The New Adventures Of Arthur

Slow, slow, progress...

2011-06-02T00:05:00.000+01:00

Since the last update, I've honestly been doing stuff on the car! Not much I admit, but it's been stuff....

Granted, my efforts on the car have been pretty minimal, but I did stick at it even through the epic chilliness that was last winter. According to the high tech climate device that my Nana got free with a bunch of chat she ordered from the Betterware catalogue, I was fettling with the car even in sub-zero temperatures..

Anyway, there's no getting past the fact that progress on the car has been as slow as it ever was. I haven't bothered with any updates as the little bits and bobs I've done haven't really been worth it on their own. I've had a bit of a busy time at work, and taken up the drums (again) so most of my time has gone here. So here's the update anyway...

Engine & gearbox out. Just the ancilleries left...

This is actually petrol that came straight out of the hose from the fuel pump. I think I might need to take the tank out at some point and give it a good clean.

"D" for deluxe model. Apparently all deluxe models had this stencilled on, up until it was moved onto a sticker above the battery tray. The Deluxe spec on my car meant that the car had a passenger sun visor, and a windscreen wiper on the passenger side.

The interior with the majority of the dashboard innards ripped out. The replacement crossmember too.

The current state of the car.

I've started practicing welding in preparation for all the dodgy tin that needs replacing. I can't wait for the main work to get started (instead of just pulling its off).

Metal turns into rust, then into thin air...

2010-10-24T20:49:00.000+01:00

Today I removed the floor patch under the driver-side floor. It's not a good feeling to find yet more holy metal, but it has to be done...

And while I was down there I noticed a hole around one of the rear spring hangers. I'm just going to ignore it for the moment as I've got enough on my plate to think about at the minute with the crossmember, chassis legs and the holes in the floor. Here you can see how bad the nearside chassis leg is by the light coming up through the floor...

Book - "Original Morris Minor" by Ray Newell

2010-10-06T21:08:00.001+01:00

This is a cracking little book. It's an interesting and very easy read that covers the various versions of the saloons, travellers and commercial vehicles in great detail, with excellent high-quality photos. It even goes into detail of which production changes were made, when, and why, and from which car numbers they came into effect. This info is excellent use for closet purists like me, but is also pretty interesting to read about how far the minor came from when it was originally launched.

There's also a load of information useful for achieving originality on cars, including which colours were used on which cars, together with interiors, and even what the original toolkit should include etc. There's also an excellent reference on chassis numbers, which can be used to find out the original colour for a car, what spec, etc. It also explains how to tell if a convertible is a factory original, if the car was produced for military use etc, and how to check an original Minor Million.
Pro's: Excellent reference for achieving originality, and finding out about the history of the Minor in general.
Con's: The pictures inside are probably a little to perfect for originality. I've also found a couple of errors after speaking to other owners, and its probably not too much use if you're not fussed about originality anyway.

Removing the Offside Front Suspension

2010-10-02T23:37:00.012+01:00

Today presented the perfect opportunity for working on the car. The missus was out for the day, she took the young'n with her, and she had left without issuing a list of tasks. Excellent.

Despite removing the nearside suspension in August, I only got round to doing the other side today - and I've really noticed a difference in temperature since the last time. Still its no problem for me, as my skills aren't limited to slowly pulling apart an old car. I can also stick cardboard together to keep my bum from getting cold...

Anyway. This side came off pretty much the same as last time, although the tie bar came off pretty easy this time, and I needed a bigger weight to split the ball joint...

...and the rear nut on the tie-bar bracket was hard to shift. I tried a few things, but found wacking a spanner it through a bit of would seemed to shift it pretty well.

When I removed the nearside suspension, the front lower arm was damaged due to a seized lower fulcrum pin. I expected that offside lower arm would be damaged too (and actually bought 2 replacement parts from an autojumble) but it seems fine. The lower fulcrum pin is siezed though and is worn a little as a result. I had to hacksaw the end off one side because it had a shoulder that prevented it from fitting through the aperture in the suspension arm (I assume that came from being whacked in the past)...

The tie bar came in done without any bother...

Then it was the torsion bar. A bit of penetrating oil into the nuts and they came off without much additional headscratching - or grinding.

