This is an imported English car and has the original 1098cc engine and the baulk rink syncro ribbed case gearbox (i.e the one where the syncro works!).
I bought this fully restored (or so I thought at the time).
The body is very good, but the wood rot is progressing.
It has had a few mechanical problems, but I am working on these.
This certificate from the Morris Minor Car Club of Tasmania was one of the first produced.
The photo is taken in Bracken Lane in Fern Tree, Tasmania.
Note the certificate number!!!
Just after I had the motor restored, a 5 tonne truck with a 3 ton trailer didn't bother to stop when I stopped at an orange light in South Hurstville.
The Traveller was pushed right across the intersection, and Kerry and I received slight whiplash injuries.
The insurance paid me out, and I am waiting for the wood to arrive from England.
The wood has finally arrived from England, and all the broken bits have been removed.
Some of the new wood has been placed in position, and the roof is held up (just) by the right hand rear pillar.
The new wood has now been installed, and I have started to sand back the old woodwork, in an attempt to ensure that the new wood blends in with the old wood.
Some of the wood is original, and the varnish is very hard to remove.
The wood which has been replaced has a much newer varnish, and is much easier to remove.
Now all the sanding is complete, so the next stage is to apply the first coat of varnish.
This will be a marine grade ultra-violet proof type, and will be done in controlled conditions in a spray painters booth.
Today I took the Traveller to a spray booth at a panel beating shop.
The rear doors and panels were removed, the woodwork given a final sand down, dusted off, and then I finally started to apply the varnish.
The Traveller will sit in the spray booth all weekend, and then will go back to the Morris Minor World till I have time to apply the second coat, which again will be done in the spray booth.
It looks really good, with the new wood not to dissimilar in appearance to the old wood.
This is the Traveller on the street, just before I drove it round to the panelbeaters, gave it a quick sand and then applied the second coat of varnish.
After a third coat, scheduled for Friday 6 July 2007, the panels will be resprayed, and then we can start putting the whole car back together at last.
The painting of the panel behind the bumber bar, the right hand rear side and the rear door panels (not shown) has been completed, and the Traveller is back at Morris Minor World. The next step is to mount the door frames and then install the rear panels and the rear glass.
The door frames are now mounted, and look really good. Unfortunately the top hinge on the right hand side will need a bit of adjustment.
New brackets for the wooden floor support have now been welded in place, and the original wood replaced. The photo shows the boot floor all cleaned out, and the centre support for the floor resting in place.
These photos show the new tow bar and bike beak as well. With the beak in place, only the right hand door can be opened. If the beak is removed as in the second photo, both doors can be opened.
Of course, if there are bikes on the bike beak, then the doors will not be able to be opened.
Next step is to adjust the top RH side door hinge, then fit the bottom panels and the locking mechanism.
All being well, the car should be in my garage in a couple of weeks.
Tonight I adjusted to top right hand door hinge, and then installed the bottom panels in the rear doors, followed by the door furniture and stays. As you can see from the picture, the Traveller is now looking really good.
The next step is to fit the dust seals and then to wire in the tail and indicator lights.
The photo shows Alan from Morris Minor World and David Edwards
The tail and indicator lights are now wired up, and the wiring for the numberplates lights ready to install.
The next step is to wash the car and then take some photos for the insurance company.
Once it is insured, I can then drive it home!!!
At home, I will then tidy the inside up and install the floor.
Now everything is ready for the insurance, after I cleaned and washed the car today.
The photo shows Alan's young friend Jake with the cleaned Traveller.
For all Morris Minor repairs, I can recommend Alan Hall at Morris Minor World in North Parramatta, Sydney Australia
On Friday, I arranged to insure the Traveller, and was able to drive it home to West Ryde with my bike on the bike beak.
Since the car came home, I have fitted the rubber grommets to the bumper bar mounts, installed the number plate lights, cleaned the rear glass and varnished the wooden bits which hold them in, fitted the new (proper) rear door handle, and repaired the hinges on the rear seat. I have also worked out how to access the spare tyre, which is too big to slide out from under the floor.
In the 2 weeks since the car has been at West Ryde, I have completed the boot floor, installed the back of the rear seat, installed and adjusted the new, correct style, rear door handle and installed the rear window glass.
The spare wheel, now fitted with a 155 x 14" radial tyre on a standard 3 1/2" Morris Minor rim, lifts out through the boot floor, which is hinged at the front.
I have discovered a small amount of distortion in the rear left hand side panel where the fuel filler passes through it. This will be fixed and the panel resprayed.
Today Kerry and I went to visit Ken and Aida Dudley in Sylvania, which is where we were going in February before the accident.
