Morris Minor Traveller

Book excerpt: For more than half a century the Morris Minor Traveller has been a familiar feature of rural and small-town Britain. Unpretentious, uncomplaining, half-timbered in an age of sleek pressed steel, Travellers were to be seen everywhere, laden with schoolchildren, dogs, jumble for the jumble sale, buzzing bravely along at no great speed. Ray Newell is the unchallenged authority on Minor matters, and here he begins by providing in-depth descriptions of the 803cc, 948cc and 1098cc Traveller models, with details of production and specification changes. Next he looks at special purpose versions as used by, among others, the armed forces, the coastguard and even the Barbados police. Then comes a section on one-off Travellers including an intriguing three-door conversion first built in the early 1950s. Countless Traveller owners have had to face the need for replacement of the timber framework of the body, a major undertaking, and an outstanding feature of this book is the chapter by Steve Forman devoted to this task, which is set out in step-by-step format with accompanying photographs. The final section of the book deals with upgrades available to bring the Minor’s performance, braking and suspension up to more modern standards. These include engine replacements, five-speed gearboxes and disc brakes as well as less radical modifications. With some 300 colour and black-and-white illustrations accompanying the text, this is truly the owner’s complete companion to the Minor Traveller.