Removing the torsion bar also revealed more evidence of cack maintenance by whoever laid the car up to rest 30 years ago. The rubber bushes for the torsion bar have worn through on one side...

A bit of a nerdy observation I had; the replacement lower suspension arms that I bought at an autojumble are a little different in profile. I'm guessing that MOWOG change the profile to avoid any stress points and a possible fracture point. The picture is a bit blurry so I've highlighted the differences in profile.

Removing the Nearside Front Suspension

2010-08-12T16:02:00.088+01:00

The chassis legs need sorting and to see what's what and make the repairs (whatever they may be) the front suspension needs to come off. This week, I have been mostly tackling the nearside...

The Haynes book said remove the tie bar first, but the bolt just wouldnt shift, so I'm going to come back to it later. Great start.

I carefully removed the brake drum then wiped it down inside with a damp rag. The brake dust inside the drum will likely be asbestos so dont want to take any chances there. I just chucked the brake shoes. They're old and I will be putting some new ones on anyway when I reassemble.

Removing the hub was a little tricky as I didn't have a hub-puller, and any leverage easily slips and just spins the hub. A post on the http://www.morrisminorowners.co.uk/ forum and I was back the next day to try a couple of things. It turns out that using a wooden lever was less prone to slipping than a metal one and the hub came off easily...

With the hub off, I thought I'd start on the suspension itself. I removed the nut holding the top trunnion onto the damper arm, then decided to try and remove the steering arm. I got as far as removing the nut, and no matter how hard I hit it, the steering arm did not want to shift. On reflection, I dont know why I was trying to take it out anyway. There's nothing that needs to be done to it, and it's not like it suffers from wear etc, so I'm happy to leave as it is!

Defeated by the steering arm, I thought I'd try removing the track rod end. This was done by removing the bolt on its underside that held it to the steering arm, then since I don't have a ball joint splitter, I shocked it out of the steering arm by giving it a good hearty wack with a hammer.

With everything pretty much off that needs to be, I removed the fixings that held the front half of the lower suspension arm in place, and took it off. Note that bloody tie bar still floating about.

I felt a bit of play in the bottom trunnion earlier on, and it looks like this is the source. Excessive wear on the bottom fulcrum pin. According to the guys on morrisminorowners.co.uk this is probably caused by the fulcrum pin becoming stuck inside the trunnion, and not rotating as it should. Notice the "notch" on both ends of the fulcrum pin...

It turns out, that this fulcrum pin not moving freely as it should, has also caused this elongated hole in the suspension arm. Suppose I'll be needing a new one of these - and I hope the torsion bars aren't buggered as a result.

I recon I've got the same to look forward to on the other side of the car. The problem has been caused by poor maintenance, so it's unlikely that one side has been maintained well, and the other not. Still, I've learned what can happen if things aren't greased/maintained properly.

Book - "Guide to Purchase & DIY Restoration of the Morris Minor & 1000" by Lindsay Porter

2010-08-12T15:21:00.005+01:00

I bought this on Ebay a few months ago and have used it quite a bit for the stuff so far. It contains a brief introduction to the car and its history, and a useful guide to buying (faults to look for, checks to do etc etc) as well as the normal maintenace stuff.

Its probably only any real good for someone without much experience (like me) because the stuff inside seems pretty straight forward and I doubt that anyone with a good idea of what to do would need this really. I've found some useful tips etc in there, but I have a pretty limited knowledge of this sort of thing, and for the most part even I think that what the book is saying is common sense. It's still useful to me though - to make sure I'm doing things right.

There is a useful reference section at the back of the book which includes colour schemes, explaination of chassis numbers, and production changes.

This is now out of print I think, but its still available on Amazon.com last time I checked.

Pro's: The step by step stuff is useful to follow for beginners like me.
Con's: The layout of the pictures/steps in the book aren't the easiest to keep track of.

