Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Removing rear light stalks

There is corrosion on the panel round the rear light stalks. To do a good repaint the stalks need to be removed, is this a difficult job? I took out the boot liner & there is an inner skin hiding the mounting & wiring. At 7 years old it looks like the small screws to remove the inner panel will be a struggle to get out. Any tips for the job?

I guess the screws that hold that inner panel in place might need to be drilled out if they very corroded. One of the first jobs I did on mine when I got it was to replace them with stainless steel ones. Using mild steel screws in a location like this where they are guaranteed to get a regular soaking is very poor practice. Probably a 30p saving per car for MMC though. Once the inner panel is removed then I believe the stalks can be easily unbolted.

They are only self tappers into wood so they should come out relatively easily even if corroded. Replace with matching stainless though.

There is often trouble caused when screwing in to wood on outdoor jobs. The corrosion one is obvious but less so is the fact that hardwoods will get a really good grip on the screws after a few years and stainless in not very strong giving rise to screws breaking off when you try to get them out - I have a solid oak camper van and the stainless screws invariably snap off when I want to get them out. A good alternative is something like this :- https://www.tcfixings.co.uk/main/pr...mm-Wood-To-Metal-Furniture-Dowels-BZP/1. You can then use anti seize compound on the nuts or better still stainless dome nuts.

When I removed the rear lights on my car the light stalk tube was seized inside the bodywork support. I would suggest a good soak with some penetrating fluid before starting as the light assemblies are fairly delicate and don't take kindly to a "big shifter". Some anti-seize grease on re-assembly naturally.

Good tip Phil. And Bunny, you are correct, replacing them should be done.

When I had mine apart I was so horrified at how poorly that panel was installed. They did not pre drill the steel panel and apparently just powered through it with the self tapping screw. In any case they missed the wood in one spot and just clipped the edge splitting out the wood. All the others were just screwed into the hard dry wood and caused splitting because of them not being drilled with a pilot hole. Really a shameful execution of the install.

That area would benefit from an ABS plastic liner, a clear one so the craftsmen (I use the term loosely) could see where they are putting the screws.

yes! I have had brass screws snap just trying to get them on oak furniture I was making