About to buy my first traveller & need some advice -plea

[waywa]

Hello

I live in London & am just about to buy my first Traveller & am looking for a bit of advise from anyone out there. Am I completely mad & is it cruel to subject Michael (I have already named him...) to the everyday madness of the A40. I am going to Charles Ware garage in the morning to look at a Trafalgar Blue 1 owner. As far as I am aware it has no modifications. What modifications would I require for everyday driving in London? What sort of price would I expect to pay?

Never done this chat room thing before but would really appreciate some feed back

[RogerRust]

Hi there, welcome to the board, I'm sure your'll find lots of useul information here and the folk are all very friendly.
Where abouts in London are you? There are several local members.

My advice is join the MMOC - well worth it and an excellent magazine every couple of months. Have a talk to Charles Ware before you pick it up. They may be able to help you, but I've never been there.

It is good to add your location to you profile so others will know where you are near to. Please see the thread labled Location,Location at the top of this section.

I'm sure you'll get lots of help here.

By the way a few regular members are away driving from Lands End to the Orkney Ilands this week so we may be a bit slow!

Roger.

[Orkney]

Welcome !
What the Great Rusty one said - Join the club - best few quid you can spend.

You need to familiarise yourself with one before you jump in and buy one for a daily traffic commute.
A well maintained example will cope with it, but if your used to moden cars you mind find it hard work on a twice daily basis.
If it was me, (and money was no object) I'd be looking for one with a modern engine conversion if it was expected to deal with traffic on a daily basis, not for the sake of reliability but a more relaxed and refined drive.
I'd imagine your more likely to get let out in the traffic driving a mog though
Other advantages - free tax (very satisfying) - really low insurance (get it through the club when you join and save more than the membership, spares are very cheap compared to modern cars, but ability to repair yourself or know a specialist who is used to them really pays.
Get to know a few people close to you - attend any meets that might be happening, I'm sure people wouldn't mind taking you for a few runs so you can see exactly what they are like.
Good luck and dont be afraid to ask anything on here
Kevin

[Kevin]

I am going to Charles Ware garage in the morning to look at a Trafalgar Blue 1 owner. As far as I am aware it has no modifications. What modifications would I require for everyday driving in London? What sort of price would I expect to pay?

As a Trader you will find the price quite a bit more than a private sale, a really good Traveller from a private sale needing nothing doing in excellent condition will be in the £4,000 - £6,000 price bracket it just depends how lucky you are, as for useful mods an upgrade to disc brakes with or without servo will make the driving a little more comfortable if you are not used to Moggie Brakes.

[dalebrignall]

charles ware is a good place to look if you are not mechanically mined electronic ignition is a good mod to do.you can upgrade most things it just depends how deep your pockets are.bare in mind that the wood is part of the cars structure and the car will fail if it is rotten.the wood is fairly expensive to replace.andy at charles ware is very helpful good luck.

[simmitc]

The most important thing is that the standard cars (certainly the later ones with 948cc or better still 1098cc engines) can be used quite happily for everyday driving - many of us do just that. You can always buy standard to start with and add mods as you get to know what you want. Nothing is essential but you can get uprated heaters, heated front and rear screens, alternators, disc brakes (or bigger drums), servo, different engine, halogen lights, etc etc etc. But, none of these are essential, it's personal choice.

Join the MMOC and a local branch, and you'll be onto a winner. BTW, you can pick up tidy cars that might need a bit of work for a lot less money, but if going that way do take a knowledgeable person with you so that you don't get caught out.

Another benefit of being a Minor owner is the great social life that can go with it.

[johnm]

The Traveller will cope with London driving OK, my wife regularly drives hers from Gloucestershire into London and then around London. The key is to make sure the brake drums are round (old ones go oval) and keep the brakes well maintained. Most of the rest will be fine.

The big issue is weather. If you haven't access to a garage, or at least a car port, you'll have the devil's own job keeping the wood in good order.

You also need to make sure the underside and box sections are rust proofed with something like waxoyl each year.

[chickenjohn]

I've been using my traveller on a more-or less daily basis going to work etc for the last 10 years, shopping going to the tip moving my musical equipment, even going on holiday! You need to keep on top on maintainance and fix faults as soon as they become apparent. My car only needed to be towed home once by the AA, that was due to the little low tension wire in the distributor failing.

You also need to keep on top of the rust, if the car is restored well, then waxyl it annually, if not then learn to Mig weld.

My traveller (apart from a Mini oil filter) is completely standard, so if you are a good driver there is no need to modify the car at all. Well maintained standard drum brakes work fine.

[waywa]

Hello Roger

Thank you for your email - the 1st... I live in NW london & work in Greenford so have to deal with the A40 on a daily basis. One of my concerns was overheating (my boyfriend has a Ford Anglia & every trip is an adventure) but when I mentioned this to Charles he said it would not be a problem. Hopefully he should be ready in 6/7 weeks a bit of a shame as I have missed the summer but as it is brewing for a storm today I think the summer came & went along time ago..


