Morris Minor Owners Club

I'm on the look out for a traveller for everyday use. A lot of members have upgraded their cars to a 1275 engine/5 speed gearbox/front discs set-up. This is supposed to cope better with modern day traffic.

Can anyone give advice on just how much difference this set up makes? Not being much of a mechanic, I just want a sturdy Traveller with a bit of a chance against modern boxes.

PS- I've been looking at the Messageboard for a few weeks now & have found it very helpful. Forgive the delay in plunging into this interweb world, I've only been an MMOC member since 1979!

Welcome to the board!

In my experience a standard 1098 traveller is fine for everyday use in modern traffic. You just cruise a bit slower on the motorway, overtaking can be trickier, and you have to remember to use engine braking when descending long steep hills.

Thanks, Alex. I'm well aware of the standard 1098 limitations. I even suffered the indignity of being overtaken by a milk float once. Four people in the car & the float was diesel powered rather than electric, but that didn't stop the ribbing. I've also added a few more grey hairs with brake fade on steep hills.

A little more power would help. I just wondered what extra the modified set up adds before I part with any cash

Not cheap is the short answer ... the longer one is going to depend on the condition of your car right now ... if it's 100% solid then you will just need to buy the kits and fit them, if not then you are going to need to make it solid to start off with.

Actually looking to buy an already modified traveller. Looking at some adverts, a decent one seems to be £5,000 plus. £7k seems to include uprated seats, rear belts, etc.

All I want to know is the difference in performance of a 1275, 5-speed and bog-standard 1098. The car has to cope with 1 teenager, 1 uni-student (ferrying belongings) and 2 dogs. My old 2-door saloon couldn't cope.

I could buy a second-hand Focus/Astra style estate, but couldn't live with that!

The basic 1098 is quite slow - but that engine can be uprated easily to get ~ 60 bhp - which is the same as a standard 1275. Of course the 1275 will have more 'torque' and can itself be uprated to an easy 75 bhp - and over 100 if that's what you want. The 5 speed box gives easier cruising and more reliablity - but at quite a price. The simple modfication is to fit a 3.7 diff and use the standard gearbox. That gives relaxed cruising and better fuel conomy.
Brakes can be enhanced easily and cheaply by fitting larger front drum brakes which eliminate all fade under any sane road use, or much more expensively by fitting disc brakes - there are various 'kits' out there.
My Taveller didn't cost anything like the figures you are quoting - i've had it 10 years or so now - and no major problems to date. It has 60 bhp 1098 engine - and 9" Wolseley front drum brakes - it goes well and it stops well!

Bmcecosse - Thanks for the info. By the way, the uni-ferrying is from Geordieland to Stirling Uni - 2 years to go before my wallet gives out.

Send them on the train! It's ok - there are shops in Stirling - they can buy any 'belongings' a student is likely to need, there!

I've done done the upgrade fairly cheaply. I bought a 1275 Midget engine ready modified to fit the Traveller, not that much modification is needed, Slightly modified the clutch linkage to cope with the diaphram clutch, easier than messing about with a hydraulic clutch. I dropped in a Midget gearbox which has closer stacked ratios and finished off with a 3.9 diff and Wolseley 1500 drum brakes to stop it. The extravagant bit was the LCB exhaust system which was necessary as the Minor exhaust kept dropping off the Marina manifold.
Whether the 1275 box is better than the 1098 box is open to dicussion, the 1275 box takes a bit of winding up before the car gets going and both have only 4 gears but the 3.9 diff still gives you overdrive 5th gear cruising at a greatly reduced price compared to a 5speed box conversion.
Hill climbing is significantly improved and you can feel the car accelerate when you put your foot down at 70 mph (on a test track!).
The total cost is as little as you can aquire the components for.
And a decent pair of front seats make driving more comfortable.

If a modified 1275 Minor is going to be silly money, then I would be with Mr BMC! A 1275 head will drop on the 1098 with little effort and give an engine which will pull strongly. A higher diff ratio is the simple gearing answer, however some fools such as me insist on dallying with overdrive as a cheaper option to the 5 speed type 9 conversion, the main cost of which seems to be the specially cast bell housing.
Also in the 1098's favour in a car like the moggy is it having the longest stroke of the a series, so enhancing its torque characteristics. I understand that the 1275 may also be a tad less economical.
For what its worth, the 1275 head on my 1098 actually improved fuel economy over the standard head, even given my more spirited driving habits since fitting it!

I'm not going to mention brakes

I did once - but I think I got away with it!

Thanks for all the info. Opinion seems a little divided.

As I said, I am no mechanic, so before I buy a car, I wondered whether to go for standard or already modified. As the car will be used every day, it will never be concours or even original, as I would add better seats, interia belts, heated rear screen & possibly a radio equipped for a plug-in ipoddy thing to shut the kids up!

The problem with buying a modified car is that you often don't know what parts have been fitted when it comes to servicing or repairing it. I have tried to stick to BMC sourced parts.

Jonah681 wrote:Thanks for all the info. Opinion seems a little divided.

As I said, I am no mechanic, so before I buy a car, I wondered whether to go for standard or already modified. As the car will be used every day, it will never be concours or even original, as I would add better seats, interia belts, heated rear screen & possibly a radio equipped for a plug-in ipoddy thing to shut the kids up!

Before getting fancy "sounds" get the soundproofing sorted out!!

Sorry I didn't read the "non mechanic" bit! Makes a difference as you are probably more likely to find a 1275/ 5 speed than a modded 1098! As you have already ruled out a standard 1098 you are looking at a bit of a Hobsons choice!

Most of us are 'no mechanic' !! Don't let that put you off!

bmcecosse wrote:Most of us are 'no mechanic' !! Don't let that put you off!

That might be just the ammunition the "anti-drum" brigade want against you!!!!

Does my face look 'bovvered' ?? !

It seems some don't like the idea of modifying, yet the 1275/5-speed seems popular.

I had found this modified traveller at

http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/cla ... arno/65480

and it seemed to a non-mechanic like a good conversion.

Nice car but at least £2.5K too expensive

I agree - was about to say 'get it for £5k' when I spotted your post PSL!