new member w/ a Morris J2

[FinnedAgain]

I'm Fred from Overland Park, KS/Kansas City area of the USA. I just joined in hopes of getting some info & advice on fixing up a Morris J2 panel van I just bought a few weeks ago. I found it on Craigslist back in April & remember seeing a few posts on here about it. I don't know what year it is, only that the number is J2/VMI42674. I don't know the engine size either but hear it's on the block somewhere.

Overall the body is in pretty nice shape. Just a couple dings here & there. The front floors are rusted through & the cargo floor has a few pinholes & weak areas. It is left hand drive w/ 1 cargo door on the right side. The right side wheels are both locked up & the back glass is broken out. I've never been much of a mechanic but it looks much more simple than anything else I've ever owned.

Anyway I guess some questions I have is where would be a good place to start? I would like to see if it will run but figure I will need to change the oil, new oil filter, spark plugs, battery and ??? It has no key so an ignition switch is needed that has one. It is missing a rear taillight assembly, rear bumpers (chrome), & needs a front blinker lense as well. The window seals are pretty bad. Are there new ones out there? Also at some point I'm sure I will have to go through the brakes & figure out why the the right wheels won't turn (unless it's in park, I have no idea). I wouldn't mind finding a shop manual as well. Anyway I don't know what else to say but look forward to trying to get it going again! Let me know if you have any tips or ideas on where to get parts! Thanks!

Fred

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Welcome, Fred!

Looks like you have quite a project on your hands - but what a great toy and workhorse that will be!

Don't have any info for you, but I'm sure some of our members will pop in with some help.
You might also make a post in the "Other British Cars" section as well.

For trying to bring it back to life, check out Moderator Tony's great article on his website here.


Mickey

 

[longbridgehealey]

Hi Fred, and welcome to the Forum! Looks like you've got yourself a project there! Good luck, and keep posting those pictures.

Larry

 

[Roger]

Welcome Fred, and good luck. I well remember these vans - I was still living in England when they were at their zenith.
As I remember they shared quite a few components with contemporary BMC cars - they used the 'B' series engine for example, like Oxfords and Cambridges and MGA and MGB, though their owners, while mocking Triumph for their tractor engine, don't like to be reminded.

 

[TR3driver]

For trying to bring it back to life, check out Moderator Tony's great article on his website here.

Phew! Well, opinions vary as always. I followed a little different philosophy when bringing my 57 TR3 back to life. I had no idea of what condition the engine had been in, or what had happened in 30 years of indifferent storage ... it was parked in a rickety old garage not far from Pasadena but the white gardenias were dead

So, I pulled the plugs, made sure there was some oil in it, and spun it with the starter till the pressure came up. Put some new plugs in, and commenced trying to get it to run. Once it fired, I only let it run a few seconds, just long enough to note no bad noises and firing on all 4. Then I shut it down and commenced with all the other stuff; cleaning out the cooling system and so on. Lots of work to be done, but firing the engine first gave me confidence that it wasn't wasted effort.

PS, Welcome to the Forum, Fred. Looks like a fun project you've got there!