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Boris the '59 Minor.


Joey spud

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I have  never known so much poxy rain it's like some clown has moved the dry south east and dumped it in Wales or something. 

Anyhow news of the latest Bojo lockdown reached me tonight while i was down at my local watching a rather good combo perform hits from the 60's thru to the 80's which has now put me into a mighty miffed mood.

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"Deuce" really rather good.

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While i was there i had my pre lockdown xmas dinner.

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One half timbered Moggy with skinny wheels.

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Is now on stands and wearing two of my Weller's.

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I need around 59.5 inches to squeeze though the narrowest point of the side access,lets see what the tape says...

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That's more like it.

 If the rain holds off like the forecast predicts then later in the week Boris should be safely installed up the end of the garden.

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Boris has finally made it up to the top of the garden,Boggy the Wonder Dog was well impressed (to be fair though he's easily pleased).

With the narrow wheels on it was going ok until the very last fence post when the front edge of the passenger door hit so i had to back up and go slightly to the right and sacrifice the drivers door against the wall.

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It was quite rusty anyway but will repair if i can't find a better replacement.

Up on the hard standing i have lifted him up on to blocks and axle stands taking care to get him sitting as square as possible.

The car's nether regions  are really rotten and the structural rigidity of the shell is a bit suspect so any wayward jacking is altering the door gaps.

Still all the panels are available at reasonable prices so if i do one side at a time all should be ok,i wanted to leave the door on while replacing the floor,sill structure and A panel but i think i would be better off removing it and welding in some bracing across the opening instead.

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With my rose tinted specs on i thought i could have Boris welded up and on the road again by late Summer '21 but looking again at him on a damp November afternoon maybe it'll be more like Summer '22.

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It's not all doom and gloom though i polished the boot and it shined up ok with just enough scabs and blemishes to create the look i want.

Now he is up the garden out of sight i can put the Subaru back where it was and hopefully finish the last bit of rear arch welding before the weather really goes tits up on me.

Oh and also retrieve the Daihatsu from the sister in laws front garden,mot it and move it on to free up funds for purchasing the many Morris panels i need.

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  • Joey spud changed the title to Boris the '59 Minor.
On 18/10/2020 at 18:04, Joey spud said:

 

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I pulled the front panel off earlier thinking it would stop me removing the wings,it didn't and without it fitted the radiator is free to get intimate with the cooling fan so i loosely bolted it back on.

The wings are held with a handful of bolts scattered around their perimeter which all came undone with little drama.

Once they were off the full extent of the A post and floor/end of sill rot was futher exposed.

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Passenger grot.

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Drivers grot.

This side the rot has eaten into the base of the A post causing movement and problems with shutting the dropped door.

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Anyone recognise these brakes, Midget or Marina ?

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I also need a bottom arm as i don't think its ment to have a big rusty hole in it.

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So it's definitely narrower than standard now and after a bit of rearrangement it's in pole position to go up the side of the house.

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Years ago I owned a book.written by Charles Ware (RIP) of the morris minor centre bath. 

I think it was called "durable car ownership" 

The basic premise circa early 80s was that you coukd take a decent minor but shit because old tech, and gradually over time turn it into something more useable.  So focus initially on the Rot. Then maybe upgrade the brakes, with marina or ital parts, and then think about the tyre size and maybe slightly wider wheels.  Then the 5 speed gearbox conversion, then maybe look at the suspension, getting rid of lever arm dampers, then think about the interior comfort. Maybe metro seats. And rear seat belts. 

I reckon a previous owner read that book. 

I read in a classic car magazine about his plans to try to make parts in volume for the minor, and I was looking for a year out on my HND in manufacturing engineering, so i wrote to him, and he put me onto a company that were doing some development work for him, called AD engineering. In Wells. 

They had a rally prepared test bed. Road legal, full roll cage, 1275 midget engine, with LCB manifold, coil overs, real brakes, 5 speed box.  They took me out for a drive in it. Fast as fuck. 

Unfortunately I was able to transfer to the degree, and the course tutor refused to believe that a year there, met the expectations of the sandwich degree. So I went to a battery company in Reditch instead. 

