Bristol to Mali

[Morrisito]

Hi Folks,

I'm driving to Africa in the Morris, perhaps a silly idea but an idea nontheless!

I've got a 71 2 door standard 1098. I wanna get a 5th gear in there and don't what to do.. Any thoughts?

Also, roof racks for the Morris??? Is there such a thing?

Cheers for now
J

[bmcecosse]

5 speed box conversion ~ £1000. Or - just fit a low ratio final drive (3.7 is best) for much the same effect - ~ £80 from ebay! And yes -there are roof racks available - although the Traveller roof is very fragile and not suited to any form of load carrying.

[charlie_morris_minor]

hi

might be useful to read this other thread..

http://www.morrisminoroc.co.uk/index.ph ... eed+toyota

if you read towards the bottom of the trhead it explains the difference that can be acheieved with a ford type 9 gearbox and the 3.7 dif..

[LouiseM]

I got my roof rack from e-bay but most of the Minor parts suppliers sell 'repro' versions of the same style. Other types of 'classic car' roof racks with adjustable width and gutter fittings can fit but you need to make sure that there is suitable roof clearance.

[Kevin]

You need to speak to Rayofleamington as he has first hand experience of this type of drive.

[Dru]

On the roof rack front, I use Thule roofbars, though I had to get some extra tall feet for them (I think they were originally intended for a van...). I know Travs are a bit fragile on the roof front, but I've managed canoes, bikes and, er, small children with no hassle

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/belvedere/3801140565/" title="Katie at large by Dru Marland, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3442/380 ... 86cb_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="Katie at large" /></a>

[rayofleamington]

Where abouts in Mali are you going to and when?
The route is fairly easy - in Mauretania there is tarmac road so you don't need to do any desert (unless you want to).
From Maretania into Mali is again pretty easy - and from there to the capital (Bamako) is tarmac.

Last time I went, we wanted to do as much off road as possible so we went directly East to Timbukto doing about 1000km off road.

You really don't need a 5 speed. I fitted a 948 with 4 speed and 4.55 diff in my 54 that I took to Gambia. What would have been better was to have a bigger fuel tank - my 54 had the original (small) tank. Thay + 1 20L jerry can was fine excpet when we did the beach/desert route along the coast in Mauretania (we had to borrow 20L of fuel from friends).
A 4.22 diff would have been better for most of the journey - and so would a 1098 engine. The 948 is a lovely engine though - much smoother than the 1098!

Roof rack - these will wreck your mpg and increase the risk of breakdown. The general rule is to carry less! More weight increases your chance of getting stuck in sand or breaking something on rough road.

[MarkyB]

I'd say ditch the roof rack idea too.
How long do you think you'll be away?
Many people manage to get enough gear for 2 or 3 weeks camping into a standard Minor without resorting to a roof rack.
For additional weeks pack some soap power .
If there are 3 or 4 of you a trailer might be a better bet.

[cadetchris]

bristol to mali, sounds like a very good idea for a historic cars rally.

personally i would ditch the idea of a roof rack, as the feet do have a tendancy to mess up the rain gutters (if wrongly put on) and with experience these can be a bit of a fiddle to get looking right again.

saying that, i wish you good luck on what will be a very entertaining trip

[Morrisito]

Hey Guys, thanks very much for all your help!

Rayofleamington... How many driving miles is it from Bristol to Mali, do ya know?

Thanks for the tips mate
J

[MarkyB]

I tried to look it up on Google earth but it wouldn't tell me .

[rayofleamington]

How many driving miles is it from Bristol to Mali, do ya know?

something like 3500 - not really sure as the mileage becomes irrellevant once you're past morrocco