Morris Minor Owners Club

I recall that I had to use ash on frames for both my old Triumph Roadster and my Riley RME.
In terms of practicality, though, there do seem to be issues.
On my boat teak is used extensively, it does need maintaining but seems to last ok. A lot of other internal timber used was Douglas fir and that seemed to be very rot resistant and stayed ok even when exposed>

This gets asked quite often.

Ash is strong for its weight and is very good at withstanding shocks and vibrations. I am a church bell ringer and I am also the steeple keeper at my local church. Ash has been used for making bell stays for centuries for the same reasons that it is a good choice in a motor car.

The downside is that it is susceptible to rot, woodworm etc. In the bell tower we still have some bell stays that have lasted over 110 years and they show no signs of decay. They do get wet at times from rain being driven through the open louvres that let the sound of the bells out but they also have extremely good ventilation and dry out fast.

Stephen

Ash has always been the traditional material for car body frames. As well as the reasons Stephen gives, it would have been plentiful and relatively inexpensive at the time and body builders were used to it. It is a fairly flexible wood. It was reasonably durable too when properly seasoned timber could be sourced. It is not uncommon even now to see 1950s cars with original timber frames. Later Morris Travellers have suffered much more as the timber used was not as good.

Yes, unfortunately good Ash timber is now expensive. I have seen the results of people thinking that a piece of softwood will do as a bell stay. Rather than cope with the shock, they break!


A new Ash bell stay


Broken bell stay. Some kind of unsuitable soft wood.

Cost played a part, and still does.
The harder woods including the Teak you mentioned take much longer to grow, hardwoods generally are rarer for that reason and more expensive.
Most have to be legally certified before importation.
Reasons of economy, rarity and of course the environmental impacts play a part, most hardwoods are tropical, conserving jungle is as we all now know an imperative.
The " durable motoring" phrase applied to our minors covers all aspects of our hobby.
Coniferous trees hold less CO2, Ash holds more but hardwoods hold a great deal more.
Also, hard as an engineering term means in most cases brittle, tough is the pre-requisite for car frames.
Ash is tough but pliable.
I cannot help but run my hands over well planed and polished wood, so if you spot me at car shows handling your traveller, please do not be alarmed.

svenedin wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2026 4:57 pm Broken bell stay. Some kind of unsuitable soft wood.

Looks like pine to me............

myoldjalopy wrote: ↑Wed Mar 18, 2026 9:25 am

svenedin wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2026 4:57 pm Broken bell stay. Some kind of unsuitable soft wood.

Looks like pine to me............

Definitely but my knowledge of timbers is insufficient to say exactly which species. Cheap, nasty and unsuitable for the task.

Stephen

Looks like a piece of Deal to me, ok for floorboards but not for a Traveller etc.

les wrote: ↑Wed Mar 18, 2026 9:57 am Looks like a piece of Deal to me, ok for floorboards but not for a Traveller etc.

Yes. Knowing our previous Steeple Keeper it probably came out of a skip

Stephen

svenedin wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2026 4:32 pm I am a church bell ringer and I am also the steeple keeper at my local church. Ash has been used for making bell stays for centuries for the same reasons that it is a good choice in a motor car.

OT, there must be other ringers on here-we should organise an outing in our cars, and ring Minor methods where possible,

ndevans wrote: ↑Wed Mar 25, 2026 7:30 am

svenedin wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2026 4:32 pm I am a church bell ringer and I am also the steeple keeper at my local church. Ash has been used for making bell stays for centuries for the same reasons that it is a good choice in a motor car.

OT, there must be other ringers on here-we should organise an outing in our cars, and ring Minor methods where possible,

That's a lovely idea! There was a ringing outing to the Isle of Wight a few years ago. I took my Minor and I was told there is an unwritten rule on IoW that convertibles must be top-down unless it is actually pouring with rain. The Military Road was a bit of a challenge; we could barely overtake cyclists slogging up that long steep hill The tower captain of Ryde has 2 Minors, one a (non-genuine) convertible.

Stephen

I have a plan. PM sent.

On Saturday I went to an excellent open day at the Classic Car Mechanic garage near Liphook, Hampshire. They have a sign-written Moggy van which I saw at a local event last year, and it was great to find a family owned garage that really understands classic cars, as the last garage I used, Chertsey Minors, has sadly now closed.

But I digress - I was chatting to one of the mechanics, and he mentioned that there is a Moggy traveler that has had it's ash frame replaced with a carbon fibre frame. Has anyone here seen/heard of this car? I have no idea if it has been left in it's natural state or has been painted - either way, an intriguing mod!

Pete Bags wrote: ↑Tue Mar 31, 2026 5:39 pm On Saturday I went to an excellent open day at the Classic Car Mechanic garage near Liphook, Hampshire. They have a sign-written Moggy van which I saw at a local event last year, and it was great to find a family owned garage that really understands classic cars, as the last garage I used, Chertsey Minors, has sadly now closed.

But I digress - I was chatting to one of the mechanics, and he mentioned that there is a Moggy traveler that has had it's ash frame replaced with a carbon fibre frame. Has anyone here seen/heard of this car? I have no idea if it has been left in it's natural state or has been painted - either way, an intriguing mod!

There was a factory prototype with a fibreglass wood effect frame, but I don't know if it survived.

More than one was built. Maybe 10? I have seen 3 different ones myself and know of one car which has survived with fibreglass "wood".