Time to replace the boot handle and seal up the leaky windscreen.
December 24th 2019
It's Christmas Eve and nothing much to do other than take the Morris out for a nice drive in the country. Seems a shame to waste this rare bit of sunshine we're having! First of all I need to give the car a quick wash because it's covered in dust from when I was sanding that spare wheel down. A quick half-hour splash and it's looking much better so off we go for a quick trip out to a local country park, but not before putting my new set of cushions on the back seat - an early Christmas present from my wife...
After returning home I decided to fit the new boot handle which I'd bought as new/old stock from eBay. I've never had a key for the boot lock since buying the car but the old handle was so worn that it was possible to force open the lock whenever I needed access to the boot. Not ideal!
First I removed the old handle and then took out the threaded studs for use in the new one. These were very tight so to avoid damaging the threads I screwed two nuts tightly together on each stud and used these to turn the stud out of the handle.
The square rod on the new handle was about an inch too long, I assume the same type of handle was used on a number of different cars back in the day so they have to be trimmed down to suit the application. After carefully measuring the old one, I used a hacksaw to trim it to the correct length before filing away any burrs that were left.
Before fitting the new handle to the boot lid, I packed it with fresh grease as the grease already inside was getting a little dry. Then I put a few drops of light oil into the lock tumbler to ensure a smooth operation before fitting everything back to the car.
Once fitted, I noticed a slight bit of play in the boot lid when it was locked. What I mean by that is there was some movement when you pulled on the handle so I slackened off the three bolts on the catch and adjusted it inwards slightly before re-tightening. Now the boot lid is held tightly against its seal without any free play. Much better!
Next it was time to tackle the leaking windscreen with my new tube of butyl rubber sealant. Over the years I think a lot of damp dirt has worked its way underneath the windscreen rubber so I need to try to clean that out before pumping the sealant in. I used a plastic trim removal tool to pry up the seal before using another trim tool to push a piece of rag underneath. Then I dragged it around the edge of the seal and sure enough, I was able to clean out a lot of damp gunge.
Once everything was ready I pushed the nozzle of my sealant gun under the edge of the seal and slowly worked my way around the screen, pumping it full of rubber solution and then pressing everything down firmly. Any rubber that splurged out of the sides was carefully cleaned off, a very messy job!
Before refitting the centre trim piece I also ran two beads of sealant down the centre section to ensure that no water can creep in through this vulnerable spot.
It took about an hour to finish and clean up any overspill but finally the job was complete. Next time it rains I'll be able to check if my handiwork has solved the problem!
One more little job before I pack up for the day... A while back I bought a bottle of cutting compound, applicators and cloths. Most of the paintwork on this car is quite dull and covered in swirl marks so I thought, bit by bit, I would work my way around trying to polish them out. Now is as good a time as any, so I thought I'd tackle the bonnet. I started with the right-side and methodically worked the compound into the paintwork before buffing it out with a microfibre cloth. I was very impressed with the results so continued with the other side. This car is far from perfect with plenty of blemishes on the bodywork but on the whole it will look much better once everything has been polished up like this!
As for my next job? Well I have a tyre on order for my refurbished spare wheel so once that has arrived I'll have to arrange to get it fitted at the local garage. I'll post an update on this in the near future.