Hello and Do I or Don't I

[aldy13]

Hi just a quick hello from a 49 year old former Morris Minor owner, I used to own a 1970 trafalgar blue Minor around 15 years ago but due to certain circumstances sold it but now I have the chance to purchase a one owner J plate Traveller that needs a fair bit or work. From what I have seen its needs new wood and a bit of welding to the floor and new paint. I am quitely confident I could get the vehicle up to the paint stage. The vehicle in question is an honest one owner from new Traveller current seller says Old English White but I'm not so sure after a bit of internet research I think its Snowberry White, the car is complete, the interior is very tidy but the bodwork is showing its age and has not been on the road since Feb 09 but there is quite a substantial folder or receipts proving it has been looked after. I have the option to buy for £600 so does this seem a reasonable price or am I biting off more than I can chew, although I kind of have already convinced myself that I need a project and this is the one.
Regards
Andy

[busguy]

To me, it's a reasonable price, especially for a one owner car with history.
If you are doing the work yourself, make sure you can handle doing the wood replacement properly. Could be costly if you have to subcontract it out. Same with welding and paintwork.
Make your mind up before you start what standard of restoration you are aiming to achieve. Original spec, in a better than factory standard, concours even? Or a presentable working standard car with some minor mods like servo, alternator, etc

[blues2rock]

Hello Aldy 13, if you are able to do so ask the vendor to remove the sill covers and you will get a better idea of how much welding needs to be done. Also have a good poke about on the chassis where the rear spring hangers attach and the front chassis runners and cross member.

I've never had a traveller so can't talk about the woodwork (someone on here can give you info about that) but provided you have somewhere to work there is not much that can't be done to a minor.

Rust rectification can be more expensive than you might think but mechanics and trim are a doddle.

It just depends on the facilities/skills you have and the amount of money you are willing to put into the project. If you can do most or all of it yourself then OK. If you are going to have to pay to have stuff done then it could get very very expensive.

Perhaps if you post your location someone might offer to cast an eye over your intended purchase.
Good luck either way.

[warb21]

Hi there - this sounds v similar to one I nearly looked at. Is it in Aylesbury area?

[aldy13]

Thanks for the replies, no the car is in London and I am from Cambridge. I have looked underneath the car and the rear spring hangers and front chassis rails look ok the only real problem area I could really see is where the front floor and sill area meets the front inner wing there was a fair bit of rust around that area the rest of the floor looks pretty solid. I think a bid may be on the cards.

[warb21]

If it's only that bit which needs work, you may be OK as no single section costs a fortune to put right - but it can be a slippery slope along the lines of "if I replace one bit, I may as well do the next" .. just be ready for that! On that basis I didn't go for a particular Traveller last year because I'm not that handy and have to factor in a tradesperson's labour costs for any work I get done.

I took almost 6 months searching before I purchased, constantly watching the web at cars for sale, seeing what they were sold for, and then deciding how much I was going to spend on the car whilst keeping back enough for known future repairs.

Hope that helps and I'm not teaching anyone to suck eggs. Good luck!

[Matt]

To be honest, in the current climate travellers are making reasonably strong money so £600 for what you describe is probably ok!

Compare it with cars you see on ebay (e.g. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/morris-minor- ... 556wt_1173)

I think you are correct about the car being snowberry rather than OEW - I believe Snowberry started to be used in the mid sixties as a replacement to OEW (although I may be wrong!)

[rogerowen]

If the rust is as Minor (sorry) as you say - then it's probably a good buy. Of course you'll have to add at least the same again for new wood. Really check the underside as best you can - scrape and prod as hard as you can all around the chassis rails (front and back) as well as the front and central cross member and around the engine mount towers. Good luck