Protecting ash bodywork on Morris Minors

[Mister S]

I'm thinking of getting a Morris Minor Traveller and I've been doing some research. They look great, but I'm wary of the effect that the Great British climate has on the exposed ash woodwork. The woodwork is structural and has to be in good condition - it's part of the MOT.

The owners club recommends rubbing down and re-varnishing every year, preferably with a micro-porous varnish. They also suggest possibly using micro-porous varnish on the interior and non-porous on the exterior. The reasoning is that most water is kept out of the joints / wood, but if any does get in, it can dry out into the interior of the car. This might work, but that is a lot of rubbing down and varnishing :shock: . It also means rubbing down the wood which is right next to the paintwork - not for the fainthearted!

The largest specialist/dealer in the UK recommends (and they use) danish/teak oil only, with annual applications. They think that you can't stop water getting into the exposed joints (and there are a lot of them!) and varnish traps the water in the wood and makes it rot faster.

But is danish oil suitable for external use?

Cheers
Steve

 

[undergroundhunter]

You can get external Danish oil, I think its Rustins who make it, I will see if I can find a link.

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p79...=25046315303&gclid=CL735O-F6LwCFWITwwodzDwA5w

Got one.

Matt

 

[Jacob]

If you want it to stay looking varnished then you have to do as the man says. It doesn't weather well. NB "microporous" means nothing - all paints and varnishes are permeable to a greater or lesser extent.
I'd go with the oil idea. No point in danish oil particularly - raw linseed will do. Dilute half n half with turps and it will run into the cracks and crevices a lot better.

 

[Mister S]

Thanks for the replies - and the link to the external danish oil. I'm more interested in keeping the wood in good condition rather than any particular "look". Oil sounds like the best way to go.

cheers
Steve

 

[Steve Maskery]

Morris Travellers are beautiful cars, but just remember that there is a reason why the construction method died out...
S

 

[Mister S]

Yes I know. Beautiful, but high maintenance :wink:

A replacement frame including fitting is about £2500 + vat :shock:

All the more reason to maintain it well. Or, just go for a saloon!

Cheers
Steve

 

[RogerS]

Well, if ash is still good enough for Morgan Cars ..........

 

[AndyT]

Aw c'mon now... £2.5k!! Paying someone else to do woodwork!!

Back in 1951 this would have been a diy project - this is from The Woodworker in March 1951 and will tell you all you need to know. (Actually, there was one more single page of instructions - you might need to work out some of the details for yourself...)

This was actually suggesting that you build a whole new body to sit on your retained chassis and engine. The framing was oak, ash, beech or maple, with 1/4" plywood or hardboard to fill in the panels!

Sadly, the article omitted to mention any recommended finishes... :wink:

 

[Woodchips2]

Well, if ash is still good enough for Morgan Cars ..........

May be worth ringing Morgan Cars and asking how they preserve theirs. I visited their factory last year for a guided tour but can't remember if they told us how they preserved the wood.
Regards Keith

 

[Mister S]

Morgan cars! I never thought of that. Actually, there is a Morgan dealer where I live in Southport. I might give them a ring tomorrow and see what they say.

Cheers
Steve

 

[dickm]

Had a couple of Minor Travellers, back in the 1960s, with all their lovely ash woodwork. Which is probably why I've subsequently driven Volvos or VWs....................... :evil:

 

[SammyQ]

Dick?

Your sentimentality is surely influencing you into suppressing that horrible VW beetle moment, when you had a front flat and you had just jacked it up, only to hear that rending, crunching, tearing sound as the jack (and the jacking point) went vertically through the floorpan and the car subsided round it? THAT was why we always carried a foot square of three-quarter ply.....Don't you remember the four tons of gravel needed to hold down the front in high winds? Gravel (or breeze blocks) that then condensated like mad and rotted the top of the tank? The spare wheel well that lovingly garnered all the condensate that you put in there with the stop at every red light and which then made lace curtains under your spare wheel? That and the fact the air-cooled engine meant no heat round your feet in winter until you had done ten miles flat out?

I remember well driving my VW 'Bessie' for four years, crossing Norn Iron's mountain roads every day of those years, but there is - with deep respect to you - no way I personally would equate Dr. Porche's Peoples' car sucessor with the tank-derivitive Swedish hunk!

Sam

 

[MIGNAL]

Or you could go the boat/spar varnish route. I think a lot of it has UV inhibitors. Most Spar varnish is what they term a long Oil varnish, which means to say that the resin content is anything under 50%. That gives the finished film a certain flexibility, needed when wood is subject to varying humidity/temperature and the sun occasionally blazing on it. The Oil content is usually Tung oil, which has a reputation for doing well under water.
I recently bought a tin of Hempels 'classic', which is like an old fashioned boat varnish that uses Copal resin. Hempels, Epifanes, Le Tonkinois are all Spar varnishes with good reputations. Might not be the cheapest but a tin will last a long time on the small amount of wood on a Minor. If it's good enough for expensive boats that are subject to some pretty harsh conditions, it should be fine on dry land.

 

[Halo Jones]

The woodwork is structural and has to be in good condition - it's part of the MOT.

I thought cars of this age were now exempt from MOTs?
I'm probably the wrong end of the country but my dad has had a morris traveller sitting in the garage for the last 20 years and is looking to get rid of it. I guess he would be up for offers?!

He did it up beautifully for my mum when I was a teenager but my my mum stopped driving many years ago and although it has been garaged the laminated rear posts rotted and the car now needs quite a bit of work. The only woodwork needing done is the posts (but I am guessing other parts of the chassis will be needing work).

Still. I loved riding about in that car in the early 90's. Felt pretty cool \/

H.

 

[RogerS]

...... Felt pretty cool \/

H.

Ah that would have been the wind coming in through the rust holes :wink:

 

[Mister S]

Varnishing is the traditional way, but it means rubbing down right next to where the painted panels join the wood frame. The chance of scratching is quite high - that's why I was wondering about oil rather than varnish. I've even seen examples where the glass has been scratched when the wood has been sanded down :shock:

Halo- thanks for the offer of help in sourcing a car, but as you say it would be too far for me. I'm also looking for one that doesn't need too much restoration. I think it's cars that are pre 1960 that are MOT exempt, so it would depend on the age of the Traveller. They were made right up to 1971 I think.

I'm sure I read somewhere that after a certain date (can't remember what date exactly) that Morris moved from solid rear posts to laminated and the laminated ones don't last as long).

cheers
Steve

 

[MIGNAL]

Keep adding enough of it and even a drying Oil will eventually build as a film. Varnish is nothing more than Oil with an added resin. Thin the Varnish and you can rub it on with a cloth. That's what virtually all Danish Oil is, a thinned down Oil Varnish.
Maybe mask the metal right next to the woodwork. That should protect it enough to sand down.

 

[Mister S]

Thanks Mignal

That sounds logical. I was planning (if I get one) to do just that, with masking tape and cardboard for protection. Thanks for the tips on the best varnish to use.

So, to sum up the replies so far: :wink:

Oil is good.
So is varnish, especially the good ones.

Alternatively, buy a VW/Volvo

Cheers
Steve




















So to sum up the advice so far,