Morris Minor Owners Club

iandromiskin wrote:

use 2nds from Travellers timbers (£180 a side).

Hi John, Is that a company your refering to there that do second hand Traveller timber ??

http://www.travellertimbers.co.uk/

As I understand it, the "seconds" they sell are brand new but feature slight cosmetic imperfections.

Yes, thats right- just a few knots and coloured bits in the wood. Fine for an everyday car like mine that gets used.

Hi , I have a Morris traveler , 1969 which I bought 1 year ago. It has an OAK wood frame. I don't know if it's only one or whether Oak is used for some cars. It seems okay to me but I can't out why Oak was / is used.

European Ash is going to get scarce due to the relentless death of Ash trees from Ash Dieback. Ash has been used in the traditional manufacture of cars for a very long time (e.g Morgan cars and of course the Morris Traveller) and before its use in motor cars it was used to make wagons and carts. I am no expert in the properties of different timbers but there are reasons that Ash is used. For instance, Ash is used to make bell stays (I am a church bellringer) and the reason Ash is used is that it absorbs vibration and shock well, has a straight grain and can be bent to form different shapes. I suspect those same properties are why Ash is used to make motor cars as well as it being fairly light. I believe there was a Traveller with the frame made from Teak but that may have been unique.


Stephen

Wow I don't even remember starting this thread 17 years ago

I never had a Traveller but get curious about things. Such as, how can one tell if wood is oak? Is it purely visual inspection or are there other more scientific techniques?