project Morris Minor Ratrod - First drive since 1989!

[SiC]

I forgot to mention that during the week I gave the door and wing a good going over with t-cut. Improved the body by quite a bit by shining it up.

Then for shits and giggles I decided why not run over the door with scotchbrite and then a attack it with a can of the Cellulose paint. Despite me not removing the paint with its accompanying chips and blisters, it turned out nowhere near as bad as I thought. I mean close up you can see all the imperfections, but at least it's one shade!


Quite buoyed on by this, I am tempted to get a few more cans when it comes to it and spray all of it. Roof will need the rust standing back first but most I think is surface rust. Then I guess primer and spray.

Not sure it'll be done before the weather starts turning this year though.

[SiC]

Protected the car as best as possible



Cleaned up more underseal to see what I'm dealing with


Got chopping


Flattened all my batteries, so come in for food.

[GingerNuttz]

Chop the lot out and replace it or it's just asking for trouble further down the road.

Replacing the whole thing will be stronger than replacing part of it but either would be strong enough.

[SiC]

12 minutes ago, GingerNuttz said:

Chop the lot out and replace it or it's just asking for trouble further down the road.

Replacing the whole thing will be stronger than replacing part of it but either would be strong enough.

I would prefer to do that but I'm determined to do this quickly. You've seen how slow I am normally 🤣

Replacing the whole inner panel will need a lot of fettling and tweaking to get fit. The arch label already is taking a fair bit of time to get even roughly the right place. 😕

[GingerNuttz]

You'd get more money when you came to sell it if you cut those patches out and did it right. 

You can still do it quickly and fit the whole thing 😂

[KitKat]

Seeing your pics is bringing back nightmares of the boundless welding I did to my old one, and why I grew to hate the thing so much  😂

That area is tricky as you need to make sure that lip for the arch is aligned properly or they’ll be gaps to the body.  If I did it again - shinker/stretcher 😉

I’d replace the whole inner arch since you have the panel already and the existing tin work surrounding it is a patchwork quilt. 

[Jenson Velcro]

14 hours ago, SiC said:

Protected the car as best as possible



Cleaned up more underseal to see what I'm dealing with


Got chopping


Flattened all my batteries, so come in for food.

Is that patchwork effect a series of plates over existing metal or cut out and replacement?

[SiC]

Haha, I knew it would make the pro fabricators on this forum teeth itch. Part of the reason I put my reasoning above about welding a new panel on the remaining good metal of the old. Especially as that would be my usual modus operandi. If my MO was to slap patches on or even filler then it'd be  It doesn't help that I detail everything I do, so my choices end up on the internet for all to see. I can see why many don't detail their progress until done.

However I'm trying to be pragmatic on this as I possibly can. I really don't want this to end up being a weldathon like the Dolomite. Not least that this isn't a rare (literally tens of thousands of Moggies left), special (loads of 2dr saloons) or even the best base to start from for such things (previously repaired). Like many Moggies and similar porridge British classics of this age, it's already had similar repairs elsewhere on its shell. They're strong but they are repairs.

My main aim is if I'm doing a repair, the end result will be both better than when I started and safe. I.e. solid welded repair section is far better than the fibreglass that fell out of it!

I may still rip out those other bits, I haven't got to that yet. Firstly I need to reattach the outer lip. That is a Sri Lanka panel and the accuracy isn't that great. I'm hoping that won't take all Sunday to do!

[SiC]

11 minutes ago, Jenson Velcro said:

Is that patchwork effect a series of plates over existing metal or cut out and replacement?

From what I can tell, I think at the bottom and along the chassis leg it's cut out with this new piece on. Then further up welded over the top of the existing inner arch that had been cleaned up. i.e. rusty stuff cut off the inner and then welded along with a bit of overlap. 

[SiC]

42 minutes ago, sickboy said:

That area is tricky as you need to make sure that lip for the arch is aligned properly or they’ll be gaps to the body.  If I did it again - shinker/stretcher 😉

The rubber piping that fits in-between the outer bolt on wing and body made me chuckle. Presumably it exists to hide any inaccuracies in the alignment from when fitted at the factory. 

[GingerNuttz]

I'm no pro fabricator and you never made my teeth itch.

I said either would be fine but if you like cutting corners for the sake of an extra day's work then go ahead, I just think it's a waste of time patching patches when you have a complete panel. 

[captain_70s]

The welding on the patches looks decent, but I'm guessing it's several year's worth of repairs - Otherwise surely you'd just weld in one long strip?

I'd just lop it all out, the amount of welding isn't going to be massively higher and it saves the time of trimming patches etc when you can just throw a full panel at the problem, mangle it to shape with a bit of hammer/vice grip action and have a better looking repair as a finished result. You've already spent the money after all.

