Dear Listers,
This just in from John Quilter, San Francisco Area Rep for the American
Morris Minor Registry. I know that many of you overseas Listers will find
it amusing to think that there might be something left under Morris sill
plates, that is if you actually could remove the rusted bolts, BUT, this is
something that you might consider on a restored car or one found today,
that had been stored out of the weather for many years.
I assume that this will soon be running in an issue of the club's
publication, Minor News with pictures (ooooooooo - A large collection of
dirt! Now THAT'S a problem!).
This great article and more can be found in Minor News. A must for US Minor
Owners.
Cheers,
Rick Feibusch
Contact:
The Morris Minor Registry
Mnor News
318 Hampton Park
Westerville, Ohio
43081-5723
Director: Tony Burgess
Phone/Fax: 614-899-2394
email: <MORRISMINR@aol.com>
------------------------------------
CHECK OUT YOUR DOOR SILLS!
by John Quilter
I pride myself on high quality maintenance on my Morris Minor convertible
that has been in the family since it was new in June of 1960. Some
friends would call me downright obsessive. So when I decided to freshen
up the chipped and worn aluminum door sill plates it came as big surprise
what I found underneath these door sills when I removed them for
resoration. Removal was easy: I removed the 5 sheet metal screws at the
top lip, and the 5 whitworth 3/8 bolts at the bottom that hold both the
door sill in place and the body colour exterior channel. Be sure you use
a set of whitworth wrenches for this job as these are not standard
English/US sized nuts and bolts. Mine came off easily, even after 42 years
in place. What I found under the sill plate was very alarming, a large
accumulation of dirt and debris both outside the vertical plate and inside
the rocker panel plate with the 3 inch holes. Dirt and more dirt. How it
got in there is a mystery since the area is mostly sealed up with the
exception of a few rearward facing drain holes visable from under the car.
Now admittedly this car has been used on a lot of unpaved dusty roads in
its 185,000 miles, but how all this dirt got up inside the channel is
strange and worrysome as it is a big potential contributor to rust in this
area which will weaken the structure of the car.
So with the plates off I set about cleaning the channel of all traces of
dirt and dust and using brushes and aerosol Dow bathroom cleaner (my
favorite cleaner for dirty areas such as this or engine compartments) I
cleaned the channel to spotless condition. It is difficult to get to the
rear of the enclosed channel but first with various brushes, then a vacuum,
and plenty of water from a hose a pretty fair job can be done. Of course
always make sure your drain holes are clear. See photos showing some
light surface rust on the inner most vertical panel and the "after" photo
cleaned up and painted with primer and proper body color. After the
through cleaning and preparation for paint let any moisture dry for a few
days and prime and paint any necessary areas. With my pearl grey Minor the
Krylon colors "pearl grey" or "pewer grey" are a very close match. Make
sure all potential rust signs are sanded or wire brushed and primed and
painted. An interesting side note: if you always questioned what color your
car was origonally the paint under these sills will probably never have
been repainted and is preserved from the fading effects of the sun.
While the cleaning and painting process was taking place, I proceded with
the first purpose of this project and that was to have the chipped and
skuffed sills repainted. I turned them over to West Coast Powder Coating
in South San Francisco for sand blasting and power coating in an
appropriate metalic silver color. Remember, all Morrises had these sills
painted in silver, not the color of the exterior of the car. Over the
years some cars may have had these plates painted in incorrect colors.
Powder coating is a great way to provide a durable finish to these plates
which will out last the factory finish. For $60 for the pair, within a
week they were returned to me looking better than new. I obtained some
stainless steel sheet metal screws to replace the missing or rusty ones at
the top lip and throughly wire brushed the whitworth mounting bolts and
nuts for the bottom attachment and coated them with a light coat of oil for
replacement. Alternatively, one can obtain replacement stainless steel
bolts, washers, and nuts for this. After the paint was fully dry, I
sprayed the entire inside channel with WD 40 to ward off any furture rust.
When all back together the sills looked great and nicely freshened up the
entrance to my Morris. I was glad I took on this project since I
discovered, and corrected early, a potential build up of moisture retaining
dirt and debris that would contribute to a rusty condition. Maybe I should
make this cleaning a once every 10 year project.
John F.Quilter <jquilter@peoplepc.com>
San Francisco Bay Area Representative
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