Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Rosco663]

Hello to all forum members, this is my first post so hope all goes well.

Ok here goes.......
I recently purchased a Morris 8/40 (as they are known in Australia) 2 Door 4 Seat Tourer - in original condition. I intend to complete a full wheels up restoration to this car and will be completing the majority of the work in my shed at home. The seats, some body work and paint will be left to the professionals (and of course any other tasks that I do not have the skills to perform). I will need to refurbish the interior trim and also do some major work to the wooden frame work.

I hope to have this restoration complete by the middle of 2014 as I would like to enter the car in the 'Bay to Birdwood' event which is a biannual event in Adelaide - South Australia where I am based.

Wish me luck!!

I am sure to be posting progrees along the way which I hope you will find of interest. And undoubtedly be asking for some advice from others experiences.

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[rjt10/4]

hi rosco663 and welcome to the forum the 8 looks a good restoration project good luck and i look forward to further updates

[Rick]

Hi, that's a fab project you've got there, look forward to reading more about it. As you've probably noticed there are quite a few Morris 8 owners around here. Is the bodywork by Morris, or was it bodied locally?

RJ
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[Rosco663]

Thanks for the welcome messages - much appreciated.

To answer your question "Is the bodywork by Morris, or was it bodied locally?" I am not too sure. Maybe the pictures below can help.

The Dataplate on the firewall is as follows:




But another plate is attached to the under dash trim:




As from the first posting and also the picture following, the bumpers look different to those I have seen pictured in the Uk and other places:



I have looked at sourcing Ash timber here in Australia but is very difficult to find in the sizes required, but I did read on the Morgan Australia website that Spotted Gum was used here to great effect in those times - so I will probably go with that for the coachwork frame.[/img]
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Rosco

[Rick]

Interesting. The bumpers look like they could be from something later, maybe from the 1950s.

Many foreign cars imported to Oz had their main body tubs built and fitted by local coachbuilders, this circumvented high import taxes that were levied on complete vehicles imported to Oz.

This happened to my Bedford ute, and Dodge tourer. The front panels on both are original manufacture, as are the wings, but the main tubs are Oz-designed and built. In the Dodge's case the body to look at is all-but-identical to Dodge's own body in the US, the main difference is that the Oz body has an ash frame, the Detroit bodywork is all-steel.

But back to the Morris. I've several original pics of UK-spec S1 tourers on the main site, see:
http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/morris8tourer.htm

The overall shape of your car is very very similar. However if you look at the top of the door for example, the line on your car looks a little more angular than that shown on the Morris-bodied UK cars (it may be just the angles involved in the photos though). It'd certainly be worth doing a bit more research on this.

I've also noticed that the UK cars have vents in the side of the scuttle, just ahead of each door.

Contemporary Ford 8s and 10s shipped to Oz also tended to be fitted with Oz bodywork, for the reasons given, so I'd not be surprised if similar activities weren't undertaken with Morris cars of the era.

RJ
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Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
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OCC & classic car merchandise (Austin, Ford ++):
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[Rosco663]

Interesting indeed. I have noticed the lack of vents in the scuttle - could get a little toasty during summer.
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Rosco

[pigtin]

A picture of one I owned 50 odd years ago, if that helps. It shows the scuttle vents.


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Due to the onset of my mid eighties I'm no longer sprightly and rarely seen in my Austin special. I have written a book though. https://amzn.eu/d/7rwRRqL

[TribalElder]

Looking forward to seeing this restoration process in action. Don't be afraid to take the car to Morris Club meets either, people love seeing cars undergoing restoration, even if they are still on the back of a trailer. 2013 is the 100 years of Morris Celebration and there are heaps of events lined up already. I'm taking my Morris 8 Series E to the Canberra National Rally.



Ps. I live in Frankston Victoria, a Member of the Morris Car Club of Victoria.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151213691829563&set=o.137888872962524&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
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Ian from Oz

It's hard to run like an Emu
When you are girt by Numbats

[Rosco663]

[Rosco663]

[ukdave2002]

Hi Rosco

Your car car looks to be in about the same condition as my own Tourer project:D




New reproduction hub caps are available, I think the firm in this link makes them in both stainless steel and chrome.

Look forward to see how your project progresses.

Cheers

Dave

[Rosco663]

Cheers Dave, appreciate the link. How far along is your Tourer?

I will have made some serious inroads in the strip down early in the new year. Then the true extent of the resto will be apparent.
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Rosco

[Rosco663]

It has been a while since my last post, what with with work, Christmas, New Year etc. Also the thought of working on Morrie during heat wave conditions hasn't appealed to me very much. Progress is continuing however at a fairly pedestrian pace. Oh and BTW Happy New Year!!

It sure has been an interesting project so far. Behind the backseat were old chocolate wrappers, a few newspaper pages from the war, several pay packets and even an old black cape! Even found the front cover for the original owners booklet.




The general condition of the interior could only be described as poor but good enough to show details required for rebuild patterns etc. So all had to be removed. The entire interior trim has been removed carefully and stored undercover for patterns and the seats will require retrimming by an upholsterer. These will be the last jobs on the list so I have plenty of time to get these organised as will the folding ragtop and paint.




The floor was found to be almost rotted completly through in the front half which gave great access to master cylinder (sic) so had to be removed. delicately with a jimmy bar and hammer.




A quick tidy up of the shed was in order to make room for more activities. Lots more stripping out continued. The coachbolts holding the wooden body frame to the chassis were siezed solid. The best solution was to drill out the countersink on all bolts. And my son was very fortunate to drop in for a visit as the last one was drilled out. I asked him if he was 'feeling strong' and like all 18 year olds the answer was ' I suppose'. And after some huffing and puffing the majority of the body was lifted off. Due to the construction technique the scuttle remains and this will be the next target for removal. The soldered joins holding the scuttle to the rear section had cracked open as the structure was being manipulated and came apart easily.

One job I was feeling nervous about was the removal of the chassis side plates. I expected to see severe rust damage but what greeted me was very minimal surface rust.

The dry climate in South Australia provides ideal conditions which hinder rust, of which I am glad. The wood rot however continues regardless, this will be the majority of the repair work. The following snaps should help to show the general conditions to date.







The panels and wings will be worked on in due course.



The wheels had several broken spokes and for safety sake have sent spoke samples out for quotes and will have these ordered shortly. So I will be respoking the six wheels I have (two spares). I have brake rebuild rubbers and hoses also a master cylinder pushrod. The two running boards are so badly rusted they are now 'samples only' and due for replacement.

All in all things are going well - further updates will follow.

Catchya all L8R,
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Rosco

[IanAl]

Can't wait to see the progress on these little crackers

[roverdriver]

Nice to see the progress, Roscoe.

You might find the links below of interest- adverts from South Australian newspapers. You might have to move around the page to find the particular advert.
[url]
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/74337842?
[/url]

[/url]http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/74362145?[url]

[/url]http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/74351004?[url]

[/url]http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/40070466?[url]

[/url]http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/74116742?[url][/url]
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.