An Introduction: Chris Collins and Morris Tilly Project

[Lionelgee]

Hello Jack and Chris,

So if the tilly has been on the road for two years it could mean that you have had that long to work on other projects. If so, could you please detail them?

Does anyone know what happened to Colin and his thorough work on the Vickers tanks? It has been far too long on those posts too!

Kind regards
Lionel

[jack neville]

Haven’t been idle Lionel. Been working on a few No.27 limbers and trying to get a hot rod for a mate out of the way plus a few other distractions.
Keen to get Tilly 2 started as a lot of parts were done during the first resto so once the chassis is sorted there is plenty to bolt straight on.

[jack neville]

So having finally sorted computer problems out I can continue updates on Tilly Two known as Milly. Chassis was mostly stripped awhile ago and it sat on stands outside my shed although undercover. The last bits were removed by Chris, these being dash wiring and firewall fittings which had been left to copy so everything on Scrappy was refitted as it should. Getting Milly into the shed for examination revealed her to be far worse than we had ever noticed. Rust in the floor and sills is extensive. Half the battery shelf has disappeared and had a large patch over it. This was removed and an interesting item discovered
(more about that later),

[jack neville]

The biggest problem was the vehicle had been in a collision taking a hit on the left side just behind the B pillar. The left chassis rail was pushed in and the rear floor buckled. This had never been straightened but cosmetic repairs had been carried out and the full extent of the damage disguised. This vehicle was actually a runner when we first purchased it so the realignment of the rear axle cant have been too bad but it was obvious.
Problem was the fragile condition of the vehicle meant trying to push out the chassis damage with a Porta Power meant there was nothing strong enough on the right side to push off.
The rear cross member was also rusted out and needed replacing but fortunately the rear floor chassis section was still good so I decided the drill the spot welds and remove the floor panel so it could be straightened individually.
I could the fabricate a new cross member and with these parts removed it meant the rear chassis rails could be more flexible.

[jack neville]

With the floor removed I welded some bracing to hold the remainder in shape to prevent hopefully any dramas from being rolled around at my sandblasters.

[jack neville]

I thought it looked bad before it went to the sandblasters but what was revealed on return was even worse but at least it was clear what we were up against.

[jack neville]

It was clear the rust was worse than we thought.