An American Moggie ~ My '59 Morris Minor 1000 2-door saloon

[cammy-p]

The seats sat on large frames which house the electric motors with the exception of the back recliner motion which is a manual leaver , but i recon you could fit them to your car no prob , the back seat i removed the original meatal internal frame work and replaced it with a shorter inner board which allowed it to fit the rear without too much prob also allowing me to fit brackets for the rear head rests , makes it a tad more posh lol , better comfort thats for shure , old seats very rigid before ...[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]
Forgot to say the frames were bolted to the floor runners were just on the frame tops .

[Fingolfin]

Hi all! Finally got some new photos for you. No fresh work done, because of snow, but we have cleared out a garage-like space for it.
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We had snow on the first day of spring! Grr!
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A nice shot of the inside. Another will be taken when it's all tidied up.
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A shot toward the back, with the back seat down. The boot is in very good condition, considering its age. But I dislike the sill/parcel shelf thing.
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And, finally, the awning/shed thing under which we'll put Mog to stay for the rest of my semester in Fulton. We cleared some underbrush to make a driveway, too. Good stuff.

[Fingolfin]

And now some fresh photos! Good stuff happened yesterday. More photos -- actual restoration photos -- in the coming days.
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Nice shot of it under the shelter. The right-hand front suspension is doing funny things...more when I know more.
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Another nice shot. Very rustic, eh?
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And from the rear. The right-hand lights stay on when the battery is connected, so it's off right now. Til it's fixed.

[Dean]

Thanks for the update, the car is looking fantastic. Regarding the seats if you are happy with them, leave them in, cars are very personal. It also depends what you are going to use the car for... if it's your every day car you may want something that little bit more comfortable. Remember parts may not be as cheap as they are over here, we all have budgets to work to. Can't wait to see pictures of it on the road... cruising the highway like they did in "CHiPS"!

[Fingolfin]

Gotten back up to Fulton by now. I miss Mog already. And, y'know, all the other good stuff that home provides. But I'll be back for the summer -- about three months! -- in 39 days. (Counting down.)

Dean -- I know all about the parts -- ordering the two new wings (and other assorted parts) cost us almost $700 a year ago, when the exchange rate was more amenable to us Yankees! And I'm down to my last $400 right now -- my college is taking its sweet time in paying me -- so no parts soon. In addition to that, Customs isn't pleased when you ship in something that weighs a lot. As to the use thing, I do want to use it every day, but that doesn't mean I'll get to...which saddens me. I'll take lots of good pics of it when it's on the road, promise!

Anyway, as you can tell, the door needs painting. My dad is going to take it off and disassemble it, and take it over to the technical school. Hopefully they still remember who I am -- though honestly I doubt they've forgotten the owner of a Morris Minor! That (I pray) will all happen this week. I love him to bits, but dad can sometimes be a bit tortoiselike, if you follow me.

Mog got filled with antifreeze and moved. Not a great many of the other things on my list happened. The only really big thing was checking the horn, as I hadn't expected to take up the carpets anyway, but the horn can be checked easily in the summer. The system ran, and ran well once it got running, so I'm nearly certain nothing cracked or broke. No lubrication though.

I thank all you lovely people for your continued comments, confidence, and patience!

[Fingolfin]

The door is over at the painter's. Should take about two weeks, but if it takes longer, they're in session for four. By then I'll only have a week of this semester left, so work on Mog will start almost immediately!

Have been getting concerned about my suspension problem (over at http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=31706). Wish I knew more about that sort of thing. I'm praying it'll be a simple fix, but I'm fearing it'll become a problem to rival the electrical system.

On that note, I have pretty well set on the complete rewiring. I'll be making lots of use of this forum, I promise you!

[Fingolfin]

Just got the call that my door is finished -- and only a day more than two weeks! I'm still in Fulton right now, but when I get back to Bolivar this weekend I'll take some snaps for you.

[Fingolfin]

And now the beautiful door, on my bedroom floor!
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The door will be reassembled soon as I get a new pin for my handle, and some rubber grommets. And some painting of the window surround, but I can do that myself.

For kicks, go look at the article on my suspension problem (at http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=31706), because there's lots of info on the right-front suspension of Mog.

My time in Fulton ends on 5 May, at least til August, so lots of restoration to come.

Oh heck, why not one more photo? It's not restoration, but it is a picture of my car, and that counts!
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Spring is so beautiful in the Ozarks.

[Fingolfin]

Progress! A little bit, anyway. I ordered some parts from BM -- including a pin for the door handle, and some new lugnuts -- and hopefully they'll get in soon. I can't reassemble to door without the pin in the handle. I'll need to order a new chassis leg (go see the aforementioned link), and that's expensive, but it's necessary.

I got in the car today and took the seats out, because the carpets need to come up, so I can see the quality of the floor.
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When I pulled out the back seat, a happy little mouse scurried away, and he'd been digging out some foam for a nest! I cleaned out the foam and proceeded taking the back seat halves out, but I'll have to get some traps straightaway.

More to come tomorrow, when the carpets come up.

[Dean]

That door looks great! You must be well pleased, it's a gorgeous colour... I'm wondering what colour coach line would suit that colour?

[davidmiles]

Its coming along, I bet you can't wait to show this off to your college mates, It's gotta be the only one around.

[Fingolfin]

But Dean -- surely I haven't the money for that? I got the door painted for free, after all!

