Morris Minor Owners Club

This is my 1968 Traveller, finally (after 4 years) restored, and ready for his first show. Got a local one today, then next weekend he's going to the All British Car Days in Round Rock, Texas.

It's been a long and (mostly) pleasurable experience. I learned a lot. My best tips would be:

1) Know your capabilities. If you don't feel confident doing a major job, find an expert, and remember that job can be going concurrent with your own work, saving time overall.

2) If you can't figure something out, leave it and try again the next day. I've had the plenty of "aha" moments once I'm not staring at the problem.

3) On the other hand, be careful not to outsource jobs that connect with something you're doing yourself without lots of communication in between. One small example - I had the paint done by a local shop, and supplied them the stripped shell, with new wings. They re-attached the wings, but had no reference point because I had the engine out, and wanted to put the front valance and grille back myself afterwards. None of the bolt holes at the front lined up because the wings were set a little high. It took many hours of fiddling to get everything to fit.

4) Read and digest everything you can find before re-assembling. Order is critical. You'll never remember how everything fitted when you took it off (although plenty of pics from many angles certainly helps). I cut and fitted the window runners into new wood, and installed the sliding windows before drilling the door upper hinge holes in the rear post, only to realize that the bolt heads are supposed to sit inside the grooves I had just covered up...

5) Be aware of "mission creep". I never intended to be so picky at the start, but the more you pull apart, the more you just want to replace, buff, polish and paint etc. I can't remember how many times I thought, yeah, but if I don't do that, it lets the rest of it down....

6) Finally, I'm just blown away by the incredible help and support members of this club have provided. The message board is a tremendously valuable resource. I know there are mutterings about its reliability, but I have found it to be very useful exactly when I needed guidance.

At the end of it all, my biggest headache was just getting a correct title. The title I got when I bought the car in Dallas 16 years ago had a "U" instead of a "D" in the 5th place, someone having mis-read the stamped VIN plate. I applied for a corrected title, then the state required me load the car onto a trailer, haul it 130 miles, have it inspected by the Sheriff's auto theft division, issue an affidavit, and then the DMV lost all the paperwork. Several trips to the DMV, many phone calls, and finally after nearly 3 months, I have the corrected title. Not a fun experience....but now I have the car to enjoy

Now that is a lovely car. Congratulations.

Perfect, and sound advice. Well done!

Love to see more pics - interior, engine bay etc, even if it makes me even more jealous....

That's a cracker

HUGE RESPECT ..... that is a beautiful looking car.
I've done a few classic car restorations , personal and for mates. No 5 still in progress( but not a Morris ). I appreciate the hours of love and hard graft that has gone into the project.
You now have full bragging rights and are entitled to wear a silly grin on your face when you say " I did that ".
Pride in a job well done is the gift that keeps on giving.
Well done that man. Now enjoy.
Bob

Nice car, nice surroundings!

You have a good reason to be proud. Good job. I wish mine looked that good.

Thank you for all the compliments! Here's a few more pics...

And a couple more as I seem to have hit the Gig limit.
Eagle eyes will spot that the heated rear door glass isn't wired. Next project is to fit an alternator. Followed by front disk brakes, and....well, we'll see.

All your hard work has paid off. This build look so clean, and I really like your choice of color.

Congratulations! That is a great looking car

Thanks Mike, yes, I did the Waxoyl treatment from spray cans with the long hose attachment, so hopefully got into every cranny. Another job I would never have thought about without this message board.

When I got the car in 2005, there was a waxy residue inside those cavities at the base of the rear pillars. I didn't know what it was at the time, but now assume at some point it was Waxoyled throughout. It was originally imported to Texas in 1993 and lived in Dallas, so since then has been in a relatively dry climate. There has been some floor pan welding done in the past, rear spring hangers repaired, and I replaced the passenger side chassis leg soon after I got the car in 2005, but other that, not much else needed doing this time.

Silicone brake fluid - yes, done. A bit more difficult to bleed and a slightly soften pedal, but worth it to save having to replace wheel cylinders regularly.

Yeah, that's true in Texas, I don't know about other states. But there's a wide gap between the law and how it is enforced. Texas says as a resident you cannot display any registration other than a Texas plate. Yet every British car show I've been to the cars show their UK plates, so I think it would only be enforced if an alert Trooper saw them on a public highway.
Texas law also says you have to display front (as well as rear) plates, yet many people don't bother. My son has a used BMW 5-series which doesn't even have a front plate mount panel. That's an optional extra which costs a bundle and in his view spoils the look of the front fender. He got a warning from his city police, but ignored it and still won't install a front plate. Yes, Texans' spirit of independence is alive and well!

Well done be proud

53lake wrote: ↑Fri Sep 24, 2021 5:14 pm
Texas law also says you have to display front (as well as rear) plates

Never understood that rationale nor why it is different province to province / state to state.

In Nova Scotia it’s legal to have an old style plate and cut out and weld your legal numbers into it to get the look and colour of a vintage plate. Was tested in court few years ago and there’s nothing to say it MUST be the latest styling. Could you do similar?

Lovely traveller a credit to you it should win a prize

He did! Great show, hundreds of British cars on display from RR to A-H, Morgan, Lotus, Triumph, MG, Aston Martin, Jaguar, everything. I'll post a few pics under a separate thread for interest.