[SiC]

I hear and get what you guys are saying but my resistance to cutting all that out is several things.
Firstly, at the moment I have some nice thick steel to weld to. Whatever those patches are welded onto may be thin now and I'll just blow holes in when trying weld.
Secondly, I don't know how good the panel fit is just yet. Looks ok but don't know until I've got more cut out to get it into position.
Thirdly, if I start chopping off more and find stuff, I'll end up wanting to fix it. Thus spiraling to be a big project.
Fourthly, to fit the hole panel I need to drop the axle for the bottom left side. But I might do like 3/4 of the panel and leave that side as it seems quite strong over there anyway.
Finally, I don't know if I should be providing support if I cut any more out. At the moment the hole hasn't been enlarged as only rusty bits that weren't attach have been removed and it hasn't dropped. So I know there is still enough to make it strong enough to not.

I haven't made my decision yet so I've stopped cutting more off. Once I do, I'll be boxed into that decision.

Area is now setup. Like old times before I moved house. Didn't think I'd have to do this again now I had a proper garage! 🤨



First bit will be getting this arch section in. The body metal is pitted and pretty thin along here. I know I'll end up need to replace sections but for now I want it tacked in. From that I can start lining up the other panels.


I'm hoping the magic of an inverter welder will allow me to get away trying to strike an arc on thin and pitted sections, without completely blowing through everytime.

[SiC]

53 minutes ago, captain_70s said:

The welding on the patches looks decent, but I'm guessing it's several year's worth of repairs - Otherwise surely you'd just weld in one long strip?

Don't know. My presumption, based on the other repairs, that it was all done as one job. I was told it went off to Charles Ware for a new floor. So my guess was it was done then. Many panels to make it easier to fabricate.

[Joey spud]

My upper arch and wing mounting flange are sound on mine it's the chassis rail,floor and spring mount that needs work.

When i come to fitting my wings back on i am going to use non setting sealant (caravan skylight stuff) either side of the plastic beading to try and stop water sitting in the joint.

My side glass seals are also perished and shrunken and let an awful lot of water into the car.

 

[captain_70s]

9 minutes ago, SiC said:

First bit will be getting this arch section in. The body metal is pitted and pretty thin along here.

Throw something like this at it, (you could make something similar with the grinder in 10 mins) for that leading edge section and save yourself the hassle of trying to weld to pockmarked bullshit that will start bubbling back through in 6 months. Even if it's not neat a bit of filler will smarten it up, and you'd need to fill over the pitting anyway.

If there is one thing I've learnt from welding shit cars it's that it's 110% easier to do more welding to decent metal than trying to splice in smaller sections to pitted shit.

There is also the fact that pitted shit is rusty and rust doesn't die, it always comes back. This (shagged out, and realistically needing replaced) wing on the Acclaim was ground back, welded up, rust converted, pylon primered, filled and painted and has still re-blistered after a year of exposure to the UK's marvellous damp weather.

[SiC]

Good idea captain. Keep meaning to get some of those arch repair strips. Not cheap though. Had some left over roughly right angle steel left over

[cort16]

Expanding foam too good for you? 😀

[SiC]

Penetration is not too bad. Might turn up the power a tad more though.

[Andyrew]

32 minutes ago, SiC said:

Keep meaning to get some of those arch repair strips. Not cheap though.
 

Put the money towards one of these instead,  a shrinker stretcher tool.   A man of your talent will never regret it.  

And a used hand shear, best 32 quid i ever spent, angle grinder is hardly used now. 

[SiC]

Decision time


As you can see here, the fit isn't perfect on this panel and will need some work.

[SiC]

Not sure how well this comes out but the panels have been welded with an overlap. But they've done it properly and welded both sides at least.

[SiC]

Still not decided. Cut the middle patch out to see what's going on behind. Appears they cut the grot right back. Multiple patches presumably because easier to do?

[SiC]

Still not decided 🤣

While pondering I cut out a pitted section. Ton of crap hidden in there.


In a rush to get it done, I warped the fuck out of the repair patch. Oops.
Filler will be going back on here to level it all out anyway.


Failed in my objective on getting the arch replaced this weekend. I think I might cut out all those patches now. The only bit I'll keep is the bit the rear leaf spring attaches to. Otherwise I'll need to move my support and drop the axle. CBA to do that especially when that part is in really good nick.

[Tickman]

2 hours ago, SiC said:

The only bit I'll keep is the bit the rear leaf spring attaches to. Otherwise I'll need to move my support and drop the axle. 

If it just the side panel then you can take one side of the spring shackle off to fit the panel over. No need to remove the axle.

[SiC]

3 minutes ago, Tickman said:

If it just the side panel then you can take one side of the spring shackle off to fit the panel over. No need to remove the axle.

I didn't think of that! I've already cut that bit of the panel off 😂

 

[Tickman]

I'm sure there might be some way of putting it back on...

[SiC]

I've still got the piece but if I'm welding that on, might be easier to just weld the section on the car into the panel

[SiC]

Decision made. Marked out where I want to cut.
Feels like some backstreet plastic surgeon.




Nearly got my money's worth out of it. Given the cost of these, I think this cutting out has cost me nearly a quid!


Going to keep some of the old metal on the bottom for something to weld to.


Battery change on the grinder and then back to it.

[Jenson Velcro]

I’m sure you’ve done the right thing there.