Vintage Minor Register

Ian, can you remind me what you are looking for! Can't find the list on the forum. I see you don't need a starter anymore, I have a late front valance but want to swap for a 32 type for the tourer.

Morning Toby, just got back from three days away over New Year. I'll e-mail you my wanted list for the engine - probably tomorrow. I think it may include that elusive spiral gear. I haven't found mine yet.

Many thanks, and a Happy New Year,

Ian

At last I have the McEvoy on four new Blockley tyres, so it is rollable for the first time after sitting on four flat tyres for decades. The next job will be to roll it out into the sunlight and start preparing the body for removal. Although some of the timbers might be sound, I'll probably end up doing what I did with the Semi-sports and building a new ash frame, but incorporating a few of the original timbers in it. The challenge will be to find someone around here who is up to skinning it properly. I'm bringing back a set of cable brake backplates from England after the rally, so one of the first jobs on the chassis will be to remove the hydraulic system, pack it up and send it a waiting recipient in Cornwall! I'm also saving my pennies to get a new Bluemels Brooklands steering wheel for it - the one fitted is too far gone to restore.

Meanwhile, the engine block and crank are ready to send off for white metaling and reboring.

Does anyone have a pair of SV MInor pulley kingpins?

Ian
You should surely aim to save as much as possible of the original fabric of this rare model. Far too many 'old cars' are actually almost all new especially those professionally 'restored' as opposed to conserved. I know this won't be the case with your McEvoy, but you probably get my point. I seem to remember you saying on the Forum that you wanted to keep this car wholly original even to the point of reinstalling the cable brakes, but you then went on to think aloud that you may change the shape of the body as you don't like the rear end. I said it then and I will say it again: "Don't do it"!
Good luck with it anyway.
Ken

Hi Ken,

I'll save every timber that is sound, but I won't refit any rotten, damaged or broken timbers. I'll apply engineering judgement to each and every timber. But the state of the timbers is such that I doubt whether more than about 20% will be OK to re-use. I won't be able to make a final determination until I start stripping it down - funnily enough the doors seem to be the soundest part of the frame. Al of the ply in the body has delaminated to a greater or lesser extent and will have to be renewed.

The same will go for the panels and everything else on the car - I'll use anything that is sound.

As for the rear end, I have no intention of changing anything. However, I may not refit the (in my view) ugly rear valence, but will of course keep it safe. This valence accommodates the single spare wheel, and was either never fitted or removed from the prototype (and others?) when it was required to fit two spares for trials. Mine will be so configured.

Now that I have the car on four new tyres, I can at last roll it out of the garage and start some serious work on it. The first big job is to remove the body from the chassis. This is proving to be more difficult than it would be with a standard Morris body. Instead of just four coacbolts holding the standard body on, the Jensen body is bolted and screwed to the chassis at ten points as well as a number of screws where vertical members rest directly on the chassis cross-rails, and of course, everything is solid with rust. I have two screws and two coachbolts to go. The sill and floor timbers are proving to be quite rotten. The left side sill is riddled with woodworm and the ash has taken on the consistency of Hobnob biscuits! I may be able to save some of the timbers that form the rear body superstructure, but right now, I can't find a single timber that has retained any integrity or strength, so we are looking at a new ash frame with perhaps a few original timbers grafted in if I can save any of them. Fortunately, the body is at least complete and original, with original - if frail and mouse-eaten - trim, so the finished article will be an accurate replacement of the original.

The Jensen body is now ready to be lifted off the chassis, just waiting for some manpower to lift it at all four corners. It is VERY frail and will probably break into pieces when lifted, there being little of substance connecting the scuttle with the rear of the body. So I'm going to get as many measurements and photos as I can before the big lift.

Steering column disconnected from the instrument panel and firewall, ignition advance/retard lever removed, floorboard brackets unbolted from the firewall, scuttle supports released from the chassis rails, so everything undone at the front.



The state of the ash frame and ply flooring is evident in this interior shot. Good enough for patterns, but little or nothing that can be saved. It is not nearly as sound as it looks in this photo - see the lump of rotten ash in the footwell. The tank has been removed to facilitate lifting the body off, as the filler neck protrudes through the rear of the body.



Front wing supports, number plate bracket, etc. removed. Once the body is off, it will be a simple job to strip the chassis for blasting and painting, and then re rebuild can commence.

Ian,
When removing "tender" XK bodies from chassis we always welded supports from A to B post, I know thats not possible with decayed ash and woodworm but is it not possible to bolt lumps of 4"X2" to prevent collapse?

Regards,

Philip

Thanks Philip, that's an excellent idea - and I can probably reinforce the sills as well, as there is little connecting the front and back of the body at the bottom of the B posts.

The body came off today, but not after a bit of a fight. After releasing the numerous bolts and brackets, the body was still reluctant to lift. It turned out that there is a wooden vertical cross member under the drivers seat that protrudes into the U-Shaped chassis side rails. This had to be sawn through on each side, and then the body came free. However, it was not possible to prevent it from falling into three major pieces - the scuttle, the floor and the rear end. But with the body off, progress on the chassis will be rapid. Now the chassis can be inspected, it is in remarkably sound condition.

And there we are - four hours later. Completely stripped and ready for blasting and painting - the low point of any rebuild. It will take slightly longer to put it back together again - but hopefully not too long.

Great to get an update on your project Ian,
the chassis looks in great condition , Hope you get the time to do all the hard work.

Cheers
Kartik

Thanks Kartik,

One interesting thing has come out of the strip down. The standard of workmanship by Jensen was terrible! Nothing is the same on both sides of the body. If I did not know that this is a genuine Jensen body, I'd think it had been put together by an amateur! You can also see this on the chassis frame. Look at how the front chassis outriggers have been crudely cut off!

I won't be able to save much of the original body, but the good news is that the new body will at least be symmetrical!

Coming on Ian...!!

Is it my eyes, or are the two front dumbirons not symmetrical either..! the right one (in picture) looks to curve in more to me...... hopefully just the angle of the picture!!

I suspect that body builders back then had basic tools, not the high tech stuff that could be used today, this could explain the crudeness of the body, shame none of it will be salvageable..!

Thanks Ronald. I'll check that front end alignment!

I think I'll be able to salvage some of the rear body timbers. I just bought a timber moisture tester for the Tiger and the rear timbers passed.

Right now it is flat out on the rolling chassis and getting the engine/gearbox in before I collect the carb. from SU at PWP 2013.