Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello,

Hope someone here can help, or at least not make me feel too stupid.

Ever since I was a little girl I have wanted a Morris Minor Traveller (or 'wooden car' as I knew it then). Now that I'm all grown up and can buy my first Traveller, I also find myself with a few requirements that I didn't have 25 years ago.

1. First and foremost, how suitable is the MMT for transporting canine passengers? I have one medium-sized dog at the moment and will eventually have two. Are there dog guards to fit or is it going to be a chicken wire job?

2. Is it possible to get a power steering version? I don't suppose they were built this way but is it possible to convert them?

3. Ditto for automatics - is there such a thing?

4. How fast can the Traveller go? I have read reports about it being slow, is it suitable for the odd spot of motorway driving when visiting the old folks back home?

5. When compared with today's NCAP and other safety ratings, how safe is the MMT?

Basically, I suppose I want a car that behaves like a Honda Jazz but looks like a Morris Minor Traveller...

Sitting patiently, waiting to be shouted down and told off for being a silly girlie who doesn't appreciate the true spirit of the Traveller.
Thanks for reading,
K

If you want a Honda Jazz, there's nothing wrong with that, although it'll cost more to buy, depreciate more, more to insure etc...

1) For transporting a dog, especially two dogs, it's best to get proper cages etc... The back of a Traveller has room for this but it's unlikely that you'll find a standard dog guard like you can with a common modern car. However if you go to the right place, anything can be made.

2) Minors don't need power steering - a standard Minor will have light steering. Modern cars need PAS because of the way their steering is set up and is made worse by the use of wider tyres.

3) There's no standard auto for a Minor and it's not a simple conversion.

4) The Minor 1000 came with a 1100cc engine from around 1962 onwards. This will do motorway speeds although if you want to doo hundreds of miles non stop, you're likely to prefer a modern car.

5) There are no NCAP ratings for a Minor. If you want ABS, traction contol, airbags, side impact protection etc... then you won't get it with any classic car.
If you buy an old rust bucket whether it's a classic or a Eurobox it's likely to fall apart in a crash. If you get a good condition Minor it will be far stronger than a patched up rotten one, but not on par with any standard car supplied in Europe in the last 5 years.
If it comes to a crash, I'd rather be in a good Minor than an average 1980's car.
Modern crash tests do not include heavy rear impact - needless to say that if it doesn't figure in the published statistics, the car makers can save money and weight by ignoring it. I say this mainly because a traveller is very poor when given a heavy rear impact too.


One thing you may really want is 'modern' brakes. To get a similar performance to a modern, you'll want servo assisted disks. This is a common conversion so look for this or budget for adding this afterwards.

Well, some I can answer

1) Good, though no guards specifically built for them, AFAIK
2) They were never built with it, and I've never heard of one being converted, I'm afraid
3) Again, never built,but it's possible if you have the time to track down a (fairly rare) auto box from a different car. That one I want to do myself, more for the challenge than anything else...
4) It'll do 70 on the M'way fine, but probably happier slightly slower - conversion to a 1275cc engine is pretty straightforward, and then there's no problem at all
5) Not a clue, but no crumlpe zones etc, so while strong probably don't compare well to a modern - but that's true of 3 year old car too


As for shouting down, if you insist - you're a silly girlie who doesn't appreciate the true spirit of the Traveller. ;)

Moon on a stick...
even if you decide its not suitable now,
will still be there later (after the clouds have cleared!)

Eh?
a

the story... Mole pokes the moon with a stick, climbs a tree, falls in a puddle, cloud covers moon, thinks has broken the moon, cloud moves away, moon back, everyone happy

through the story the moon is too far away to reach, which i guessed was the point of the post... but mole still wanted it

If anyone wants a bespoke car cage for any car PM me and I'll tell where I got mine.

Well you could get one and see how you get on with it and if you really don't like it you'll be able to sell it for the same(ish) money you bought it for.

Or come to the National and see if someone'll let you trial fit your dogs and have a drive around the field.

A popular engine upgrade is the 1300 engine from a Morris Marina. While not directly relevant, there was an automatic version of the 1300 Marina meaning there is a potential semi-not too difficult route to automaticdom.

Minor's'll do 70 (well the later 1098s and 948s).

They'll never be as safe as a Modern car but I think driver awareness is a bigger factor in safety anyway. You'll be much less insulated from and aware of the road in a Minor than a modern sound-proofed car.

Power steering is available for the Minor now, and ABS and traction control will be offered in the near future. Neither are cheap mods though.

the traveller is a good useable car.you can cruise at a mile a minute easily.dont worry about the nova boys overtaking you ,you willcatch them up at the roadworks or the accident they have caused.as for carting dogs about,i have got rear seatbelts fitted.just get a harness from the pet shop attatch to the dog then put the seatbelt through the loop in the harness.that way if you do loose a window the dog is secure

Wow, thanks everyone, didn't expect so many replies in such a short space of time.

It sounds as though the lack of power steering won't be a problem, although obviously I'll try before I buy. I'm just starting driving lessons so with any luck I'll get on ok with a manual, but it's good to know that there may be a possibility for an automatic.
Fitzwilliam the dog can be accommodated, so it's really just the safety issue I have to overcome. As I wouldn't be looking to buy a brand new car anyway, I suppose it's not too much of a problem.

I'm looking to spend about 5k max - so I think I should be able to get a half-decent model. I'll have to be careful not to get ripped off, though...

Might be able to get the moon on a stick after all.

Oh, one more question - Ive got a Pashley Picador (fairly large non-folding trike), do you think I'd be able to transport this in the back? I don't think it would go on the roof.

Thanks again,
K

well for 5K you will get a very good one, but for that money please take someone who knows with you, as there are many sellers who are a bit on the rip off side, especially now as they know how much you have got to spend

try ebay it is a good scource of travellers

the bike should go in the back.if you join the club theere are always cars for sale in minor matters as aupickup says take someone who knows moggies with you.rust is the main problem.engines and mechanicals are relitivly cheap to repair

My mum's got a Pashley, it went in the back of our old 205 which is way smaller than the Mog would be... So I don't think that'd be a problem

Dog harness sounds a better idea than putting them in the extreme rear, I always wonder when I see them crammed in the back, how they would cope if someone ran into the back of the car. Not too well I suspect.

Hi

Travs are brilliant for dogs as they can get fresh air and you can wash the plastic back clean. Use vetbed or petbed fleecy bedding, which washes & dries in a trice. I'm a guide dog puppy walker and I do around 10,000 traveller miles a year so I DO know what I am talking about. Mine does 70mph happily on motorways, but it is v well maintained. As for a dog guard, send me an email on morrisminorfrance@neuf.fr and I'll send you (or anyone else) info on making a standard cheapo dog guard into a labrador-puppy resistant guard.
Despite the good airflow NEVER EVER leave dogs parked in the car in the sun

One other thing the Traveller will give you as you've probably now realised is a lot of friendly help and advice on this board:)

dp wrote:One other thing the Traveller will give you as you've probably now realised is a lot of friendly help and advice on this board:)

Indeed! Many thanks everyone. I've been really sad and printed out the whole thread so I have all the details for when I've passed my test.
Might see if I can get to the National next month to have a drool over the lovely Mogs (is that what you call them?!)

well, if mine makes it it certainly won't be able to be classed as lovely............

I_Heart_The_Traveller wrote:Might see if I can get to the National next month to have a drool over the lovely Mogs (is that what you call them?!)

If you do, seek out the website lot (we should be wearing badges! ) and say hello.