Sarah

[SteveandWilliam]

I bought a Traveller from Charles Ware about a year ago, and they delivered the car in very good running order, replacing a lot of the basic items such as the battery, plugs, coil etc. They dealt with all the minor rust, and gave a guarantee on the chassis, which I found the most comforting thing. I had looked at a few Travellers and, while you can fairly easily tell whether the wood is in good condition, (look for dark patches) the frame is harder to assess. I use the traveller for local trips on the A1M most days, and the occasional longer trips. Its great at 60mph. I'm thinking of going to the IOW rally, which is a round trip of 200 miles.

As Kevin said, traders are more expensive, but you know what you are getting, and while I have the time to maintain it, I didn't have the time to restore one... yet.
I have no mods. The brakes are really the only thing that requires a bit of getting used to. And the noise of the engine is what you buy it for!

[d_harris]

On the cooling front, no need to worry whatsover. Minors are majorly over-cooled so you are very unlikely to experience problems with that

[Chris Morley]

Agreed, the radiator is far bigger than necessary - about 20% of the cooling fins are missing from my radiator and yet the engine still runs cool in Winter!

Minors are fine for everyday use as long as the servicing isn't skimped and a good example is very reliable. Since the A40 is mainly 40-50mph a Minor will be perfectly OK - just remember to leave a good gap to the car in front.

[DaveC]

Its great at 60mph.

Agreed. My trav will cruise lovely on the A14 at 60-65 mph. Less than 60 gets diff whine, and more than 65 gets a bit droney from the exhaust. she will do 37 - 41 mpg unleaded fuel. Small tank though (6 gallon) so range is limited. You can fit a larger 9 gallon tank.
Dave

[bmcecosse]

I strongly advise you to look around - and don't just buy the first Traveller that you see - wherever it's located! Maybe someone on here is selling one - look the For Sale and also post a Wanted. The one essentail modification I would look for is an Alternator instead of the old dynamo - otherwise - keep it standard. Oh, and don't worry about 'unleaded' conversions - it's really not necessary. And check out ebay - you have to be very careful of course - but there ARE bargains to be had. My recent TR7 purchase through ebay was certainly a bargain for me !

[wibble_puppy]

Hello waywa! and welcome to the forum, I hope you join the Club so you get to rallies and enjoy the whole gamut of Minor motoring

I strongly advise you to look around - and don't just buy the first Traveller that you see - wherever it's located

I'd strongly agree with that advice. And take along a knowledgeable person with you whenever you view a car. That's one way in which joining your local MMOC branch can be really handy - they will usually be able to find you someone who will potter around looking at cars with you - and they will know the weird little bits to look out for which might not occur to someone who isn't experienced with Minors. And of course Travellers have their own particular set of potential problem areas - buy the right one and you'll have no worries, but buy the wrong one and you could be in for a really rough time.

The Club has produced a good guide to shopping for a Minor, which it would be worth your while getting hold of.

I really really REALLY wouldn't buy the first car you find. Unless the local MMOC branch look at it and tell you that it's it's right, sound and likely to be reliable!!

If you buy from a trader then get an absolutely watertight guarantee, covering every single part of the car, especially the wood, and including an agreement to supply a temporary replacement car for you to use if they have to take the car back for repairs. PM me if you like for my (limited and personal) experience relating to what appears to be your specific situation.

If buying on ebay or via a private ad (including on this forum) then just be really careful and have not only your wits but a knowledgeable Minor person about you when you inspect it!

Good luck and look forward to seeing you at some rallies maybe!

wibble

[alex_holden]

Small tank though (6 gallon) so range is limited. You can fit a larger 9 gallon tank.

I managed to get well over 250 miles from my standard tank on the LEO run. Even the thirstier cars among us rarely needed to stop. I think I read somewhere that the larger tank prevents you putting the spare wheel under the boot floor.

[wibble_puppy]

I think I read somewhere that the larger tank prevents you putting the spare wheel under the boot floor.

... unless you have a *cough* van

[Kevin]

I live in NW london & work in Greenford so have to deal with the A40 on a daily basis.

Hi Sarah, I work in Pinner so can understand your concerns over the A40, the awkward thing from a branch meeting point of view is that the North London & Middlesex branch meet over at Enfield whereas we meet at London Colney which is between Elstree and St Albans which is why we have a few Middlesex members, if you need some advice or help or just want to talk Moggies you are more than welcome

[chickenjohn]

Yes, Kevin is right, join your local branch BEFORE you get a car- you might get a bargain as cars are often for sale in the local branches and as the buyer and seller know they will see each other at the next meet or rally, the cars are generally pretty genuine and reasonabley priced.

You can get the same standard of car from the local club for sometimes half the price of the dealer.

[chickenjohn]

Have a look at Steve's car, he's the most productive serial restorer on here. Car on Ebay. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... :IT&ih=016