This was the first outing for the Traveller after the side panel paintwork was completed.
After riding round Bicentenial Park with the usual gang, we travelled off to Globe Battery Sales & Service in Padstow for the annual Morris Minor Car Club of NSW "Service Day".
Unfortunately the bikes on the back provided a bit too much torque on the new tow bar when I went over a speed bump leaving Bicentenial Park, and we arrived with the bikes leaning well back.
Much useful help and advice was provided by other MMCC-NSW members, and it was a very slow trip home that afternoon.
It was really gratifying to receive the next issue of Minor Torque, and to see that the Traveller was a front cover star.
Check out the MMCC-NSW web site to find details of other minor events.
I picked up this heritage certificate at the British Motor Heritage Trust not far from Birmingham.
Interestingly, the colour of the car was originally Almond Green. Ron Middleton confirmed that he had changed the colour when I saw him on Xmas Eve 2007.
Check out their web site if you interested in British cars:
http://www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk/
After 3 days back in North Parramatta, I picked up the Traveller from the Morris Minor Centre on Friday afternoon.
Alan and Tom had done some great work on the tow bar, and it is now strong enough to support the bikes.
Alan also managed to fix the front suspension rattle - the Traveller now drives like a new car!!!
These photos were taken from Meadowbank Park, which is overlooked by our new unit.
In January 2007, not long before the accident, I had a puncture, and ended up buying 2 new 165R14 radial tyres from Marks and Wallings Tyres Pty Ltd in West Ryde to replace 2 of the 4 175R14 radial retreads that had been fitted to the car when I bought it. The new tyres were fitted to the front wheels.
Today I went back to Marks and Wallings Tyres and purchased another pair of 165R14 radial tyres to replace the old 175R14 retreads on the rear.
Greg Hague remembered the car from January, and changed the tyres without using a power wrench while I watched. He did a great job, including balancing them.
The new tyres are Marangonis from Italy, and they are directional. Once they have bedded in, I will transfer them to the front of the car.
This photograph was taken at a well known winery in Rutherglen, Victoria.
Their wines are very good, and the staff is very friendly.
Check out their website:
http://www.morriswines.com/
At the end of our 2008 world trip, on the day Kerry and I flew back from Los Angeles to Sydney, we visited Randolph Williams in Los Angeles.
Randolph loves Morris Minors, and has lovingly restored many cars. One of his latest restorations was a Morris Minor 1000 Traveller, and I felt very privileged as he let me drive it through some quiet back streets. It felt quite strange to drive a left hand drive Traveller.
Randolph has a website with lots of interesting information about Morris Minors, not only in California but in Scandinavia and England as well. Check it out at:
After my daughter Victoria's wedding in Burnie on 3rd January 2009, I drove the Traveller back to Sydney, stopping at that well known winery in Rutherglen again.
Unfortunately, I only had room for 6 bottles of their excellent red wine, but I did manage to take another photo. You can see from the photo why there was no room.
The Traveller has now been serviced, with just a few minor problems fixed up, and I will spend the next few months tidying it up in preparation for the drive to Brisbane for the 14th Australian National Morris Minor Rally at Easter. Check out the website at:
Kerry and I had a fantastic time at the 2009 Morris Minor Rally in Brisbane.
We had a leisurely trip up from Sydney, stopping in Newcastle, Coffs Harbour and Ballina before arriving at Rally headquarters on the morning of Good Friday.
I was entrant number 173, with about 200 entrants all told. The Traveller was entered in the Maintained Class for Morris 1000s.
The rain held off for most of the Concourse on Saturday and a great time was had by all. Dinner that night at the Queensland Police Academy was great, with excellent food and some good entertainment.
The drive to Cleveland Point on the Sunday was fun and interesting, with a nice lunch provided.
At the Concourse Dinner on Sunday night, I was amazed and delighted to discover that my Traveller had been awarded a trophy for the "Best Maintained" Morris Minor 1000.
The concluding breakfast on Monday morning was a chance to say goodbye to all our friends, and then start the 2 day drive back to Sydney, stopping in Ballina and Newcastle again.
Technical Stuff
The Traveller went very well, achieving an average fuel consumption of 41.2 mpg while cruising at 65 mph. The total distance covered was about 1500 miles.
With a repaired speedo and a new speedo cable, it was great to have a speedo needle that didn't flicker.
A check of the odometer on the way up showed that 10 km traveled equated to 6.8 miles on the odometer. At the rally, I measured the diameter (using Kerry's knitting tape measure of course) of my 165 x 14 inch radial tyres - 580 mm - and also of a standard Morris Minor 14 inch crossply tyre - 630 mm. The average of these measurements shows that the speedo and odometer over read (because the smaller tyre diameter means that the wheels turn faster) by about 9%.
