1936 Morris 8

[Jerry]

I have been working on this car for the last year. I kept taking things apart as I found things that needed fixing, and eventually, it was a frame off. Now I have remade the inner and outer rear fenders. Why? Because in the last 81 years, someone decided to build the inner fenders out of leftover metal with a lot of rivets. Rivets not made in 1936. The outer fender looked like someone forgot which car they were working on. Part looked like a two seater car, and part like a four seater, the edges, never finished. So a start over. It has been fun to figure out how they did the construction at the factory. In the process, I have had the pleasure of emailing with two people, one in England and one in New Zealand about originality questions. The guy in England has been working on these cars for 40 years. He says, beware, most cars you see will not be original anymore. He also had the opportunity to talk to a guy years ago that actually worked in the factory for Morris when they were built. He said one guy worked on the left side, one on the right. They never looked to see if the installation matched the other side. We just found a significant 1/4 inch difference in the inner fender supports. But these cars were a metal frame with wood to support all the rest of the body. Not too surprising according to my pen pal.

A little different working on a car that you can't buy parts out of a catalog. Some parts are available, some are not. The Morris Registry and the leading seller of parts for these cars wont ship to the USA (claim liability issues). So you have to adapt in the restoration. It won't be 100% original when done, but it will be close. There are not even diagrams showing the original build shape.

Fun.

Jerry

 

[JPSmit]

fabulous! More pictures please I am absolutely in awe of this type of project! Thanks for sharing

 

[waltesefalcon]

Jerry, It looks like you are doing a great job. I too look forward to more photos and updates.

 

[Jerry]

Actually, that picture is a BEFORE picture. I had not downloaded my phone with the changes to the car. Here are more pictures. The wood had to be rebuilt for the whole rear of the car. My wife is measuring to make sure we are ready to install the new inner fender I made.


Here are two pictures of painted pieces. The fenders are black on all these cars. The body is RED,Green, Blue, Black with matching interior. Those are the only choices the car came out of the factory. I think this car was originally green. I found some of the paint on the frame. The green is UGLY. I needed some touch up paint for one of my other red cars so decided to go with that color for the body. Now I have to make the drivers side rear panel for the car. I am hoping to get it done today! But since I am not an expert with metal, I go back and correct a few things each day. This is the second rear panel, and the goal is to match the other side. They may not match another Morris 8 but the chances of seeing two anywhere together is very slim. It will be close.
Jerry

 

[Bayless]

Just lovely.

 

[waltesefalcon]

That looks like some good wood work you've done there and that fender looks superb.