Tourers and Convertibles

The Tourers and Convertibles are probably the most popular of the Minors, but they also happen to be the most affected by rust. If you are looking to buy one of these cars then it really does pay to know what and where to look for signs of dangerous rot. You don't want to end up buying a beautiful new Convertible and have it doing this when you jack it up for the first time ...

So, what do you look for? Well, here's an article taken from a 1986 issue of Minor Matters, the magazine of the Morris Minor Owners Club in the UK. Neil Cairns takes you through the whys and wherefores of rusty Convertibles.

THE TOURER AND CONVERTIBLE
By Neil Cairns
(click on the diagrams for larger versions)

It is very easy to suppose that the convertible is just a two door saloon with the roof chopped off (a tourer is a car with side screens, a convertible one with fixed side windows, by the way). The convertible would very soon shake itself to pieces if it was only a chopped saloon. It has some reinforcement. This consists of two triangular bracing brackets, of thick metal each side of the dash. This is to stop the dashboard shaking about with no roof (a bit like putting a piece of wood across a corner of a frame you may be making).

The second area for extra strength is the door 'B' post: this is the one the door shuts against. It has a brace at the inner side, at its base, stiffening it against the inner sill. Both this and the triangular bracing is easily seen. The bit that cannot be seen easily, is the extra inner sill. This is a four foot long very thick piece of metal, welded inside the normal sill. This bit is a vital part, as it strengthens the floor.

Under the bonnet, the data plate should have the code M/AT, with a number 3 or 5 after, followed by a long number (this is the later system, MM's have a different code). A convertible fitted with welded-on sill cover panels, which are great for hiding rust, should be avoided at all costs. It is a car that just will not tolerate corrosion in that sill, so it must ALL be in tip-top condition. Insist on having the kick plates removed for an inner sill examination if you go to buy a convertible (unless you know and accept it needs a full rebuild).

As the car has no roof, this causes odd faults. One is the doors - these have a really rough time. They are often split. The centre of the outer door panel often bulges as the door twists and the door frame 'steady' (fitted inside the door to steady the outer skin) forces the skin outwards. This can be seen on the 'wing' line that continues into the door as cracked paint, or at worst, a bulge. Under heavy braking, the gap at the top of the door can open out more, up to 1/8th of an inch. If the door latch has been fitted wrongly, the doors can fly open. This door opening is also a sign that the sill is rotten. With four adults in the car, with the car parked, see if both doors open and close well. If the top of the door hits the side window frame, or the 'curved' rear edge of the door overlaps its counterpart on the rear side panel, that car is rotten, and needs a lot of welding. Try jacking up the car, with a friend sitting in the boot (lid open of course). If the door opens without even pulling the handle, again it needs a lot of welding.

The doors give away a multitude of faults. The gaps around them tell a story as well. The front edge of the door should be parallel with the windscreen. It may not be parallel with the wing, as people often fit wings badly. If the door is parallel with the windscreen, about 1/8th of an inch away, look at the rear edge. Look at the door bottom, is it sitting on top of the sill, or overlapping it? Rotten sills again, as the car is bent. This can be confirmed with the door top being lower than the rear side window frame.

Now take hold of the rear bumper, by the mounting points; it matters not which one. With the boot lid opened, but laying on its latch, pull up and down on that bumper. Watch that boot lid. Does the gap either side of it alter? Any more than a 1/16th of an inch and the car has rot somewhere, usually in the rear spring hangers and sills (again!). Some repaired cars have door gaps that are too large. This is probably because the garage, or DIY chap, jacked the car underneath too much. If the door gaps are too wide, they can fly open under heavy braking. A trick often done is to pack out the hinges a bit, and the door striker plate as well. This ensures the door shuts O.K. but the gaps are still too big ... the cure is to have the sill cut and re-welded, with the correct gap.

A saloon, with its tank-like roof, can absorb quite a lot of rot before it looks dangerous. The convertible cannot, which is obvious to many. You must look under a convertible, it MUST be good underneath, it must have a complete inner sill. The hood should be a tight fit, no sags. Again this is a sign of a sagging car, or a badly fitted hood. The rear edge of the hood fits onto a wooden former screwed to the rear shelf. The front 'brow' is wood too. Old convertible hood frames become very rattly and loose. Tightening up the rivets with a hammer and dolly helps.

Beware the cut down two door. It has a different windscreen top profile. Accept the fact that the car is a modified two door, and not a real convertible. If the conversion has been done correctly, then the car will give you as much enjoyment as any convertible. A badly carried out conversion at best will fall in half in the driveway, at worst it will kill you. No one can drive a car that flexes so much that it steers itself. It can be difficult to get insurance for such radically modified cars.

Driving an open-topped car is different. It is NOT cold, as the side windows and windscreen duct the air over the front seat passengers. But those in the rear get a blast from behind, as the air drops down in a 'vortex' into the car. Very fast driving can rip the hood out of rotten wooden brows and rear formers, as the air sucks it upwards. An open window relieves this, but drops the top speed a little (more drag). The car does flex. The driver will see the windscreen pillar remain steady as the door appears to move a little, out of the corner of his eye, on rough roads. You can 'feel' the car twisting, but it is very reassuring to know the structure is safe, as you have checked it. I hope.

Convertibles that have been thrashed about crack in odd places. One area is around the clutch bushes in the chassis legs, on both sides (LHD cars use the other leg). Cracks can be found adjacent to the area where the dash joins the chassis legs, on the inside edge. The eye bolt holes have been known to crack, as have the inner front wings, by the dampers (this may be more due to 'yumping' the car and the bump stop hitting the inner wing). Boot hinges can break, as the boot lid hole flexes. Boot latch wear is very common, and even the boot hinge pins have been known to vibrate out, to be discovered on the next opening of the boot lid!

So, in a nutshell, beware the convertible, it's a different animal to the roofed, tamed model.

N.B. The Traveller has the same inner sill reinforcing, as it too is almost roofless, with the wooden back end and aluminium top.