This means that our cruising speed of 65 mph on the speedo corresponded to 95 kph in actuality. This of course also reduces the fuel consumption from 41.2 mpg to 37.5 mpg. That's not bad for a 45 year old car!!!
For my international friends, 37.5 mpg converts to 31.2 mpg when using US gallons (instead of the imperial ones that we used in Australia) or to 7.5 Litres/100 km.
As you can see from the photo, we set up the rear of the Traveller for a picnic, complete with picnic basket, tea towel, cup and saucer and real scones.
Several passers by asked if they could have a scone!
As with previous rallies, great fun was had by all attendees.
At the dinner on the Sunday night, I was very pleased to receive a trophy for second prize in the "Modified A" category.
On the way back home to Tasmania, we stopped at my favourite winery in Rutherglen VIC - Morris Wines.
David Morris, the winemaker, kindly consented to having his picture taken with my Traveller.
While I didn't get a guernsey in the Concors de Elegance, Kerry and I had a great time.
On the Monday morning after the traditional breakfast provided by the host club, a number of us took a trip out to Morris Wines for a sample or two.
My Traveller is behind the red 2 door 1000 sedan - you can just see my bicycle on the bike rack behind it.
Instead, it was held on Saturday 18 & Sunday 19 November 2017 in Bendigo VIC and Caribbean Gardens, Scoresby,VIC.
On the Saturday we met in Bendigo and then drove in convoy to the Morris Minor Garage in Harcourt North, VIC.
The Masters Concourse was held at the Caribbean Gardens in Scoresby VIC (a suburb of Melbourne), so it was an early rise for David on the Sunday morning with a 2 hour drive to get to there.
It was worth it though, as my Traveller picked up an award for the best Modified Morris Minor Traveller.
The 2 hour drive back to Bendigo did not seem so long after that!!!
The rally was held almost exactly 70 years after the launch of the Morris Minor at the Earls Court Motor Show, London UK on 20 September 1948.
The rally followed the new, simpler format and had a Show and Shine display instead of a Concourse.
I bought a new, large (physically and electrically) battery just prior to leaving Tasmania. The increased capacity (70 Ah instead of 50 Ah) gave me plenty of reserve energy to power Kerry's Ertoel Roberta electric spinning wheel during the Show and Shine, so that our grand-daughter Maggie could learn to spin. I also had to modify the spinning wheel so that it would run of 12 V DC instead of 240 V AC.
The increased physical size of the battery matches the size of the original battery, and fills up the battery compartment.
One item at the rally caught my eye - the Series II grill with metal badges from all the rallies. I was able to work out that I have attended the 10 of the 19 rallies - 1983 Bundanoon NSW, 1985 Eilden VIC, 1999 Dubbo NSW, 2005 Hobart TAS, 2009 Brisbane QLD, 2011 Port Macquarie NSW, 2013 Moss Vale NSW, 2015 Albury Wodonga NSW/VIC, 2017 Bendigo/Scoresby VIC and 2018 Canberra.
My Traveller has been driven to the last seven rallies.
20th National Morris Minor Rally
Adelaide Fri 31 March 2023 to
Mon 3 April 2023
Kerry and I drove the Traveller from Hobart to Adelaide via the Bass Strait ferry. We had a leisurely trip, spending one night in Ballarat and two nights at Police Point before staying at the Jasper Motor Inn in Unley for the duration of the rally.
As usual, the rally was great fun. We had a present surprise at the dinner on Sunday night when the Traveller was awarded the "Most Popular Modified Traveller" trophy.
Another great part of the rally was going to the Tailem Bend Motorsport Park ( https://www.thebend.com.au/ ), and doing a few laps with lots of other Morris Minors. I believe that we set a record for the maximum number of same marque cars on the track!!!
After the rally we drove back to Melbourne, and did four house sits in the next two months. We finally arrived back in Tasmania early in June 2023.
As usual, we only had minor problems with the Traveller.
- A flat battery - the 240 VAC inverter was left on for a couple of days. This was fixed with a jump start from one of Kerry's knitting friends. Then I bought a lithium ion charger as a backup.
- Exhaust rattles - these started as we loaded up the Traveller. The exhaust was knocking on the rear telescopic shock absorber. My initial fix was to operate on the rear hanger, but this was only a temporary fix. The final fix was to get a mechanic to put the Traveller on his hoist and bend the stainless steel exhaust system in various places, using a Peugeot 504 drive shaft.
Kerry and I are looking forward to driving to Perth WA for the 21st National Rally in 2025.