Cleaning the gearbox

2010-08-09T20:03:00.000+01:00

As I'm removing stuff, I'm trying to clean it up. Hopefully this will make it a bit of a cleaner and easier job when it comes to putting things back together. The gearbox was pretty minging dirty and it took a bit of shifting with a wire-brush so thought I'd try using some Gunk Engine Degreaser. I mixed it 1:1 with paraffin just to make it last a little longer, then used a jet-washer to rinse it all off. The paraffin left a oily residue so used a light brush of neat gunk to clean this and then jet-washed it off. I'm pretty pleased with the result.

Before...

After...

Date of manufacture - 28th December 1955...

Gearbox out

2010-07-17T23:18:00.001+01:00

This was a bit of a doddle to do actually. First I drained the oil out of the box - not sure if it should have been "pond green" though...

Then from inside the car, removed the gearlever, the clutch linkage, speedo drive, and the earth cable, etc...

With a jack under the gearbox crossmember, undo the four bolts that hold it to the chassis legs...

...and slowly lower the jack, bringing the gearbox down a bit. The propshaft is still attached so the gearbox couldn't be lowered down fully.

The gearbox just pulled off the propshaft. This is going to take a bit of cleaning...

Woohoo! Engine Finally out!

2010-07-11T21:49:00.003+01:00

It's not money, family, or work - but my tendency to fanny-about that's going to be the biggest thing that slows me down on this car.

Finally got the engine out. I undid the bolts on the engine mount towers, and jacked up the engine to prise it off the gear box a little. Then my dad pretty much took over and we lifted it out. No need to mess around with a block and tackle etc etc (as I originally thought). Gave the Engine bay a little bit of a scrub after, to get rid of some of the crap.

Anyway, the photos..

Removing the Engine - Part 1

2010-04-29T22:35:00.004+01:00

I never thought that removing the engine was going to be simple, but I didn't think that it would involve as much as it does. So no, the engine isn't out yet, but I'm on my way...

Firstly, unbolt the clamp between the exhaust manifold and the exhaust downpipe...

remove the carburettor from the inlet manifold...

Remove the heater hose from the engine...

Unbolt and remove the engine steady between the engine and the bulkhead...

Remove the ignition coil, dynamo, and starter motor...

Inside the car, remove the gearbox cover. This is possibly not needed to remove the engine, but it'll make it easier and I'm going to remove the gearbox anyway. I wanted to remove all of the brass screws that hold it in place without drilling them out - this will make it easier when it comes to putting the cover back on.

Remove the bolts that hold the gearbox bell-housing to the engine...

Loosen the bolts on the bottom of the engine-mount towers. To avoid losing them, I wont remove the bolts until the engine actually comes out of the engine bay.

I gave the engine a bit of rocking, but its clear its still pretty stuck to the gearbox. I think the plan next is to undo the clamp holding the gearbox to the gearbox crossmember under the gearbox cover. Then jack up the gearbox a little to take its weight while the engine is hoisted with a block and tackle out of the engine bay.

Best laid plans and all that though...

Pig Ears Gone

2010-04-28T19:03:00.001+01:00

In the interest of originality, I wanted rid of the after-market indicators that came with the car. It should have semiphore indicators but at some point in the past someone has disabled them and replaced them with these...

They were attached to the roof on some vans (I think because the van back made it hard to see the semiphores from behind - or something like that) and were also used on the BMW Isetta.

Anyway, I stuck them on Ebay and they went for £17.50 to a nice chap in Australia. Result!

Grill off

2010-04-08T22:39:00.002+01:00

This took me longer than it should have. Mainly because I was so particular about saving the original nuts and bolts, that I took each of them off carefully with plenty of WD40, and cleaned each with a wire-brush afterwards. Still, I eventually got it off - even though I had to writhe the grill off the last bolt.

Next job will be to take the engine out - at least that's the idea anyway...

Removing the Radiator

2010-04-06T23:04:00.000+01:00

After a long long long break from doing anything, I've finally managed to start back on the car. I've decided to start removing the engine, doing a little bit whenever I get the chance.

The radiator was pretty easy to take out. First, drain the water (there's a tap at the bottom of the radiator - it was seized, but I think it's brilliant anyway), and then remove the bottom hoses...

...and remove the top hose...

...then undo the two retaining bolts on each side...

..then slide it out!

