Vintage Minor Register

Thanks Toby. Cracked it as you can see.

Hello Cammy,

If i can help you with specific pictures and/or measurements just let me know.
As I'm taking lots of pictures I'll put them all on a cd and sent you one later this year or bring it with me this summer.
And yes, I feel very lucky with such a nice car.

Ian, did you see the single vertical beams on both sides of the rear window and also below that the bits that hold the spare wheel , on VG they are double and the fabric is around both beams witch also explains the verticle seam on the rear.
So were the fabric frames differently build than the other ones
Great picture by the way

Chris; Veggie is allright with me as long as it only apply's to the car and not the owner
And have fun tomorrow , hope you're happy with the new hood.

Halbe

Halbe, most kind. Any pictures are good if only for inspiration. I think that so far if I have pieces of wood from the right and rotten at the front the piece on the left is rotten at the back. Same with the top and bottom of the verticals.So long as both bits are OK in the middle i can judge the length . I am not removing any more bits of the coachwork until I have made up new bits to replace the pieces I have off already. I will then offer them up (technical term I believe) and go from there. I think there may be some differences between metal and fabric bodies anyway from what I see on your photographs.
Perhaps this is what they mean by "Minor" differences. Sorry for that. Ash is nice to work with though.

Halbe,
Coachbuilt Saloon bodies were assembled as per the image below. It doesn't look too different to me from the way they assemble Fabric saloon bodies. I will post a picture or two on the forum when I get the car back tomorrow.

I'd stick my neck out (always dangerous, I know!) and say that the ash frames of coachbuilt saloons and fabric saloons are the same, as they all have MP numbers in sequence. But wait! The fabric saloons were fixed head while the coachbuilt saloons were folding head, so that shoots that theory to blazes!

What we can say is that the OHC and SV saloon (and tourer) bodies built between around February to July 1931 were identical - regardless of whether they were headed for OHC or SV chassis - which were bodied in parallel at that time. The difference came in the paint shop, as SV Minors were offered in different colours to OHC Minors. Incidentally, saloons have body numbers, as do Semi-sports, but I don't think (dangerous again!) vans or tourers had body numbers. So body numbers seems to have been a Cowley thing, as the tourer bodies were built in Coventry.

Where are the body numbers stamped? I will see if I can find the one on NG 850 if the dreaded worms haven't eaten it
The above picture is of four door vehicles is it not?

The number is on a beam above the rear axle, if you open the hatch above the axle it's right in front of you.


Halbe

Short update,

Over the last week I removed the interior of VG.
What I found was that the body timbers are all in good condition but all off the floorboards were eaten by the wurms.
Glad they only like plywood
Most of the interior trimming is savable and will go back in the car.
Next job is to take the rear window out and the rest of the floorboards, after that I can take the body of the car and put it on a dummy frame.

Here are a couple of pictures







Cammy did you find your body number?

Regards Halbe

Hi Halbe,
Looks like you have been busy. The more I see of your car the more convinced I am of its originality. I told you you will have it finished by the summer!
Chris

No Halbe, I haven't found the number yet. As you may have seen NG body is upside down at the moment. I did take off another bucket full of woodworm though. Like the pictures. Great. I note that as well as everything else on NG the battery box is not standard either.

I expect you will want to return your cars to original spec, but many years ago my car had a new battery box fitted that is as big as the access hole. This has provided a very useful extra storage space during my travels over the years.
Ken

Hi Ken,

This is not such a bad idea, I know of some GP Bugatti's with half a fuel tank and some extra luggage space.
For now I'll stay with the original one but will keep this idea in the back of my head in case I need more space.

Thanks Halbe

Don't forget you have a goodies box under your passenger seat. The Semi-sports doesn't have this, as it has a tool tray behind the bench seat (and a cavernous boot!), but I did think of adding one. The only problem is that you'd have to remove the bench seat base to get at it.

Hi Ian,

I don't know if this is needed, but if there is a change to a 12 volts system I might need some modern bits to go with it.
I thought it would be a good idea to hide these under the drivers seat in a extra box and out of sight.
On the bulkhead would be very visible and the space behind the dashboard is very limited.
While on the subject do owners tend to stay with 6 volts or change to a 12 volts system?

Halbe

Hi Halbe, Please don't start this. The 6v dynamo and starter motor and 1 bulb are just about the only parts of NG that are original and working and I have just purchased a 6v regulator.