Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi,

I've not been a member of the national for about 15 years but after having my Traveller described as a 'Labour of Love' yesterday while undergoing a 'bit of light welding' for an MOT, this may change...

I've done a couple of restorations in my father's front garden so am not frightened by this synopsis. I currently rent a house with the use of a Dutch Barn so this should be the fun I've always hoped a restoration should be.

I'm looking to gather certain 'essential' items to enable a stress-free restoration where possible. As such I recalled a device you could buy that would enable you to roll your minor over by 90 degrees giving you full access to the underside, which is my Travellers issue. After a bit of research I found an advert for such a device from Mr Grumpy's Morris Minors and it's called a 'Universal Car Roller'. The issue I now have is that the advert was in a Practical Classics dated January 1993, it only cost £2 and has their Traveller restoration in it....... I have also searched for Mr Grumpy's on Google and have identified at least three different addresses and contact details. Therefore I was wondering if anyone knew of Mr Grumpy's continued existence and if they still made the Car Roller. I know I can just tip it over on an old mattress but if the bottom is half as bad as I'm being told I really don't want to kink her.

Alternatively is there anyone out there who has one of these, perhaps rusting in a shed, that wants to swap it for some pictures I have of the Queen?

Any and all help appreciated. Photo's of the restoration will be forthcoming soon.

The car in question should be known, having been owned by a member in the past. It's a Traveller, currently bright red but originally Smoked Grey, called 'Puddles' because the letters on the plate read PUD.

Cheers.
Peter.

Hi Peter, Mr Grumpy is no longer in the Minor trade. ESM still sell some of his parts but not the car roller. They seem to come up occasionally on eBay, and I have heard that some MMOC local branches have one they will lend out to members. It's also possible to make one yourself if you're handy with a welder.

Grumpys ceased trading a few years ago and I think ESM - East Sussex Minors now sell some of the improvements they use to sell.

These rollover jigs often appear either in Minor Matters or on fleabay. I suggest you try the latter. Hope this helps. Good luck with the rebuild.

Welcome to the forum! Yes - these crop up on ebay from time to time. I made my own - but have yet to 'prove' it by actually rolling the car! There are quite a few about - and it's not unknown for kind folks to 'lend out' their rollers to others. Maybe someone close to you will come up with that offer ?? The pics attached are from an ebay sale a while back. Should give you some idea what's needed.<br><br><br><br><br><br>

Thanks for all of your help...
Are there other ways of getting the car over, other than the matress, that are still available or should I keep looking for a roller?

If the shell is stripped down - you can make a 'spit' to go through the car and support it that way.

It's not stripped down currently but if I've got to do the floor I may as well look at replacing the wood too.

Thanks for the advice..

Ahh - hadn't noticed it was a Traveller - but you can still make a 'spit' - provided the two rear mountings for the rear bumper are in good solid metal - the spit can be fixed to them, with suitable angle bars of course! A simple roller will really be the best solution - loan from a willing local member would be best - but I have made my own.

http://www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp? ... ostSubcat=

Not cheap... but at 2500kg max should be enough for a traveller?

I can testify that a roller is a REALLY useful bit of kit. From what I remember the going rate is around about £100-£150 keep an eye on fleabay and once you've used it you could sell it on!

I got my Grumpy's roller of ebay and I had to bid hard to get it (£165)
It's been worth every penny and has transformed me from a reluctant welder to what feels like a pro, because I'm able to do bigger resto's in much much less time.

I've been looking arround on Ebay and found a link to the following web site...
http://mk2mania.website.orange.co.uk./
Has anyone used one of these and if so can they let me know if they are any good?

Looks like one solution....

I found him when searching the web trying to help. The guy seems pretty legitimate, perhaps it'll be worth a trip to his workshop if you are prepared to strip your car down.

Link doesn't work for me !

I've just checked it again and it works for me... Does anyone else have this issue?
Try this, it goes to the same place but looks more like a proper link and not half of one..
http://mk2mania.website.orange.co.uk/

For anyone who is getting black text on a black background

Home

At mk2mania we design and manufacture rollover spits for any shell. we make special one offs and do jigs for 99% of cars, we offer 3 types of jig a ready made version, a flat pack which is easy to build taking a max 1 hour, and a reduced hieght jig ( for low roofs ) which allows 180 degree rotationFOR SALES AND INFO CALL 07970 457458 07972 457458 0800 3118458 (freephone) rick or dannirichard@birchall3.orangehome.co.uk

""WE NOW SELL POWER STEERING KITS CLICK FOR INFO""

MK2 MANIA

So , a 'spit' as I suggested earlier - not so handy on a Traveller unless the rear quarters are solid enough to take the supports on the bumper bar mounts.

the link worked for me

And indeed - it's working now for me.

Hello

I have an original Mr Grumpy's Universal Car Roller which I purchased in 1991 I think? I bought it directly from Mr Grumpy's Morris Minors when they were located somewhere in Oxfordshire.

If you are still looking for one to purchase please feel free to get in touch.

Regards

Michael
07533 232042