With the radiator now empty, there's the chance it might rust from the inside out. So to stop it rotting, I covered the pipe ends with the fingers from a marigold, then re-filled it with water and anti-freeze.

I was well-chuffed with myself for coming up with this idea. Unless I discover that the anti-freeze eats through the glove, the radiator rots anyway, and I've cut up a perfectly good pair of Marigolds for no reason.

Latest Update

2010-02-06T09:23:00.001Z

I've not done much since the last update. Family, work and DIY have been a pretty good excuse to keep me out of the cold, apart from a couple of days where I was playing with some toys that I got for Christmas (trolley jack, imperial spanners, head torch).

I decided to use the trolley jack to lift the car to give me a better look at the underside of the sills/floor to see what needs doing, however this came with its own problems - the chassis legs. I was going to jack under the chassis legs until I realised that the nearside leg was shot...

Nearside chassis legs with obvious corrosion

Realising that the chassis legs will need replacing, I decided that this going to need a lot of clear space in the garage and plenty of access around the car. This also means removing the engine so that I can get into the engine bay floor and take the weight of those rotten sections. The recent cold snap has forced me to change the water in the cooling system, so have to leave the engine in for the time being, but I took the bonnet off anyway.

I didn't know if there was any coolant/anti-freeze in the engine, nor the last time the water had been changed. The engine is going to come out soon and it seems a bit pointless to change the water now, but it would have been a shame if the engine block had cracked due to neglecting this little job.

Changing the water also gave me an excuse to get the car started, and get it up to temperature - something that turned into a much bigger job than I expected. The battery turned out to be a bit of a dud, and even when connected to the battery charger, I needed the starting handle to get it going. The previous owner said the dynamo needed polarising, which also meant that the car couldn't even keep itself going once started - the car could only tick over using the power from mains electric!

Still it was really nice to hear the engine running, and the little burble from the exhaust. Considering the structural state of the car, it actually runs quite sweet - I really love these little cars! This was probably the last time it'll be running before it's taken out and rebuilt.

Current state of the car

UURRGHH, IT'S ASBESTOS!!

2009-11-22T22:54:00.008Z

Aye, so I was sat at work and got to thinking about the heat shield beneath the passenger footwell (as you do). Then it suddenly dawned on me, "hmmm - I bet that's asbestos".

So I posted a question on the MMOC forum and yes, it is Asbestos - bugger. Apparently, it's white asbestos, and depending on its age, the clutch might be asbestos too, and the brake linings (at least when it was new) - but I knew this anyway.

The hole through the passenger footwell (the browny triangle)

The heatshield is mounted above the front baffle of the exhaust.

The white bit inside the heatshield is the asbestos.

Some of the members on the MMOC forum suggested that if its doing no harm, then leave it alone - but because you can see it through the hole in the floor and it might end up killing me, and anyone that rides in the car, I thought I better get rid.

I did a bit reading up on the actual dangers of asbestos, and the safest ways of removing it. I found the health and safety executive has a good section on asbestos at http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/. I also spoke to the local council to see how to dispose of it, who recommended the following:

Dampen the area down
Wear protective clothing such as overalls (disposable preferably)
Wear dustmask and gloves
Avoid using powertools to reduce chance of breaking the material
Dispose in double-bagged heavy-duty polythene bags, along with the overalls.
Seal and label the bags
Contact the council to arrange free disposal when next doing one of their "hazardous waste" pickups.

So following advice, I sprayed it with water to dampen down the fibres. Then taped over the hole in the floor, and taped a thick rubble sack to the underside of the car ready.

Once I was ready to catch the heatshield from underneath, I ground off the screw heads that were holding the heatshield on from the inside of the car. I would have preferred to unscrew them, but they were thick with gunk and wouldn't budge. After grinding the heads off, a swift whack with a mallet on the screws knocked them out and the heatshield fell onto the exhaust into the rubble sack I had taped to the underside of the car. I rolled this around the heatshield, then carefully double-bagged it in another two rubble sacks and taped them up. As recommended by the council, I did the same with the overalls I was wearing, and to be sure, my trainers aswell - they shouldnt have been binned years ago anyway.

