Practically Classics Forum

I already have an Austin 10, which is in good usable nick and feeling the need to get the welder and spraygun out again, I went looking for another project.
I like late 30's/ early 40's cars (the Austin is a '37) and when I spotted a '46 Morris 10 only 45 minutes drive away in Milnrow, I thought I'd give it the once over. So many of the cars on offer at the moment are way down south and transport adds quite a lot to the cost of the car if you live up in the North West, so anything within 40 miles warrants a look, in my view, if you are on the hunt for a car.

The Morris originally lived down in the South West and was now owned by a local enthusiast. it appeared reasonably tidy, but without an MOT, not having been used since late 2004. There were photos of an extensive rebuild in the late 90's and since acquistion in early 2010, the PO had carried out some works on brakes, etc. and serviced it, but had run out of steam, due to work and family pressures. Internally carpets were good and the headlining was fairly recent. Seats are reasonably okay, original leather but in need of a good clean and condition, with some repairs needed on the drivers squab, and door trims are all present and correct. The engine starts and runs with decent oil pressure and no smoke. The clutch biting point is high suggesting that adjustment at least is needed. The older resto spray job is okay, but is showing its age here and there and some corners and edges need redoing. The boot lid however is rotted out along its bottom edge, probably having filled with water at some point (no drain holes!) and the rear skirt is also returning back to iron oxide and needs a little fabrication and welding.
The rest of the underfloor areas look and feel pretty sound.
Eventually I will need some chroming on the front bumper, and I have a set of good chrome hubcaps which will be swapped for the red painted set that the car was wearing upon collection. The Morris bonnet mascot has also been replaced by another art deco type, although from what kind of vehicle, I couldn't say. If anyone has a proper Morris 10 mascot hanging around, then please get in touch.

As far as I can see this model is relatively rare, having been launched for only a brief production run just before the outbreak of WW2 and then having resumed in slightly facelifted fashion for the first couple of peacetime years. The Morris Register, according to a reprint of a recent sample club magazine available on their website, appears only to be aware of 49 examples, presumably worldwide?

I have started work by stripping out the boot lid and rear spare wheel cover panel for repairs and will report back soon, with more photos.

In the meantime here is the car straight off the truck on a wet Lancashire morning.

Lovely car - more like this please!

More progress:
The boot lid has now had about two thirds of its bottom edge replaced with new metal and has been ground back and filled. It is currently sitting in primer awaiting some paint. The cover panel for the spare wheel has had its frilly bottom edge repaired and has been primed again waiting for paint.
I had already spotted that the bottom edge of the rear body was pretty far gone, as the photos show. The format is that of a box section, which had previously had some repair work, but had, by the look of things, filled with water and then rotted out from inside. Why the restorer didn't drill a few drain holes and inject a little waxoyl after taking all that trouble in 1996 is a mystery. The design doesn't help either. Water running down the bootlid finds its way straight onto the lower boot floor and either dribbles out under the edge of the spare wheel cover (hence the frilly edge) or drops down two recesses in the boot corners into said box section.
Anyway, after some grinding away, I was left with....not that much really and have had to fabricate a new bottom edge to the inner wall of the box section, and a new curved section to recreate the rear outer. Incidentally, I can recommend the CJ Autos adjustable car ramps. On a 1930's car especially, which starts with generous ground clearance, the resultant access when fully extended is fantastic. Not cheap but well worth it.
En route I have treated the edge of the spare wheel aperture and chopped some further corrosion out of the lower rear corners.
I have also removed the petrol tank in anticipation of a weekend with the welding gear, and since it was in good nick with only some very light surface rust, I have given it a coat of Rustbuster Epoxy mastic and put it to one side. I will use the same stuff on the boot floor, where the previous paint has lifted and some surface rusting has started, but that can wait until the welding is complete

Great project! Good to see one of these forgotten cars being given the attention it deserves! Please keep us updated

Welding the rear end is now completed. After coating in weld thru primer, the replacement vertical web of the box section was attached to the old which had been ground back to good metal, and then the outer was attached by stitch welding to the existing skirt, again cut back to good metal.
Finally the lower flange was plug welded to the flange on the web. the result a good solid box section with a radiused lower outer section.
Not quite accurate to original. The car would have had an additional outer skirt that sat over the rear edge of the box section. However, this would have been a dreadful moisture trap and would have hastened the end of the original assembly, that was previously repaired during the original overhaul in the 90's. Weld thru was a different kind to that with which I am more familiar, having a copper content to give conductivity, rather than zince, as is more normal. Nearside bumper bracket mounting also reinforced during repairs. Seemed to work well.

Ready for paint almost, now, after some fabrication at the offside corner where I judged it better to chop out and more or less start again, rather than try and repair piecemeal. The end result is not bad and given that it is more or less hidden when the bumper is replaced, I am quite happy with the result.
Spent a lot of time underneath with seam sealer and then painted everything again with the epoxy mastic paint. When it is finally painted, I will inject some Dinitrol into the resultant box section and then anoint the rest of the chassis and floor areas as well.
I think that I have spotted where the fault in the brake hydraulics is. Whilst underneath this weekend, I spotted that there is fluid running down the inside of both front tyres. The PO told me that someone had freed off the front brakes when he first got the car and had re-rubbered the wheel cylinders. Obviously, this hasn't worked and my pumping of the pedal to try and pressurise the system the other weekend, has obviously seen them off. At least I know where to start. I am always sceptical about putting new seals into old cylinders. It rarely offers a long term solution in my experience, especially if the pistons have been seized at some point.

Progress since my last post has been helped by some rare warm weather which inspired me to give the boot lid a final rub down and put some paint on it. I had already painted the area around the rear of the car and left it to harden before getting the rubbng compound out. I had a second trial fit first, to make sure that everything still fitted and things looked okay, and so on with the paint.
Whilst waiting for initial coats to dry off, I re-assembled the spare wheel compartment cover. I had already replaced one of the unmatched D lamps with a new one and, after a bit of autosol on the original and some black hammerite to smarten up the number plate, put the whole thing together.
The overall effect is very pleasing and I know from previous projects that a few easy 'wins' during the mid part of a project, when things elsewhere are still looking a bit piecemeal, are a good morale booster, especially when you have banned yourself from the workshop whilst some paint is drying!!!

Rear end now painted, along with boot lid which has not yet been fitted, but is sat in the spare bedroom until it has hardened sufficiently for cutting back.
Chrome outer bumper is not yet fitted but will go off for rechroming, perhaps next week, if my local man is back from his holidays.

In the meantime I am trying to track down two new front wheel cylinders. Anyone got any ideas?

Powertrack brakes should be able to identify the cylinders, they'll be old stock but they always send a fresh seal kit out if requested with o/s brake parts and have yet to supply me with anything whose bore required work prior to use, so don't let the o/s idea put you off.

Find them HERE.

Fantastic - how satisfying that must be!

Keep up the good work - remember, just 'cos you don't get many replies doesn't mean we're not all enjoying the thread!

Cheers