Morris Minor Split Screen 1956

Sarah purchased her dream car, fond memories of driving a Morris Minor many years before steered her to buying a 1956 Split Screen.

Not long after purchase she brought the car to us and we were lucky enough to take on all of the cosmetic restoration.

On a brief inspection it was clear to see that there was going to be some nasty surprises, as with many classic cars the paint had been touched in over and over again building up thick layers of paint, which was cracking with some nasty brown rust stains on.

Once we stripped the car down the damage could be seen in its entirety. It was the start of an extensive refurbishment.

As you can see in some of the photos, sadly the car was close to not being save-able and was so extensively rusty that only a handful of panels have remained untouched.

Refurbishment to the body has included us sourcing a selection of original, pattern panels as well as a lot of hand fabricated panels and parts.

The restoration went into thousands of hours and was an absolute labour of love.

We used a great process for the bodywork of soda blasting before welding. Followed by etch priming and filling. Then we coated the car in a polyester primer, followed by two coats of 2 pack primer then a base coat and thick clear coat.

Each coat was rubbed down before the next and we finished with around 20 hours polishing! As you can see it was more than worth it.

All the chrome has been either replaced or re chromed, even the super rare split screen chrome edge trim has been beautifully re finished, chromed and carefully re fitted. Days worth of care went into this process alone. We handmade a number of the clips and finishers which secure it, this way we could control the finish and avoid any old and pitted parts.

By choice the interior was kept mostly original. We sympathetically replaced single strips of seat leather and re-dyed them to match using the same types of leather, and leather dyes used on classic cars of this age to control the finish. It’s sometimes harder to repair something, and give it that well used patina, than it is to replace it to look new.

We used a number of different materials and techniques in order to achieve this.

We pride ourselves on the belief that a badly restored car looks like patchwork, it is of ultimate importance to us that the finish of any work we do is in keeping or better than the manufacturers.

This was one of the most satisfying builds we have done, from a tarnished rusty shell to the lovely complete car we see today.

We would love to help you with your classic or cherished car, whether that be a Morris or anything else.

We would love to know what you’re aiming to achieve and would happily advise you. We would love to see some pictures of any builds you are working on at the moment.

Even if you’re just looking for advice, why not give us a call…