The last 18 months have seen 'Moose' being used for the daily commute to work and back, with the occasional car show taken in at the weekends.
Life with the Trav is varied to say the least - one day all is running sweet, and the next day something happens that suddenly makes driving it either really uncomfortable or simply impossible.
Dead Stop
For example, the Trav was to be featured on the trade stand of JLH Minor Restorations again this year along with the fellow Traveller of John Pearson. Note I said 'was' to be featured. We got to within 15 miles of the Nationals site when suddenly the Trav began to falter, eventually stopping altogether. This had happened before so I was pretty sure I could get us going again within minutes - a loose plug connection on the coil was usually to blame. Well, an hour later I was completely fed up and called the AA to come and rescue me. The AA man couldn't find the fault either so we resigned ourselves to staying overnight at the local Travel Lodge and have the car towed away to the engine tuners the next day.
The problem turned out to be a faulty crankshaft position sensor. I had actually replaced the sensor at the roadside before the AA towed it away, but I didn't push the plug on all the way! BUGGER! Oh well, it was kind of fortunate though because the engine tuner (Owen Developments, Oxfordshire) found that the camshaft pulleys were very badly worn and had to be replaced. They were made of a soft alloy that did not stand up well to being exposed to dirt and grit in the engine bay (I'm not using the K-Series engine pulley covers).
So, on to the next crisis.
Headaches
About a month later I realised that the car was overheating a lot and was losing radiator water rapidly. I suddenly got REAL bad one day on the way to work and I ended up pouring in over 6 litres of water within 15 miles. The head gasket had gone
So, off the road it came and I proceeded to strip the head off the car, using a Haynes workshop manual as my guide. With the head and camshafts removed, I sent it off to get stripped of the camshafts, skimmed, and reassembled. I then reassembled the head onto the car and gingerly tried to fire it up ... It worked!! :D
Squealing Belts
Things went well for another couple of months but then an awful squealing began to come from the engine - usually when cold or wet. The bolt that holds one end of the alternator tensioner bracket had sheared off flush with the engine block allowing the belt to slacken and slip. So, it was off down to my ex-flatmate and local Morris Minor specialist's workshop (Over The Hill Motor Company). Alan expertly drilled out the old stud and re-tapped the hole to take a larger bolt. An hour later it was all back together and the squeal was gone :)
So, it hasn't been plain sailing recently, but I still love driving this car. It goes fast, sounds great and constantly gets admiring looks from other drivers. I have even had TVR and Aston Martin drivers come up and say how much they like my car!
It sure puts a grin on my face when that happens :D
