Morris Minor Owners Club

I had a test drive in a Traveller at the weekend. We're not buying it because it had a different gear box which was tiny and hard to reach when driving.... but it also had another 'characteristic' which we discovered on the test drive. On accelerating it was very jerky, there was a major loss of power, then the engine picked up and then lost power again. When we got up to around 40mph it improved, but there still didn't seem to be much response when you put your foot down. Given that it's a rebuilt 1300 Ital engine (unleaded head), I was curious to see if anyone can suggest what the problem might be?

The owner said he'd never noticed it, but the engine was warm when we arrived and it was pretty obvious he'd been driving round with the choke half out.

loss of power could be any number of things, from wrong needle, air leaks, timing, or problems in the dizzy etc...
What year is the traveller? The 'tiny gearbox that was hard to reach' sounds vey odd! Do you mean something like a series 2 box before thay added the remote housiing?

Do you mean something like a series 2 box before thay added the remote housiing?

Yike! Let's hope not!! A series 2 'box with a 1300 engine!! That's asking for trouble....

The problem does sound needle related, but it might just be as simple as not having enought dashpot oil in.....

doobry wrote:What year is the traveller?

1971. The owner wasn't quite sure what car the gearbox had come from, he thought it might be an Ital to match the engine, but it was a 4 speed and you had to lift it to get into reverse, if that helps to identify it. The lever itself was very short so you had to really lean forwards to change gear, which wasn't comfortable.

Thinking about it, he also believed the engine had a Mini head on it, I don't suppose it could have a Mini gearbox too? It certainly looked fairly 'mini'

No, the Mini gearbox won't fit a Minor unless it's converted to front wheel drive!!

The cylinder heads are interchangeable though.......

If you have to lift the gearlever to select reverse then that sounds like Marina. I had a Marina type 'box in my Midget and if I remember correctly I think you had to lift it and then go slightly to the right of 3rd gear to select reverse.

Cam wrote:If you have to lift the gearlever to select reverse then that sounds like Marina. I had a Marina type 'box in my Midget and if I remember correctly I think you had to lift it and then go slightly to the right of 3rd gear to select reverse.

Yes, that was where it was, so I suppose it's probably Marina. At least I know what to avoid in future then....

Shame really, as it also had a very smart sunroof and some other useful modifications, but at the price he wanted that didn't leave anything in the budget to change the gearbox over!

lynda wrote:Yes, that was where it was, so I suppose it's probably Marina. At least I know what to avoid in future then....

Shame really, as it also had a very smart sunroof and some other useful modifications, but at the price he wanted that didn't leave anything in the budget to change the gearbox over!

Yeah, they are terrible gearboxes. Best avoided.

Shame about the price though.......... would perhaps have been a good car for you.

It was being sold on commission by a firm near Cambridge, so although we saw the car with the owner, I'm not sure how much money he's getting out of the deal. If we'd been able to buy direct from him we might have been able to negotiate a better price!

Shame really, as it also had a very smart sunroof and some other useful modifications,

It wasnt that White one that was on Ebay recently that someone else on here saw and said wasnt much cop, I think at that time it was in Leighton Buzzard.

that didn't leave anything in the budget to change the gearbox over!

You would probably just need to modify the gear lever to make it easier to reach...

Kevin wrote: It wasnt that White one that was on Ebay recently that someone else on here saw and said wasnt much cop, I think at that time it was in Leighton Buzzard.

Actually, that was me. This was nicer than the Leighton Buzzard one, but more money. It had an MOT at least!

Lynda you are getting as bad as the rest of us, what has happened with the saloon, have you sold it ?

Yes, the cheque went through today, and the new owner is very happy. I also got her to join the Cambridge Branch and pay the deposit for our Christmas Lunch! I spent a rather successful summer working in sales a couple of years ago, maybe I should start up as a Morris Minor trader instead However I should work on my profit margins - Little Morris went for the price of repairs, plus insurance cancellation fee. Still, I made £14 selling parts on ebay.

My Dad would quite like a Traveller, but there's no hurry. I'm sure the right one will come along at some point, and if not I've got first refusal on buying Little Morris back when the new owner's Traveller is restored! We went to see this one because it was local, and we hadn't driven one with a bigger engine and disc brakes. We still don't know what the engine's really like, but the brakes were good.