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I have wares book,it does make for engaging reading.I currently have a 2000 Yaris verso,which is about as reliable as you can get generally,but a part of me is increasingly looking at getting a minor again, especially now I have had some welding practice (x plate transit at work,very rotten,see if you can get it through a test!) 

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On 07/11/2020 at 22:14, egg said:

Well done, but how will you get it back out again without scratching it!

Ah well yes i have been pondering this.

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It was my own fault as the post that the front edge of the n/s door hit against and brought me to a sudden halt was this one that the gate is hinged to (a post on a post) and for the sake of four screws i should of removed it,but being a dick i didn't.

Getting him back out will be a case of no wings and no doors fitted just to get every mm i can.

Or plan B is my next door neighbour to the right who after living here 12 years i have only just started talking to and who's wife had a moggy when they got married that they remember fondly.

His garden the other side of the fence is flat grass leading to hard standing where he parks his motorhome and if i don't piss him off with months of grinding and banging i may be able to coax him into letting me exit that way instead as it's 70 inches between the posts.

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This route would just need me loosing the poxy Bamboo that originally came from his garden and seems to be just as invasive as Japanese knot weed then adding a shallow ramp to get over the 12 inch concrete gravel board.

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There's fog and a heavy dew here this morning,somewhere i have a cheapy car cover that i will need to dig out when i remove the door.

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I picked up a spare wheel yesterday from a chap in Knockholt for the princely sum of £7.10 (Ebay works shocker).

Japanese tyre for a Morris what would Alec Issigonis say.

I had a couple of hours free today so have done a bit more filling and sanding of the n/s wing and it's coming on ok but it's a bit floppy and wont stay still so i will get it near enough then do the final fettle once it's bolted back on the car.

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Both the front wings need a bit of help on their rear edges.

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It's a pants design as rain water and crap get sprayed into the folded seam of the outter wing and its inner flange where it sits and rots though both panels.

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I sliced off the section of rotten inner flange and remade the worst of it before welding it back on again.

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But i am clean out of suitably thin steel to make a patch for the front of the wing and while prodding i made more holes further up the panel.

But it's a bit of progress while i save up for all the floor,sill and crossmember panels i need. 

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Offer to take his wife for a spin when it's done

Then see if her and him want to pootle up the road in it for old times sake if you could just borrow his garden for half a day etc

Or keep the scratch on the door as a victory scar after a winter of working nicely out in the garden locked away in peace and rain! 

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I found a scrap of steel to patch the wing then promptly cut it too small.

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But made it fit.

I am not a body work person but usually muddle through and was happy enough with the above until i discovered my welding had somehow made the wing pop in and out (area where the scratch is) when i lightly pushed against so i had to set it where it should be and weld a little strap behind it and the inner flange to hold it still.

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Much filler later and it looked about ready for a bit of primer.

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Which reacted with the existing paint.

I have no idea what the wings which obviously aren't the originals have been painted with but i don't normally have any trouble using acrylic primers.+

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I have removed the big ugly indicator/side light lamps and blanked the hole and will probably use 80's Land Rover ones instead.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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I've done a bit more Boris.

The pickling that occurred on the drivers wing seems ok now i sanded it all back and this time slowly built the primer up with a few dusty dry coats first instead of the wet ones i did last time and everything is good again.

That said i will still use an isolator primer before top coating.

I don't want to paint the whole car i just want to make good the repairs and keep Boris looking scruffy and honest like he has driven out of a barn after sitting since 1985 so i need to have a good think about how i go about it.

Anyway the o/s front wing and n/s rear wing are ok to bolt back on in the future.

I do need a o/s rear wing as mine was really grim so i just removed it with a cutting disc,i have joined various Morris Minor bothering groups and am confident a replacement will turn up locally soon enough.

 

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So on to the far more grotty passenger side wing.

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I don't possess the patience (or the skills) to make bespoke panels to produce invisible as new repairs but will always give it a go.

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I have ordered up some 0.8mm zintec sheet but had the urge to play so used some scuffy 1.2mm stuff instead and to be fair it buzzed in ok and didn't twist and distort like the other wing did.

