What do you think of my bottom - '71 Traveller not Pippa M

[vincenth]

I'm considering selling my 71 Traveller and I've had alook at the underside and I'm not sure itf it could do with some work. It is not a mint condition car - average I would say.

The areas that I am not sure about are
1. crossmember - drivers side looks shabby - replace whole crossmember ?
2. Sill - drivers side - replace ?
3. Rear Spring hangers/shackles
4. Gap between woodwork at rear and - load area ladder frame needs to be raised up to meet the woodwork ?
5. Bump stop plates

Any comments and advice is welcome.

[frame]gap between woodwork and metalwork - about 0.5inch [/frame]
[frame]and again closer up[/frame]
[frame]new fuel tank[/frame]
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This is what she looks like up top.
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[chickenjohn]

Your car looks nice on the top!

As for the underside, I have noticed the following:-

1) Drivers side undersill does not look right (possibly the dreaded "cover panel" has been fitted or some sheet metal welded over the sill.
2) Rear spring hangers look to have been patched on both sides with the passenger side shackle looking too high.
3) crossmember may be crusty but difficult to tell from that photo.

4) need more photos to determine whether the gap is a new wood fit problem or a metal working problem.

I'm not keen on the wheelarch liners. These may do more harm than good- trapping moisture and causing rust where they overlap with the inner and outer wings!

[MarkyB]

Looks pretty good to me, rather a lot of underseal and a small number of patches.
For a 40 year old car it looks fab.

[bmcecosse]

I don't understand what's going on in the second picture ? Looks like the rear frame is completely detached ?? The rest is hard to judge because of the massive amounts of underseal that have been applied - some very recently by the look of them ?? But some sills etc look very 'fragile' - and the chassis legs don't look too great either...... What's the history of the car ?

[8009STEVE]

Sell it as is



SOLD AS SEEN No warranty or gaurentee given



Let the buyer sort it out


Stick 12 months MOT on it and watch it fly

[bmcecosse]

Will it even get an MOT? That rear frame is surely within 300mm of the suspension mount......

[vincenth]

I don't understand what's going on in the second picture ? Looks like the rear frame is completely detached ?? The rest is hard to judge because of the massive amounts of underseal that have been applied - some very recently by the look of them ?? But some sills etc look very 'fragile' - and the chassis legs don't look too great either...... What's the history of the car ?

I can only assume that with a gap like that the back must have been removed at some stage, repairs made on the rear corner and then the wood was fitted and they realised they had fitted the boot floor/corner area too low. Ideally the back would have to come off because the strengthening bracket needs to be cut and the boot floor corner and the whole boot floor lifting up and re welding in the correct place.

The one recent piece of underseal was done last year to get it though its MOT. I agree that the sill,cross member and chassis legs are 'crusty'.

The car had some work done to it in 2005 (mainly bodywork) and then in 2008 the regine was rebuilt - both by different traders.

[vincenth]

Sell it as is



SOLD AS SEEN No warranty or gaurentee given



Let the buyer sort it out


Stick 12 months MOT on it and watch it fly

It's current MOT doesn't expire until October. I think in its current condition - worth maybe £2,500.
I got a quote to do the following
* chassis rails (both sides boot floor to bump stop)
* chassis rails (both sides bump stop to inner sill)
* rear spring hangers (both sides)
* crossmember (both sides)
* boot floor (raise to proper location)
* poly bushes/shackles
* whole underside stip/stone chip finish/waxoyl
About £3,000

So if I lash out 3k on it - what will it be worth if I sell it - maybe £4,500 on a good day ?

[bmcecosse]

With that short MOT, and unlikely to get another without at least some major work to that rear section, I would have to value it quite a bit less than that as it stands........

[ASL642]

I'd get a few more quotes. That does sound rather expensive. It really depends.

1. Where you going to sell the car anyway, or are you selling because of the work needed?

2. If you really like the car and want to keep it get the work done (you could sell it and buy another in a worse state) Get the work done when you can afford it. Stage payments agreed with the garage/repairer beforehand.

By doing the work you will bring the value of the car up from £1,500 (no MOT) to about £5,000 + (if the paint is in good order and the interior is clean and undamaged)

[bmcecosse]

As Steve has already suggested - get a new MOT on it and sell it as it is - but I do think you will need to fix at least that back section before it can get a new MOT.