Heatshield gone

I know it might seem a little over the top for what was just a little bit, but all of the research I did pretty much suggests to take no chances. I've just got to find something else to use as a heatshield now!

NEC Classic Motorshow

2009-11-16T23:11:00.002Z

Went down to the Birmingham NEC for the Classic Motorshow this weekend, and had my pants pulled down by the parking charges. The Morris Minor Owners Club had their own stand there and had a few cars on show. This is pretty much the standard I'm aiming for with Arthur.

Took this as a reference point because the layout on mine will be similar (a bit different on later models)

Something like this for my next car would be class, but by the time I could afford it I'd look like one of those sad old buggers having a midlife crisis. Might have to aim lower - an MG, or a Triumph or something.

A good look at the sills

2009-11-07T22:07:00.004Z

Today I finally managed to get the last of the kickplates/doors off to see how bad things were with the sills.

Nearside rear sill where it meets the rear wheelarch.

Thick packed mud has rotted away the rear wing and the floor.

More of the same on the offside rear.

For the record, those stupid "pig ear"indicators aren't original and are going in the bin eventually.

Pretty much the same as last time, but on the other side

2009-11-01T20:49:00.020Z

Today I removed the nearside door and tried to remove the kick-plate but it was welded in place by an old repair. The floor pan is badly rotten where it meets the doorframe, and someone in the past has welded a steel plate on the underside to hide the rot from the M.O.T man. When they welded the repair panel, they also welded it to the kick-plate, and the door finisher (the rail that runs below the doors) which made it a bit of a pain in the arse to get off.

I removed the door finisher with a bit of grinding, which gave me better access to the welded edge of the kick-plate. More grinding and a bit of wacking with a mallet, finally got the kick-plate off...

It's hard to tell from this photo, but the condition of the box section isnt bad.

A tiny bit of corrosion towards the front, but its hardly anything. The door finisher removed is lying on the floor.

View from underside of the floor. The welded repair is the more rust coloured panel along the edge of the floor underside.

The nearside rear sill isn't too bad, considering the state of the kickplate that was covering it.

Still, could be easy to repair - if its worth it.

An inspirational kick up the arse

2009-10-24T21:56:00.009+01:00

Since I found the holes in the floor a while ago, I've spent my time basically doing nothing. I was so pre-occupied with sorting the cross-member ends, that I had stopped everything while I planned and replanned how I was going repair them. This just overfaced me and nothing got done.

An inspirational kick up the arse from my dad made me realise that there is plenty I could be doing, so for the past few weeks I've been busy with an angle grinder.

Both front wings are shot, and have to go. The headlight surrounds are made of chicken wire and filler, and both wings are rotten all up the A-post.

The fixing bolts for the front wings are a little tricky to get to, and they're covered in over 50 years of muck, so I cut away large sections to give better access to the bolts.

There is a little corrosion along the top of the inner wing, but nothing massive. These can probably be plated over.

With the wing off, I could get a better look at the inner wing. The hole is where the jacking point for the car is supposed to be. Definitely need a new panel for this.

The left side doesnt have any corrosion along the top of the inner wing, but the jacking point and door post cover are badly shot.

Definitely need a new panel or maybe 2 for this.

Jacking point shot on this side too. A-Post cover plate very badly corroded too.

Both front wings off the car, and the bumper removed. Space to work is pretty tight, so just removing these is a massive help.

The silver (and rust) coloured plate is the kick plate. This covers a steel section that is important for the structure of the car, and is often corroded. I need to take this off to see what the state is.

Not too bad. There's definitely corrosion along the bottom of the section, but it could have been much worse.

Removed the drivers door to get a good look at the A-post. Everything looks alright as far as I can see, though I'll get a better idea when I remove the cover plate on the inner wing.

After removing the wings, I kept the light lenses and metal surrounds as these are still good (though would need re-chroming). I want to keep as much original as I can, especially since a lot of new replacements are not as good as recycled originals. I also cut a few sections from the front wings. Might come in handy for practice welding, or for plating over small areas.

...the rest waiting to be scrapped.

First Job Done, but any idiot can pull something apart.

2009-07-20T20:55:00.009+01:00

For the past few weeks I've been stripping out the inside of the car, to prevent damaging anything when the major work starts, and to get a good look at the car to see what needs doing.

