Rubber mats - not carpets?

[Owlsman]

In the great scheme of things, not the most of important issues but whilst browsing eBay I stumbled across this rather pricey traveller.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203548663282 ... SwIPdhCuKe

Whether anyone would pay £25k for a MM 'woodie' (even one as original as this would appear to be) is anyone's guess but I was intrigued by the absence of carpets. It seems to be fitted with a rubber floor-covering throughout, which I don't think I've ever seen before. Surely carpets were not an optional extra, were they?

Can anyone satisfy my curiosity please?

Alan

[JOWETTJAVELIN]

That is correct in most details for a Traveller of this year. A very nice ‘time warp’ car.

[philthehill]

I do not remember ever seeing a paper air filter assy on a H2 carb !

[win]

My 1955 traveller came with fitted rubber mats, they were in very poor condition torn and shredded.
I discarded them, I bitterly regret not trying to repair or save them, it was only a drive to work car, at that time.
Regards Win

[ManyMinors]

The rubber mats were correct for the Traveller until late 1961 - even on a "deluxe" like that car. They are a rarity now! Carpet was only fitted to the front wheelarches. That is an extraordinary car. So original. Is it worth £25,000? Time will tell I suppose.

[Myrtles Man]

That is an extraordinary car. So original. Is it worth £25,000? Time will tell I suppose.

On the basis of the following example of originality being very highly-prized, probably:-

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a2357 ... e-million/

[jagnut66]

A lovely car, in wonderful condition but with a price that is, in my view, way over the top.
Sadly I daresay this is destined to dissapear into another garage and remain, pretty much, a static exhibit, never used and enjoyed like it begs to be.
Of course at that price (or whatever 'discount' is agreed) the new owner may be too afraid to take it out of the garage and drive it, because they will think they may devalue it.
And if you are not going to take a car out, drive and enjoy it, as it was meant to be, I don't see the point in buying it for whatever price.
Best wishes,
Mike.

[liammonty]

A lovely car, in wonderful condition but with a price that is, in my view, way over the top.
Sadly I daresay this is destined to dissapear into another garage and remain, pretty much, a static exhibit, never used and enjoyed like it begs to be.
Of course at that price (or whatever 'discount' is agreed) the new owner may be too afraid to take it out of the garage and drive it, because they will think they may devalue it.
And if you are not going to take a car out, drive and enjoy it, as it was meant to be, I don't see the point in buying it for whatever price.
Best wishes,
Mike.

I guess you're not going to buy it then Mike?

I think it's wonderful that cars still exist in such original condition. Surely that's a positive point, rather than a negative?! I wouldn't pay that much for it, but I daresay it will eventually sell for what someone feels it is worth, and if it's preserved, even if that means it's not used a huge amount, then that's also good. Cars like that excite me far more than over-restored, or even concours cars.

[jagnut66]

I think it's wonderful that cars still exist in such original condition. Surely that's a positive point,

It is, my point was about the price, not the car or it's originality.
I would buy it, for the right price. Which wouldn't be anywhere near his price.
And it is one of those cars you wouldn't alter (apart from service items like brake cylinders / shoes / tyres etc).
However I would use it, regularly, because I would enjoy doing so. I get no pleasure from staring at them in my garage, immobile. (Static exhibit exceptions being a motor museum / car shows).
Best wishes,
Mike.

[richardwalling]

My parents bought a very similar 1959 Traveller in 1967 which also had the rubber mat (one piece) as in this car. I remember a very wet holiday to my uncle's farm in Mid Wales where wellies were de rigeur for rear seat passengers as the water had found its way through the holes in the floor and the tears in the mat. All these holes were sorted out in 1985 by Charles Ware in Bath, and sorted out very well as the floor is still sound today.By the late 1980s the mat had more or less disintegrated and was replaced with Newton Commercial carpets. These have lasted very well and are still with the car today (I inherited it from my mother in 2011).
Here's "Morris" and his slightly younger sibling "Bertie" (July 1960, but not carrying the original registration these days). Bertie is hopefully in the final stages of a major restoration over the last 4 years, having led a much more varied life than the Traveller. I'm only the 3rd owner of the Traveller but the 14th of the saloon.

[Owlsman]

Thanks chaps for the responses to my original post. 'You learn summat every day', as my old grandad used to say

As for the car itself and the million dollar Beetle in MM's link, to me, they are a bit like that dusty bottle of decades-old claret, as soon as you use it, the value plummets. If that's what the owner wants to do, I'm fine with that.

Personally, I do get a sort of 'fix' from simply the joy of ownership of my Moggy. I do try to use it as much as reasonably possible for runs out......by that I mean, as much as my wife will allow! I do despise the 'cheque-book owners' who simply buy an E-type, or similar and then chuck a cover over it, hoping that the price will rise (not always of course) before selling it on. All that usually does is drag up the prices of 'everyday classics' so that they become out of the reach of real enthusiasts. I have a fair collection of original Dinky, Corgi and Spot-on toy cars, which, although they never leave their display cases, I love owning each and every one of them....... rather than whizzing them down the kitchen lino

Funnily enough, I am not long back from the car's longest run out in my Moggy (over 60 miles). Together with a few other club members we went to The Carding Shed in Holmfirth, W. Yorks.
http://thecardingshed.co.uk/
Highly recommended. There's a small classic car museum and access to a massive restoration workshop as well as a lot of classic memorabilia and fantastic food in the 'Oil Can Cafe'.

Thanks again chaps,
Alan

[Chief]

Although not one solid mat, my mothers '63 saloon has Dunlop rubber floor mats which are said to be the original ones supplied with the car and I do notice a strong similarity between them and that Travellers' rubber mat in terms of the style etc.so I wonder if Dunlop also made the Travellers mats.

[JOWETTJAVELIN]

It probably was Dunlop. There seems to be very little information on the mats but the good thing about this car is that it serves as a valuable reference vehicle being correct in most details. I didn't know the sills were left uncovered bare steel, for instance. I have a NOS rubber floor covering for these cars.