Morris Minor: Original Restorer's Guide & Traveller Complete Companion (2 Book Set)

Original Morris Minor is the essential companion to these delightful cars. Its aim is to reveal, in words and color photographs, how the many versions of the Minor -- from early low-headlamp 918cc saloon to late 1098cc traveller -- altered in detail through the course of production. The completely authentic specification which the most discerning enthusiasts now demand can be elusive because so many Minors have been altered over the years, often by impecunious owners trying simply to keep aging cars on the road for minimum cost. Drawing from factory production records this book provides the most exhaustive production survey of the Morris Minor ever published. Accompanying the authoritative text are over 250 specially commissioned color photographs showing every permutation of Morris Minor specification in remarkable detail.

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 color and black-and-white illustrations accompanying the text, this is truly the owner's complete companion to the Minor Traveller.