The seats are leather and a bit tired, so I cleaned and treated them before putting them into storage. Everything else should be fine until I'm ready to clean them - I can do this indoors, so will probably leave this for winter when the garage is freezing cold.

I removed the steering wheel because it was getting in my way, and since its in such good nick, I didnt want to risk breaking it by bumping it. The car isnt going anywhere so it wont be needed anyway. To get a good look at the bulkhead from the inside and get good access behind the dash, I had to remove the parcelshelf, which meant removing the steering column, and the heater. To make sure everything goes back in the right place, I've taken photographs of everything before I removed it, and attached tags to cables, pipes, and wires to make sure I connect them back correctly.

With everything out, its easier to get a look at the state of the floor, and have a good poke at the small cracks that were there (which are now big holes). The floor above the main crossmember is rotten through (below the driver and front passenger seat), and the crossmember itself which supports the floor has also corroded at both ends.

Both front footwells are rusted through, the rear passenger footwells are also rusted through near the doors, and the sill beneath the centre door pillar (both sides) is also rusted. I'm wondering if I should just replace the whole floorpan, instead of patching the existing one. Removing the whole floor would make it easier to repair the cross member, and a whole new floor will give me peace of mind, so maybe I will. But on the other hand, I'm tight. The jury's still out on that one.

Here's some photos of current status, and closeups of the holy floor.

Looking through the back seat into the boot

Both nearside doors with the door cards removed

Steering wheel removed, glove boxes, parcel shelf, heater, last bits of tatty old carpet, and the seats all out.

An attempt at being a bit arty. One of the spare wheels. It has two, I dunno why.

Yup, daylight through the floor.

Hole in the floor beside drivers door above the main crossmember

Hole below the rear off-side door. It has these on both sides.

View looking into the car from the boot

I found this 2 shilling coin when I removed the back seat.

Registering the car with the DVLA

2009-06-19T22:19:00.009+01:00

In 1983, the DVLA set a deadline for all cars to register with their vehicle database and for a new type of logbook (v5). As my car has been sat in a barn since 1976, it missed the deadline which means the DVLA have no record of it, and until its registered I can't get it taxed, tested, or insured.

To apply for the original registration, I had to ask for a representative from the Morris Minor Owners Club to verify the date of manufacture, and general spec was original. Then I had to complete a couple of forms, and send to the DVLA with additional proof that the vehicle did have the registration I was applying for (sent a copy of the original logbook).

I sent this off about two weeks ago, and today, I heard back from the DVLA and they have accepted the application and issued a new V5C for the vehicle under its original registration. I dunno why, but I like the idea that the car is keeping its original number, 53 years after it was first issued.

Arthur's Arrival

2009-05-14T13:16:00.003+01:00

As a kid I had a pretty wierd fascination with Morris Minors, all started by my dad when he restored a 1000 Traveller when I was about 8. Luckily I grew out of it, though recently my dad bought a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow to put back on the road, and it got me thinking that I fancied restoring something myself.

After a surprise birthday present from the missus and my parents, I'm now the proud owner of a great little project car that I've decided to call Arthur (no reason - it's an old car, and Arthur sounds like an old mans name).

Arriving on the back of a trailer

Its a 1956 series two, 4 door saloon, and has been off the road since 1976 when the owner decided to store the car under a carpet in a barn and then forgot about it. The car sat there for over 30 years until the owners cleared out the barn in 2008 and the car was found.

It doesn't look too bad arriving on the back of a trailer in the sunshine, however there is a bit of work to do. Aside from the general stuff you'd associate from a car that hasn't moved since before I was born (cracked tyres, crappy brakes, window seals perished), most of the work is the usual stuff for Minors (wings, patches in the floor, etc). Unfortunately I wont have the joy of getting it started for the first time, as this was already done by previous owner, but I'm going to give the engine an overhaul anyway.

I'm also keeping a blog of the whole project from start to finish. It'll keep me busy during lulls while saving for parts, and hopefully people might reply with some friendly tips and advice on any specific problems I'm having, or suppliers of elusive parts.

Here's some pictures before I get started: