Quote:
Originally Posted by Stephen Edwin
The Morris Minor. A spacious cathedral of excellence. My four door saloon was in my opinion superb. Took me fully around GB. It was interesting when a friend from NL did not realise that plod were stopping us for a routine check so she started to pull in to the middle lane to overtake their XJ6, when we were running in a re-built 948cc A Series engine ... Actually it had good drivability. Torsion bar front suspension "just like" the E Type Jag. And anyways it kept pace with a hard driven Anglia for many many miles on a very busy A303 on a gorgeous hot summer evening .... I am a sedate driver ....
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I had a Morris Traveller for some 32 years, and estimate that I did some half a million miles in it. For many years my annual mileage was around 22,000, sometimes under quite harsh conditions, and the car rarely let me down, and then usually due to a casual approach to maintenance - when you have a car that will start every day regardless of the weather the tendency is just to get in and drive.
I'm being a little sparing with the truth in a way; the car had two major rebuilds, the first to include a five-speed gearbox and a 1,300cc engine - the former was a huge improvement, the latter probably unnecessary. Also disc brakes on the front, a water-heated manifold (it was years before I found out why that was worth doing, the garage just recommended it!), electronic ignition (well worthwhile), hydraulically operated clutch, plus various little aids to comfort, including improved front seats with head restraints, and some fairly substantial sound-deadening. Underneath it all though it had all the attributes of the original Minor, and it served me well until chassis rust made it uneconomical for me to repair - the problem being that the woodwork needed to be removed, and replacement was way beyond my finances. I sold it to a couple who planned to do a ground-up restoration, which for various reasons took them about three years. I haven't heard from them for a while but as far as I know the car is still in use, usually commandeered by their son apparently!
A friend with a Torslanda to dispose of came to the rescue with a replacement car, which led me to this site. I still have the car, 217,000 miles now (128.000 when I bought it), getting slightly shabby after more than nine years, but nothing that a good valeting couldn't remedy, and I hope to have many more miles from it, it might even be the last car I ever need! I still love driving it, it's all so well put together and substantial, and very comfortable too.