Very Original Almond Green Traveller 1961 .Underside Finish.

[orb596]

Drove back from Gaydon to Bournemouth the other week and it got dark on the way. The original headlamps were perfectly adequate for our needs.

[Neil MG]

Drive regularly at night with my series II and its original BPF headlamps. They are absolutely adequate for the performance of the car!

[Morris Mike]

The totally original interior has only had a new carpet set fitted in the front compartment and a new parcel shelf (the old one`s due tend to warp and bend due to heavy objects)

Everything else has just been cleaned thoroughly.

The interior timberwork was removed,sanded back to bare timber and given a few coats of beeswax. A great finish for internal timber.
Everyone who hears her running comments on how quite the engine runs.

I just need to fit the front bumper apron and she is ready to use.

No number plate (that will fool the speed cameras around here).
M.M

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[PaulTubby]

The traveller is a credit to you, well done and keep the wheels on it ... I like them and as you say can be swaped back if needed...

[Morris Mike]

It is funny,but doing something like swapping over the wheels,which I like very much, and I think uplifts the look of the car,has caused so much controversy.

Without looking at the car its restoration work, or the quality of the finish, the first thing some folk say is "You have got the wrong wheels on that car" ,even without realising other makes of cars from the 1960`s/1970`s had aftermarket wheels fitted,even by the manufacturers.

It is not like I have chopped the roof,de-bumpered it,or fitted a huggy bear interior from the seventies into the interior.

20 minutes with a trolley jack and the wheels could be changed....will I get a job with the Red Bull pit crew.?

M.M

[PaulTubby]

People will always find something Mike to say negative.... !

[jagnut66]

Hi,
I think it looks great, the wood came up really well too!
Now get in it and drive!

The wheels were always going to be down to personal choice but if you do decide to swap back I will say that the original wheels hold the road perfectly well (touching wood at this point! ) and I have a 1275 under my bonnet and drive her like she was a modern car (that's using Toyo's tubeless by the way, so not even the most expensive brand of tyre!).
If she's original in every other way then at least you've kept them.
Best wishes,
Mike.

[thecount]

Hi there

Your Traveller looks a treat, what a fantastic job! Must say that I think the wheels look fantastic on the car, they look brilliant of all Minors though IMHO. They really look great with the colour and timber.
In the end no matter what anyone else's opinion may be, it's your car and if it makes you happy then why not go for it. As you say 20 minutes and minimal effort and all the nah sayers are silenced

I just wish they had imported a decent quantity of the Traveller to Australia!

Cheers

Gav

[Morris Mike]

For a moment I thought you were the "Count" from Counting Cars in Las Vegas.

Thank you for your kind comments.

I must admit the Almond Green is one of my favourite colours for the Traveller.

M.M

[Morris Mike]

As can be seen from the logbook,the traveller only had two family owners.
A Mrs Brutton owned her from 8th Dec 61 until 3rd Nov 69.

It then passed to the Soundy family from 3rd Nov 69 until April 2013.

It lived in Portmouth all its life.

The 44,000 miles it covered must have been around the sunny south coast.!!!


M.M




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[jagnut66]

Nice bit of history to go with it.

[whyperion]

What paint types did you use for the engine bay and the exterior ? thanks.

What colour is the front grille ?

[Morris Mike]

The very original underside had never had the misfortune of bitumen,body schulz or stone chip sprayed to the underside.

When purchased the underside was exactly how it left the factory i.e minimum of protection.

Therefore all the spot welds, fixings, metal contours etc could be clearly seen.

Absolutely no welding or repairs had been carried out.

It made a very welcome change preparing the underside ready for painting.

It was thoroughly cleaned down with an industrial steam cleaner removing any oily or grease residues.

It was finally painted in the body colour of Almond Green in a paint I had mixed exactly by scanning an example of a small body panel and the machine cleverly finding a formula. I have done this with most of the colours I have resprayed my cars with i.e

Smoke Grey.
Bermuda Blue.
Snowberry White.
Teal Blue.
etc


Normally the complete underside needs much work with a heat gun,grinders,sanders,cleaning products and dare I say shot blasting equipment to get it into shape after years of cheap Mot welding repairs which was the norm on such cars as ours.

Some very minor detailing should see her on the road in the morning in the dry sunshine ....weather permitting.

Oh...I hope you did not think I was going to get her dirty in the rainy damp weather.

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[Mark Wilson]

Fabulous - I'm Almond Green with envy! I was thinking about underside colours while I was struggling with my cross member replacement today. I didn't realise the gearbox cross member should be black until I saw your photos, but then again, I've only just found that the gearbox cover should also be black. Can I just check the accepted wisdom on the following bits?

Torsion bars - silver
Reaction arms - black
Suspension & steering - black
Flitch & inner wing bowl - body colour
Fuel tank - black?
And to be ridiculously fussy - should the inside of the chassis legs be body colour or black?

I'm not aiming at Concours - but photos like these are raising my aspirations higher and higher. It will be a daily driver, though, so I'm intending to stonechip the chassis and floor pans before body colour.

Thanks for the inspiration

Mark

[Morris Mike]

The original front seats were in very good condition. But the very front corners had started to split.
Someone in the past had tried to hand stitch them insitu. They let the car down after all the hard work we had carried out, so the decision was made to renew the front seats with covers,straps and foams etc.

Had the car been average condition we could have lived with the originals ,but like a lot of things once you start you open a can of worms.!!

In answer to the last question I would keep the underside painted areas simple.
i.e Body colour for the floor pan and chassis rails..
Black for the suspension,propshaft,torsion bars,axle and tank.
The more colours you have the more tacky it looks. Well that is my opinion.
Keep it simple.
I have seen people pick out the nuts and bolts in silver......yuk.

M.M
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[PaulTubby]

Superb! Superb! Superb!

[lowride stepside]

drool

[PaulTubby]

drool

Ditto!!