Back to the Lowlight Tourer
Following a well earned ‘break’ on other projects, such as assisting dad on the 1970 Morris Minor van repaint, it’s now time to restart on the 1950 Lowlight Tourer restoration. Looking back, it’s still astounding to think about the incredible progress that was made during the lockdown. There’s still a lot of work to do and welds to tidy up, but it certainly feels like I’m approaching the home straight.
The first job towards getting the car ready to paint was to get it back onto its suspension. This would enable me to finish the outstanding work on the bodyshell around the engine bay and front bumper mounts, which I could not do easily with the shell in the roll- over jig. Secondly, by getting the car back into a wheelable condition I would also reduce the amount of space it takes up in the shed, as the rollover jig takes up substantially more room than a Morris Minor.
Rather than throw any old suspension onto the car, I thought it best to do the job properly now so that I might be able to avoid dismantling the running gear further down the line. As I have the running gear from the best part of two 1950 Morris Minor Series MMs, I dug all of the bits out of the shed to ascertain which were the best parts to use.
The rear leaf springs had rusted beyond sensible re-use, but knowing this I had obtained a nearly new set of five-leaf saloon springs which were practically ready to fit as they were. I put these on the car with a brand new set of polyurethane bushes, shackles, and front and rear pins. On these springs I attached the back axle – I had already refurbished a Series MM one ready for fitting onto my 1950 saloon, before opting to change tack and fit an A-series engine and matching axle to that. This meant that apart from changing the drums which have been modified with studs rather than the original bolts, I was able to fit this without any further work. I can sort the brakes out later.
Turning my attention to the front suspension, I examined the kingpins and trunnions from both cars to see which were in the best condition and suitable for reuse. One set still has the original bronze trunnions, but these seem quite worn. Because of a different hub assembly, it’s not easy to get new kingpins for an early Minor off the shelf, you have to purchase the later ones and replace the stub axle with one from your old kingpin – not a job for the faint-hearted,
as I believe this involves a lot of heat. Thankfully, of the four kingpins I have, it seems that I have a pair that are reusable. Once again, I had already re-started the process of refurbishing these before changing tack on the previous Series MM restoration. I will take these apart and check them over again though, as I can’t quite remember what was done previously.
Moving forward, I needed to get the torsion bars and other front suspension parts out and inspect them, then clean and paint what is reusable. I also needed to sort out a pair of front dampers; there were quite a few lurking in dad’s loft, so I collected them up to see if any were usable. However, I was surprised to find that the ones I had, presumably the original set, have smaller bodies than the later ones. As I want to keep this car as original as possible, I will try to get them reconditioned. Currently they are locked solid from disuse – I hope this does not render them as scrap. More immediately, I need to complete the repair that was made to the front damper mount on the driver’s side.
Although progress has been somewhat limited, it’s been enjoyable to get cracking on the tourer once again. Once it is back on four wheels, I will need to get the wings, doors and bumpers ready for fitment, which will include grit blasting. To expedite the restoration, I am tempted to outsource this to a local firm.
As ever, there continues to be a fair bit of work to do on the running fleet, with Lily the four door saloon taking the brunt of the miles at the moment. I had a bit of a scare the other day, with an intermittent and terrible screech from the front of the engine. Initially I suspected a bearing was breaking up in the water pump or the alternator, but when I realised it got much worse with the headlights on, I decided it was probably just a slipping fan belt. A few minutes spent tightening it proved that this was indeed the case. It’s great when a fault turns out to be LESS serious than you thought, but that doesn’t happen too often!
I am a little ashamed to say I haven’t got my 1950 Lowlight saloon out from her winterised slumber. I also need to change the engine shortly, because it has a nasty vibration and uses a fair amount of oil. Although I am keen not to do many more miles on the engine until I have sourced a replacement, I will make sure I do get a chance to enjoy her before the season is out. As always, there’s too much to do and not enough time, but I wouldn’t want it any other way!