Morris Minor Owners Club

My car came with a battery that was too small, and was therefore braced, quite effectively but untidily, with wooden pieces behind it about 2 inches wide.
I have taken off this bodge, and am going to put on a period looking battery that fits the space, and as an added benefit will have more reserve capacity.
Behind the battery, however, is the large hole in the bulkhead that I believe was put there to enable the Rotodip paint process. Though this has soundproofing felt across it, and the car is not excessively noisy, does anyone know if this hole was plated across originally, and if not, is it worth doing this to make it totally silent (I'm joking!).

You are correct in the holes original purpose.
The hole was originally just covered in a rubberoid type material. It was never plated over.
The material across the hole should not be absorbent - if it is it could soak up battery acid and start corrosion in the bulkhead.

Thanks Phil - I'll glue a sheet of rubber across it.

Just a little add-on. Some early cars had 4 screw holes suggesting some sort of plate over the hole and later cars had a proper rubber bung. Not sure when the changes happened. Like most things on these cars, there are lots of exceptions to every rule.

On the early cars (again, not sure when) there was a sheet of wood with 2 strips fore-aft that were bolted through the battery box floor (does yours have 4 holes?).

Can try to get a better set of photos if anyone wants. Top one for wooden thing, bottom one for rubber bung.

Tell me Rob, what are those wheels, banded or LP-----?

Minor centres with Ford Focus rim sections. I have some 4 and 4.5 inch rims for the Series MM hubs but this car uses the later axle.

The original LP555 rivetted rims are still 3.5 inch but you can adapt cambridge and J4 rims to fit the Nuffield axles. The centre hole is a different size so I was looking to lathe up a spacer to get the wheelss centralised and then make better wheel nuts/studs/bolts to hold them on. the original MM ones are awful!

Thanks Rob, I was trying to make out if they were LP936 rims.

our late car just had a vinyl like pad stuck over the whole of the area behind the battery, when I put it back together I stuck a disc of alloy in place with pu body sealer to fill the hole.

Hi all,

this hole is still open in my 1957 4-door and I want to close it. ESM sells this rubber bung (https://www.morrisminorspares.com/elect ... 70-p829864), but it won't fit on Minor 1000.

What did you do? I don't want to put anything made of wood in that place.

Thanks and regards

Frank

All suppliers, UK and further afield, seem to do the same 2 items which don't match.
A replacement Battery Box Part No: CHS122 which is listed as being the 'Minor 1000 version', yet they sell the Battery Box Bung Part No: BAT107 which is only for MM & SII.
Seems daft to not offer parts that will go together.

If I remember correctly there was never a bung for the later roto dip hole at the back of the battery box just a piece of stiff tarred/rubberoid type paper pasted over the hole. It was called a seal and was Pt No: ACA5518.
If that was the case there would be no reason for the spares suppliers to make a bung to suit as it was not OE.

Thanks for explaining that Phil.

Rear of my battery box on my 1970 Minor . Seems to confirm Phils comments. Definitely original as the car has always been in my family .

I used a disc of alloy bonded in with pu adhesive and 4 pop rivets. To fill the hole.