagine the owners of the restored cars in Ray's book made the same (perfectly understandable) assumption.
It is always better to copy a scruffy but original car than a gleaming fully restored one if you want to duplicate "the factory look".
niftyrodman
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Re: firewall holes and boot colour

Post by niftyrodman »

I think I will go with body colour in my 54 body. Personally, as I know we all think differently I think black in the boot is a bit much. Each to his/her own Just paint the wooden tray insert black. and also just as a matter of interest, the gold of the early dash and the steering column, what was that called?. Its my favorite Minor colour. Al;ways has been.
ianmack
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Re: firewall holes

Post by ianmack »

I think restorers can be forgiven for not wanting to slap brushed black over their nice fresh paint job. Why did Morris do this? I can only guess it gave better resistance against chips from items sliding about in the boot.

This reminds me of the story of a local man who restored a Triumph Stag from the dire late seventies. He was very concerned to have it original as when it left the factory. When it reached the paint stage he emphasised how he wanted this. ‘Okay,’ retorted the painter ‘so shall I paint it like it would have been when it left the factory? Or shall I do it properly?’

The dash gold paint is available in spray cans from ESM. I’m guessing from ‘firewall’ that you may be overseas so I’m not sure about sending spray cans. I think it is a Toyota colour.
niftyrodman
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paint colour

Post by niftyrodman »

Yes, Im, in Aus, and my only reason for asking the gold paint colour was curiosity. No trouble for a paint shop to match it at all. Thanks for the ESM tip I do buy stuff from them, and find their prices fair.
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