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Once the outter panel was back in place i was able to cut away this rusty inner skin and make it  good again.

It's a bit Frankenstein but despite my laid back,can't be asked approach it has actually turned out quite good.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Update of sorts.

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The borrowed skinny wheels are now back on Alberts Traveller but i took a pic of its front brake upgrade it's Fiesta mk3 based and was done by East Sussex Minors a few years back for a four figure fee !!

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Sharing the Morris's drive is this work in progress Bedford Sooty van.

Back at mine i have finished the three wings to a good enough standard for paint to be applied when the warm weather returns.

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I have zinc primed and tiger sealed the void that fills up with crud and rots out the wings rear edge.

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These are stored up in the shed rafters for now.

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Boris has come to me with a complete set of new window rubbers which he does urgently need and also fresh coolant hoses to replace his perished and brittle ones.

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He also rocked up with few new bits of tin.

There's a full n/s chassis leg that to be honest he doesn't need but he does definitely need the new A post/door hinge panels and n/s rear sping hanger section.

In a scruffy box i found a new Newton Commercial supplied head lining.

Boris has a small tear in his by the interior light that doesn't bother me in the slightest (character ?) so i bunged it on Ebay and got £70 for it which has since been spent on more zinc rich paint and welding gas.

 

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Christmas and my birthday are a couple of weeks apart so all my nearest and dearest clubbed together and got me a ''Moggy starter bundle''.

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I now have repair panels for the boot floor and lower rear quarters along with all the sill,floor and step panels to get me started.

I'm still going to need a few more panels but it's moving forward.

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After the hell welding up the Dolomite and hunting for expensive rare panels, I quite fancy doing a Moggy. Not only are the panels all available but most of them seem to be straight edges.

I like the idea of the starter bundle. How much does one of them set you back?

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Boot floor repair patch £30.

Lower Rear quarter £16 x2.

Door step and finishing rail £20 x2.

Sill/floor (4 piece) £64 x2.

So about £230 so far.

I still need centre cross member and jacking point repair panels £20 x2.

Rear spring/floor mounting panel £22 x2.

O/S Rear spring hanger/chassis panel £28 x1.

There is also an inner sill panel for £28 a side i may need but this is a simple L section and i can make these out of 1.2mm zintec.

 

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So a full set of panels on a Moggie for about what I paid for two old stock aftermarket arch repair panels for the Dolomite 😔

This is why I quite fancy doing a car next where there is a ready supply of panels! Admittedly my MGB is needing bodywork soon and they're just as well supplied for panels too. 

The cheapness and availability of the Moggie panels also mean it makes it plausible to use one as a daily driver in all weathers. If you're prepared for the welding work every few years...

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5 hours ago, Joey spud said:

Update of sorts.

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The borrowed skinny wheels are now back on Alberts Traveller but i took a pic of its front brake upgrade it's Fiesta mk3 based and was done by East Sussex Minors a few years back for a four figure fee !!

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Sharing the Morris's drive is this work in progress Bedford Sooty van.

Back at mine i have finished the three wings to a good enough standard for paint to be applied when the warm weather returns.

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I have zinc primed and tiger sealed the void that fills up with crud and rots out the wings rear edge.

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These are stored up in the shed rafters for now.

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Boris has come to me with a complete set of new window rubbers which he does urgently need and also fresh coolant hoses to replace his perished and brittle ones.

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He also rocked up with few new bits of tin.

There's a full n/s chassis leg that to be honest he doesn't need but he does definitely need the new A post/door hinge panels and n/s rear sping hanger section.

In a scruffy box i found a new Newton Commercial supplied head lining.

Boris has a small tear in his by the interior light that doesn't bother me in the slightest (character ?) so i bunged it on Ebay and got £70 for it which has since been spent on more zinc rich paint and welding gas.

 

A good friend asked about the tears in the headlining of one of my cars and whether they were caused by my wife's high heals. I was able to jokingly reply "No, your's"

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An excellent buy and project.  

As a child we had  neighbour who's pride an joy was a pretty tidy grey minor 1000, bar a hand brush paint job.

I daresay this will be a bit more usable as an honest daily when your done with the choice upgrades to the running gear. 

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