Morris Minor Owners Club

My old Series II parcel shelf is disintegrating badly and, as its now about the only thing left that lets the car down, I'm thinking of replacing it.
Thing is, I seem to remember people in the past complaining about the quality of new ones, saying they are too flimsy. Is this still the case and can anyone recommend the best supplier - or are they all the same?
Thanks.

I had this problem years ago with a different car and I found the best way to fix it was to get a rattle can of clear lacquer and give the underside a good coating with it. It stiffens it up nicely and also waterproofs it so it will not go limp in time with moisture.

Thanks Amgrave - that sounds like a wizard wheeze!
Anyone else got any info on a preferred supplier? I'm guessing they all come from the same source but maybe not?

Take out the old one and use it as a template and make a new one from 4mm plywood. Aircraft grade is the best but can be quite expensive. That is what I did with mine and the crash pad is made from 1/2" pipe insulation from the DIY and covered in leatherette.
Regards
Declan

Thanks Declan. How do you 'bend' the plywood to create the angles in the shelf?

There were no angles on my shelf- it was completely flat.
Regards
Declan

The one I got from Newton Commercial (http://www.newtoncomm.co.uk/cars/morris ... 49-56-rhd/) was excellent.

Thanks for your replies. Obviously the parcel shelves had different designs for different models of the cars. The NC one does look the job and 'excellent' is a good recommendation!

OK starting to get round to this now but a query:
On the Newton Commercial site it says "The shelf is made from painted and grained Black fibreboard. There has been much discussion by enthusiasts over the years, whether or not the painted side should be on the top or underneath. If you feel that the painted side should be underneath, then please order the LHD shelf part number"
My current shelf is painted gold underneath (not black), so should I get the LHD version and spray the black painted side gold? Looking at mine, I don't think the top side (i.e. where you put your parcels) is painted at all, but is still black.
So, I'm thinking get the LHD shelf and spray the painted black underside gold. Any thoughts/advice gratefully received before I place an order.

Well, in the end I had to answer my own question and thought I'd post up my findings in case anyone else wants to go down the same route.
I spoke to Newton Commercial, they confirmed the RHD parcel shelf for the SII has the textured surface on top. It is also black both sides.
So......I ordered a LHD one and turned it upside down so that the textured side would be at the bottom when fitted to my car (as originally fitted).
I then went to Homebase with a piece of the old one so they could do a colour match in vinyl silk, keyed up the textured surface and gave it a couple of coats and was well pleased with the result.
Here is the old one from below, what a state! And above - urgh! And the new one fitted: It took two of us - me in the car and a friend in the engine bay. He had the easy job of bashing the bifurcated rivets flat. The front seats had to come out to make it possible from the inside. Even then, I banged my head twice on the ashtray and got poked in the eye with the gear knob
Had to move the petrol pump out of the way too. In retrospect, it would have been easier to have abandoned the desire for originality and used little nuts and bolts instead of the rivets. I also wonder if it was a bit obsessive to paint it as you can only really see the underside if you are at floor level, but it does match the gold colour of the crash bar, heater and other SII interior bits and I'm pleased with it all. Phew!

Nice work. If you hadn't of painted it it would've always bugged you.

Thanks - and you're right, it would have bugged me!

Hi
I realise this topic is a few months old, but my Moggie is a '55 Splitie 2 Door (so in the latter part of Series II production) and I have no idea what all this talk of a fibreboard parcel shelf is about.
My parcel shelf is steel and only seems to be about 1/2 the depth of the ones you guys are speaking of?

Anybody else got a steel shelf?

Yours is the right size for the year / model . later ones had the wider fibreboard type.

I can also confirm yours is right. Its the same as mine. The later one had fibreboard and was wider with a hole for the steering column to pass through.

As we all know, there was a lot of swapping/changing of various parts during production, presumably to use up left over bits or what might have been to hand (e.g. some early 1000's had the old SII seats fitted). I'm pretty sure my shelf is the 'standard' one for a SII, but who knows what 'anomalies' may have been fitted to different cars when in production - and subsequent owners have frequently fitted non-original parts as replacements/'improvements'............
Bear in mind though, that my SII is a 4-door. Maybe 2-door SIIs had a different type of parcel shelf? One for the 'experts' to confirm!

Many thanks all.
The top of mine is carpeted the same as the floor and the underside is that almost galvanised looking grey. Car has always been Black.
I suppose an 'Old Gold' finish would be appropriate when I get around to such little jobs.

Mine is painted black. Looks like stone-chip paint.