Vintage Minor Register

Hello Chris,

Yes it's the undertray for the gearbox and transmission brake. On the front it is attached to the sump, the side's are attached with clip's to the chassis and the back with nuts and bolts to the chassis crosmember.
With the body on, it's probably a two men job to take it off .
It's also made in a thinner steel ,so it's one part that's not going to be shot blasted

Halbe

Halbe

My car has the undertray, and years of oil have kept it in very good condition. I removed it to fit a new clutch and gearbox and this can be done OK by one person, its a bit of a pain though!

When in place it has a couple of benifits, one it cuts down on water ingress from deep puddles and fording streams etc, up though all the gaps round the gearbox and handbrake area, and also in the winter cuts down on the cold drafts (although you dont notice much difference in a tourer).
It also cuts down on road noise a little, again in a tourer the benifit is slight.
On the negative side it often catches the fallen nuts and bolts and washers when your working on the car and rolls them onto a position unreachable with fingers, so its scratching about with welding rods to get them back!

Hello David,

Off course I'll put the undertray back on the car, but to make dis/assembling easier I'll also solder the nuts onto the two rear points ( my English fails me)
How much noise does the gearbox make?

The clock I got from Dudley was in fact a taximeter , there is now a very nice Edwardian taxi in your country

Regards Halbe

Hi Halbe,

Regarding the tray, I have a sheet metal fabricator friend and if you can provide an accurate drawing I can ask him how much he would charge to make some trays up in case other people might like one.
All the Best
Clive

Halbe,
The early three speed gearboxes are noisy, particularly when 'pulling' in second gear. When I first got the saloon back on the road in 2003, I was convinced that I had a problem with the gearbox as the 'whine' from second gear was very loud. It was then pointed out to me that it is not unusual for straight cut gears to emit this sound and that this was normal. When I bought the Semi Sports I had evidence that the gearbox had been re-built by a well known and respected engineer. The sound emitted when I first run that car was the same as from the gearbox in the saloon.
As regards your English - it's much better than many 'native' English speakers that I know!!
Chris

OK I'll know what to expect, the Aston gearbox also has straight cut gears and makes a lot of noise
Yes I can make a drawing of the undertray and mail it to you in a week or so.

Halbe

progress report,

As I've been busy with BXO401 not a lot has happened.
The car is nearly disassembled, just the axles to do and then it's off to the blaster with my chassis
I'll measure the shackle pins when I have them out.







Regards Halbe

At last Halbe. VG is looking like a genuine Bungay area car now.
NG

If only it was as quick to assemble than to disassemble!

Does the frame need any work? How are the spring hangers? When is blasting scheduled? It looks like to won't be long before re-assembly of the chassis can commence - the tide will have turned for another Minor!

Only in my dreams ,
Restoration still has to start , but before you take it apart there is no way of knowing what needs to be done.
Blasting will be late may/early June.
The frame needs some welding but nothing really serious, the rest looks ok but you never know.
The more I get a feel for the car , the more I'm convinced that she didn't do a lot of miles in her life.
It's "La Voiture "remember

The tide HAS turned on this minor , i assure you

Halbe

The back of the instrument panel
Halbe

progress report,

June has been very busy with all sort of concerts, But I have the chassis back from the blaster and it's looking good.
I have to put a new piece in the right hand beam next to the engine, but is it ok to weld some material onto the small patches on the snaps witch are not rusted throught? or is it better to weld some new pieces into the snaps?







Throught the MMM forum I got an original lid for my carb.so that is now also complete and ready for restoration.



See you all friday

Regards Halbe

Starting to make progress, Halbe, looking good. Is that musical notation I see in the background? Perhaps the workshop inspires you musically as well as mechanically!

The pictures that you are posting here are most welcome Halbe.
The chassis wasting appears to be such that no welding is necessary as there will be sufficient strength from the remaining steel secton. If you are still worried then the only area to touch is that on the corner behind the dumb iron shown in the lower picture posted above. The web or chassis side where the front wing fits, certainly needs no strengthening. Any work here may do more harm than good.
Ken

Halbe,
The chassis is like the foundation stone of a new building or the keel of a boat. Yours looks fine - have you cracked open a bottle of champagne to celebrate?!!
See you on Friday,
Chris