First Restoration Advice - Morris Minor Traveller

[Tepper]

A good friend and I have recently rented this council lock-up and have been thinking about how to fill it:


We were thinking about a Morris Minor because from what I've read they're reasonably simple to work on and parts availability/general support is good. As luck would have it, the friend's dad told us about a nearby barn that contains... a lovely Minor Traveller and a very rusty Herald convertible. The Minor is under a cover but we had a quick peek underneath it and the woodwork that we can see seems to be in reasonable condition (obviously this may turn out not to be the case). The barn is dry but the car hasn't been on the road probably for the better part of 20 years.

I've read a couple of buyers' guides regarding what to look for, if we manage to get to the bottom of who the car belongs to we'll give it a proper look over. The thing I'm most concerned about is the woodwork, I think if that's not rotten and the chassis isn't too far gone it'll be worth saving. I should say that neither of us are experienced welders, but we both have a reasonable degree of mechanical experience.

So the golden question... Is it doable to learn as we go trying to get the car back on the road? Is a Minor a good choice? And does anyone have experience of restoring a car in a garage this small?

I'll get pictures up as soon as we go for another look.

If we got it looking anything like this one I'd be happy - I really like the look of the wire wheels on it.

[Jizmondo Scrotmondo]

If you get no luck with the traveller, I'd go for either a Mini or another Moggy.

I've said Mini as they're tiny which is ideal for that lock-up, parts are plentiful, they're a doddle to work on and they're perfect for a first time resto.

Ideally you want a runner which isn't a dissolving rust heap so you can tackle any minor welding and you have an engine already running to start with

[composimmonite]

Check the T&C for the lock-up before you start work.
I rent one from the council and there is a strict "no working on cars etc" policy otherwise tennancy will be termninated immediatley.

Paul H

[stealthstylz]

The wood is the main part of a Traveller to check. If it's all solid the rest is pretty simple. The wood is expensive to replace.

[Tepper]

I just re-read all the paperwork and I didn't spot anything that's going to be a problem. Also when I signed the paperwork I had a good chat with the council garage bloke who seemed happy with the idea of the garage being used for a project like this. The garage is certainly smaller than I'd imagined! Another issue is that there's no power, so I'm guessing we'd need a fairly hefty generator for any welding work. One thing's for sure, it's going to be a pretty steep learning curve!

[fogey]

By far the best way to learn is to get stuck in and try. There's a wealth of talent and experience on this site to help out whenever necessary - best thing to do is stick up a build thread and let us all see how you're progressing.

[grizz]

Mar 31, 2013 18:51:17 GMT stealthstylz said:

The wood is the main part of a Traveller to check. If it's all solid the rest is pretty simple. The wood is expensive to replace.

Hi Matt, does the wood on these not also have a structural function ?
It is not cosmetic only like stick on vinyl ?

I have no idea why I think that, but it seems logical.

[fred]

I think it does have some structural function
maybe wrong but back in the day my old dad had one
and mr MOT man failed it for rotten wood

[Tepper]

Thanks for the replies everyone. On the Minor Travellers the wood DOES play a structural role, which you can see if you look at pictures of the wood being replaced. Interestingly on the Mini Countryman which looks similar the wood doesn't have any structural purpose - it's basically a van with wood stuck on.

I've spent my evening reading about various aspects of moggie restoration/ownership and I'm feeling positive about giving it a go. My friend's dad is going to speak to the people who own the barn on Tuesday and with any luck I'll be able to have a better look at it and get some pictures up after that. A build thread will certainly happen if we decide to take it on.

[dave80]

wheeler dealers on discovery channel did a traveller the other week,they replaced all the wood on that.was a good watch and might give you an idea of whats involved.

[stefan]

I started my first resto age 13 with a welder and grinder I had for Christmas, then just learn on the job, plenty of research.

[luckyjim]

my advice is don't strip it down too much,and just concentrate on small areas at a time.a first restoration can easily become overwhelming and then you will just lose heart.don't set out to build a show car,just do essential repairs and have some fun with it then take it from there.oh and make sure anything you remove is well labelled and boxed,it will save you lots of stress later when you are reassembling.good luck and have fun with it.