1970 Blue Traveller CLK749H

[richardwalling]

There has been at least one Traveller in my family for as long as I can remember. From 1967 until illness forced her to give up driving in 2001 my mother ran a black 1959 model which took us on many adventures (including my driving test where I was asked to do the emergency stop next to an unfenced pond. I took this to be a positive sign that the examiner was not expecting me to swerve off the road).
When I came to buy my own first car there seemed to be only one option, and I purchased CLK749H in January 1986. I bought it on the basis of a viewing in the rain one January evening (not recommended) and of course found that it needed far more work than I first thought. Still it was taxed and MOT'd for a few months, and I'd learnt enough about Travellers with maintaining Mum's for some time previously. Over the next 5 years it underwent a rolling restoration in between the usual crop of moving from one set of digs to another as a student/impoverished graduate. I always seemed to be popular at moving time as the Traveller could accommodate plenty of stuff.
Some serious welding was needed and this was done on a gradual basis as funds allowed by Roy Halsall at his premises in Worplesdon near Guildford. I know that Roy moved to Wiltshire and was advertising in Minor Matters until a few years ago, but doesn't seem to any more. His work was excellent and a visit to his premises always included some free advice and Radio 3 at sufficient volume to overcome the noise of the grinder/welder. Roy was very supportive of a cash strapped but enthusiastic Minor owner.
In 1990 I tackled the woodwork having saved up for a complete new set. When the old was removed the rear pillars disintegrated at the joint with the middle rail. This took the car off the road for about a year but it was much better when finished. The only disappointment was a mistake made by the paint factor whose interpretation of Trafalgar blue turned out to be a Moskvich colour. Unfortunately this was only discovered once the painting had been done, and there was no cash to do anything about it afterwards.
Lack of suitable garage space, a new house, 15% interest rates and other factors meant that I had to sell the car in September 1991to Charles Ware's Morris Minor Centre who at that time had a branch near Newbury. I think the car was sold from there in early 1992.
Looking on the DVLA website it's still taxed and clearly on the road. If anyone knows where it is now, I'd love to know.

The photos show it in January 1990 on the day I went to the Morris Traveller Centre in Lea Bridge Road, East London to collect its new timber and also in April 1991 on the day it passed its MOT again. (Sorry, they are in reverse order - my error when scanning old prints!)

And the other Traveller hiding bashfully in the garage ? This is my mother's 1959 model which my son and I moved to our garage on March 31st this year and are currently restoring. 4 years since it was MOT'd or moved and this has taken its toll, but we'll get there. It's an excellent project for a 12 year old with a strong interest in engineering.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

[bmcecosse]

Well - it's just been re-licensed.

The vehicle details for CLK 749H are:

Date of Liability 01 04 2011
Date of First Registration 12 02 1970
Year of Manufacture 1970
Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1098CC
CO2 Emissions Not Available
Fuel Type Petrol
Export Marker Not Applicable
Vehicle Status Licence Not Due
Vehicle Colour BLUE

And it's still Blue. For £5 - DVLA may be encouraged to tell you the owner's details - IF you have 'good reason'.

[richardwalling]

Nearly 8 years on, there is a happy ending to this story. A few weeks ago I called into Chertsey Minors to book my Traveller (the black one inherited from my mother mentioned in the previous posts) in for its MOT. Imagine my surprise when I saw CLK sat outside the workshop!

It's still in really good condition and has the same wood I fitted all those years ago, so I was really pleased to see it looking so good and cared for. Amazing coincidence that it's maintained by the same specialist as now looks after its former "garage mate".

[oertel04@gmail.com]

Hi Richard,

We spotted your thread of messages on the Morris Minors Owners Club board quite a few years ago, vowed to reply to it, and ended up completely forgetting to write a response – you know how life gets in the way!

We bought CLK749H in 2001, from Henry Green in Andover, and it’s still in our family today. We were looking for a 1968 traveller as that’s the year I was born, and CLK was advertised as a 68, but we only found out after we bought it that it was in fact a 1970! But of course we still loved it. In 2002, our daughter was born, and we only then put rear seat belts in so that we could bring her home from the hospital. 22 years later, that same daughter has driven CLK around Surrey! In 2004, we moved to Egham, where we still live today, and since then have had it serviced and looked after by Nigel and Pete from Chertsey minors. We had it resprayed by Nigel and Pete in the original Trafalgar blue, and fitted an unleaded cylinder head. These were the only 2 things we had to do to it, and apart from that it’s been running perfectly since thanks to them. With our children almost having grown up, and us looking to retire soon to the South of France, CLK will indeed also be coming with us.
It made us so happy to read your post about the history of our car – one of the most cherished members of our family – so please do get in touch if you’d like to know more about what CLK has been up to over the last 25 years.

Anette & family