Morris Minor Owners Club

I spotted a traveller locally, down the side of a garage and "there for disposal for the right price".

I've had the teeniest inspection of it...and the following applies.

The paintwork is dirty, but I can't see any indication of rust, except in the roof sill and down the sill strips that run down the front screen. There is no sign of bubbling that I can see. The wood appears very solid, although at first inspection it appears that it has been painted with "wood effect paint" - it certainly appears solid enough though.

I got the chap from the garage to bring a battery box and it started first time. It quickly cut out though, and although it restarted it quickly cut out once more. My mechanic quickly ascertained that the carb wanted stripping, cleaning and putting back together.

No ungodly noises from the engine. The gearbox - don't know yet if it knocks or not.

The tax disc on the vehicle shows end June 2006, so it must have been on the road until then.

No idea of the state of the brakes, underside, etc. Don't know if the gauges work or not.

Offside indcator lense missing.

Wiper arms look ropey.

Still with dynamo fitted. Front grill nice, no rust. Front bumper very nice. Rear bumpers pitted.

Interior - has inertia reels x 4, all red interior, would definitely benefit from cleaning, no obvious tears. Carpet not particularly worn, but really does need a shampoo and set..

Tyres - not inspected. Wheels - not inspected.

I've asked my man to get it up on the ramps sometime this week and have a look at the underside and brakes. It is a 1966 model, history completely unknown at this time. Mileage displayed and I did look, but I can't remember.

My thoughts are this....if the underside is as good as the body, and all the other things can be made to work, I might buy it, fix it and sell it. Not necessarily in it for the money, but I think I would get a certain satisfaction from returning one of these old girls to the road. (And the wife won't entertain me having three old cars! )

My problem is - how much should I offer the guy for it????

Any thoughts (and also on what else I should be looking for) welcome.

Thanks,

Graham.

Mechanical items are easily fixed, the chassis and, in your case, the wood are all important as they will cost the most to fix and involve most of the work. As a rough guide the Minor Monthly mag gives the following values. 'B' Grade =in regular use with an MOT and only requiring modest amount of work to bring to perfect working order.=£3400.
'C' grade=usually driveable but need work to bring them up to trouble-
free use=£450. The Travellers are the most expensive of the Minors at the moment.

Apparently he's been offered 500 quid for it in it's current state.....

(now seen underneath, no rust!!) Also no brakes!!

Ah well, dream on........

If there really is no rust underneath then it's wll worth the £500. I would suggest offering £300 cash - and see if it's accepted.