Pick up Restoration (Part 1)

Post by **davidmiles** » Sat May 30, 2009 2:50 am

AhHH, thats Rich applying his experience from his Vdub days, he's with us on moggies now, but welding is the same for any type of car, ay Rich.

Post by **davidmiles** » Sat May 30, 2009 3:04 am

can anyone post a picture of the bottom of that reinforcing panel with the big circle stamped through it, Rich? I'd like to know what a "real" one looks like and how much its attached to the arch, mine as usual, have rusted away.

Post by **Dryad** » Sat May 30, 2009 8:46 am

Here's mine. Looks like it's spot welded, with a bolt through one end for the bump stop. I think you can buy these panels new.

Post by **aupickup** » Sat May 30, 2009 9:16 am

some one on here did buy that panel and it was such a lousy fit he had to make is own

Post by **davidmiles** » Sat May 30, 2009 11:41 am

Well I've got so many panels to buy, I'm going to try and repair as much as possible, that starts with this reinforcement..bit, anyone know its proper name?

Post by **tortron** » Sat May 30, 2009 11:44 am

it may have been covered before, but why not have the cab soda blasted and primered. So you know exactly how much good tin is there?

Post by **Dryad** » Sat May 30, 2009 11:54 am

According to ESM it's a Front Inner Wing Support Bracket. They are selling it at £9.95 but for that you could buy a big piece of steel and fabricate your own, and have loads left over for other repairs.

You can see thier version at; http://morrisminorspares.co.uk/shop/pro ... 193cdbb62e

Post by **aupickup** » Sat May 30, 2009 12:01 pm

also only weld the bottom bit on, and then weld the top part to the inner wing after a trial it of the front wings, you may need to bend the inner wing a bit to suit

Post by **davidmiles** » Sat May 30, 2009 12:11 pm

great thanks Gents, thats helpful, I'm going to keep the bit with the hole as thats sound and difficult to get right in a remake. the top is spot welded on, as you say Dennis,best left till later to attach the top, give myself some leeway when re fitting the wings.

Post by **aupickup** » Sat May 30, 2009 12:18 pm

and also get it in the right position front to back as the bonnet strengening bar sits in that top cut out

Post by **rayofleamington** » Sat May 30, 2009 12:47 pm

I'm going to keep the bit with the hole as thats sound

I did the same on my pickup - then re-made the bottom part. The result was pretty good but certainly less pretty than a new one (provided the new one fits of course!!).
The idea of this piece is to strengthen the inner wing to take the bump stop load (hence one of the bump stop bolts going through the seam). so when you remake the bottom you have to account for it's strength.
I'd never really thought about this piece constraining the top edge of the inner wing - but yes it will, so it's a good tip from Dennis to trial fit the wings before welding it up. On some cars I've seen the bonnet is a tight fit to the wings in this area - so maybe this panel is the culprit.

Post by **davidmiles** » Sat May 30, 2009 5:41 pm

If ever a picture demonstrates that welding improves with practice, here it is, the left weld was done several patches ago, the one on the right, though far from perfect shows improvment, I'm really pleased with it, and my progress.
All this help with the inner wing reinforcement panel has given me plenty to think about, many thanks.

Post by **jonathon** » Sat May 30, 2009 6:40 pm

David, I think you would benefit from cleaning back to bare shiney metal then spray on zinc weld through primer. You need to increase the amps as the l/h repair has no penetration and looks to be just lying on the surface. The r/h repair is better but still needs more amps.
In this case I would probably have cut out more steel to make an easier shaped patch (rectangular) and cut/drilled off the captive nut then re welded it back into place. It would mean a stronger cleaner repair and less welding. When fitting the repair tack its main edges first to locate it and try and keep the heat down especially on thin pieces like this one. If you have an airline and blower use this to cool the weld or clamp a thick plate on the reverse of the repair to act as a heat sink.
Keep on with it, practice makes perfect.

Post by **les** » Sat May 30, 2009 10:38 pm

The panel you mention has the wrong curve where it sits on the inner wing and less importantly the large hole is smaller! On the latter point I've often wondered why the hell a company would do that. Maybe at some meeting someone said ''This hole on the original is 3inches' and someone else said '' Ok lets make it 2inches then'' a third possibly chimed in saying '' and that lower curve, we'll guess that'' But even more scary perhaps there was no meeting!

Post by **davidmiles** » Sun May 31, 2009 12:30 am

Thats the whole trouble with meetings Les, people are trying to justify the meeting and why they are there at the meeting in the first place. So banal and arbitary conclusions are drawn, and the hole gets smaller. Mr Issigonis would not be a happy man.

Post by **davidmiles** » Sun May 31, 2009 1:31 pm

Harry and I went up to the Lindfield wreck today, the sun was shining and there was a game of cricket on the Lindfield village green, perfect setting for a project hunt, sadly the pickup was not what I expected.

Post by **davidmiles** » Sun May 31, 2009 1:33 pm

It was grouped among these military giants, with lush vegetation rapidly growing up their sides.

Post by **davidmiles** » Sun May 31, 2009 1:37 pm

The pickup was drawn to my attention in pfqiz's thread "you wouldn't believe.." Peter gave me directions and, if anyone is interested, the owners details, sadly, I calculate that the car is about 20% worse than my own peoject, mainly because local kids have smashed her windscreen.

Post by **pfgiz** » Sun May 31, 2009 1:40 pm

I'm not too sure if she looked better in the rain or not.... lol

It would be a shame to let her die like that. I'd take it on if I didn't have a greater percentage of 'off the road' cars to 'on the road' cars....

Post by **davidmiles** » Sun May 31, 2009 1:42 pm

There was no sign of anything under the back, looks like the chassis is either buried under there or rotted away completely. the floor of the cab is there, but the sills are rusted away. the rear body sides, are rusted away about a third from the bottom, the tailgate is gone, and so is the tail. you can see what Harry thinks of it in this shot..