Haha, thanks David. You're absolutely right -- I know of less than ten in the Ozarks, and I would be willing to bet money there's less than a hundred in the whole of Missouri. You'd be amazed how many people want rides in it when it's done!

Lots of progress today! I took out the carpets and the padding:
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Not all the orangeish stuff is rust, but a lot of it is. (Much of it is adhesive -- nasty stuff!) This obviously isn't the original floor. The original floor is under this and in bad condition, I discovered, so Someone in the past put new panels of their own manufacture on top of it, rather than repairing the floor properly. Grr.

I also examined the underside as closely as I could:
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The prop shaft and the center crossmember. Not sure about its condition...I know the shaft is fine, but the crossmember may be either gone or good...
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The left side chassis leg. It looks to be in great condition...but I've been fooled before.

Here's hoping the suspension on the left side doesn't go. I'm sure the car will end up fine. ESM said that a new crossmember, a new right-side chassis leg, and four quarters of the floor will only cost $456.66, including shipping. So that's not as bad as could be expected. Waiting on a comparison quote from BM.

Not much more to do now, except buy all I just listed, and get it all installed. I have no idea how to weld, and my dad only has experience with very heavy-duty welding, so it'll be done by a professional. Hopefully they won't cost too much. It's expensive restoring a classic car, but certainly fun!

[alex_holden]

The welding is likely to be the most expensive part if you're paying a professional to do it.

[Fingolfin]

You're probably right, Alex. And after purchasing this next round of parts, I'll not have any money at all, much less the amount for welding. Nonetheless -- it must be done -- and I'll scrounge it all together!

Lots of progress recently, though it's been in tiny increments. I received the parts for the door, and the lugnuts:[frame][/frame]
So now the handle is back in, and it works a treat. The escutcheon is broken on the bottom, yes, but that's irrelevant for now -- I just want the door on the car!
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The new lugnuts are so pretty. As has been said, my car has an MM rear axle, so I could only fit lugs for the front half of the car. The rear wheels need lugbolts, which are something like $50 for a complete set! You can see why I need them -- one has been replaced with a smaller bolt, which holds on the wheel, but is very frustrating when one goes to take the wheel off.

With the door off and the car undriveable, I've had not a lot else to do. So I've been inspecting the structure. I've gotten in the sills: the passenger side is fair, but the driver's side...[frame][/frame]
That's taken from the BOTTOM. The handsome fella is myself. That underside panel is going to be replaced -- the repair section will be in the next order, along with the xmember, leg, and floor panels.

I've also been repainting the door upper bits, which will make the door look practically brand new when it's all back together -- perhaps tomorrow? In addition, I've ordered sixteen door-to-hinge screws, because my old ones are stripped.

Next step is to top up all the fluids and fit the door, when the screws come, and refit the sills. Step after that is to order all those structural parts. Somewhere around there, Mog will need a very good bath, because the pollen and dust have been horrible this spring!

[ASL642]

Suggest you PM mike.perry on the MM Register of this site. He may well have a spare bolt that you need for that wheel or offer an alternate replacement that you could source locally.

[Fingolfin]

Thanks for the tip, Regalia. PM sent.

Some little progress. The door is all together, even if some bits are missing:
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Upper part repainted by me in a simple spray-can enamel flat black. Worked for my bumper non-chrome bits. I can't find lots of bolts and nuts and screws and whatever for some reason -- I swear I kept it all together.
Since I haven't had the money yet for the structural bits -- next payday is 31 May -- I've been doing some other important stuff. I decided to do a complete oil change for the engine, including replacing the oil filter.
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That's the old one there, with the oil drained out. This car is so very funny. The only filter that ended up fitting, unless I wanted to import one (which I didn't!), was for a power steering system. HA! The IRONY!
The new oil went in just fine: I used almost a gallon of SAE 20W/50. Figured that would be best, of the ones in the owner's manual. Ran it for a bit and it idled a little more nicely than it used to, so I'd say it all went well.

Well -- not all of it. The carburettor has sprung a gas leak! Not a lot at all came out during the two minutes the engine ran, but it could have been serious had I been going on a trip. The leak is from the bottom -- anyone have any idea? The only bits of the car I'm unfamiliar with are the carb, dynamo, and rear axle. May as well start now.

A final note. It is insanely difficult to start a Morris Minor without a driver's seat installed. Sitting on the floor, trying to get enough leverage on the clutch and accelerator, pulling the starter, is hard. I grew some fresh muscle on my left arm pulling myself forward (for leverage) with the steering wheel!

[alex_holden]

A final note. It is insanely difficult to start a Morris Minor without a driver's seat installed. Sitting on the floor, trying to get enough leverage on the clutch and accelerator, pulling the starter, is hard. I grew some fresh muscle on my left arm pulling myself forward (for leverage) with the steering wheel!

Why would you need touch the clutch pedal? Just start it in neutral. If the choke is set up right you should be able to start it without touching the throttle either.

[polo2k]

you mentioned indicator problems earlier on.
your car will have a metal box on the inner wing. this is a changeover relay, check the connections to this are all clean and that your front and rear bulbe havnt blown. hopefully this should help you find your problem.

[ASL642]

When we were restoring one of ours we used a fold up garden chair to start the car. Easily removed and about the right height

[alanworland]

I bet the fold up garden chair could even be clamped under the seat brackets!