Hi all

Have seen this ad http://www.carsales.com.au/used-cars/pr ... E3A19143E1

What are peoples thoughts Is it correct

Cheers
Steve

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1964 998cc Cooper
1971 Mini K x 2
1972 Clubman GT

from what I can see of the windows, side pockets and the rear seat support it looks the same as a UK traveller - so it's either a detailed home job or someone has taken the bits out of a UK traveller and put them in a clubman, or it was done at the factory...

would be very interesting to have a look in detail

edit: the rear seat is a bit wierd the way it has 2 separate cushions, I doubt that would be the way it came from the factory

Can't be a "detailed home job" as he has the provenance to prove it was done at the factory.
The complience plate would be interesting.

I remember when I registered my Austin Countryman that the DPI here in WA (the licensing authority) didn't have a W code (for Estate or Wagon) for a mini.

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Too many cars, and too little time.

yeah.... that was my attempt at diplomacy before someone jumps up and down and says it's a fake



I'd guess the plate to just be a van, but maybe as a 4 seater - in the last TME someone wrote a letter about a van with a 4 stamped on the plate, maybe they stamped a few 4 seat van plates but when the estate idea was canned they just ran them out in general population

go and have a look Steve!

The split rear seat does look odd, as you can't drop one seat to get some more load space as the seat back is one piece on the back but two squabs on the front - 'ow queer.

Plus it has rear seat belts which they look to have run all the way back to the hinges for the door. Possibly why it was never put into production - I can't imagine that being safe, although by 70s' standards maybe it was.

Incidentally, it would have been an enormous amount of work to do at home as the door aperture would have to come from an Aussie car, but the rear side windows and rear seats would have to come from a UK estate - not worth the effort unless it was done from fresh panels in the factory.

Very interesting, it certainly looks like an estate in the back, and its Aussie from the doors forward.

It would be no small undertaking to convincginly convert an Aussie van into an estate, none of the main body panels are the same.

An unusual feature is the rear seatbelts. No UK Estate ever had rear seatbelts, they stopped producing them before the laws came in over there. I wish the photo was better it looks like they are mounted to a bit of thin rod.



What a shame that Leyland Australia fell in a heap at that time, there were so many good developments coming along.

Tim

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1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian

I initially thought that too, but the rod just holds the belt up; it continues back to the top door hinge area. It is nigh on impossible to add seat belts to an estate as there's very little solid material in the shell to carry the crash forces.

If it is a home conversion it's a bloody good one!

I hope watto is following this up!

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Brett Nicholson
Greendale (near Ballan) VIC.
1971 Morris Mini Moke
1966 Austin Mini
1965 Morris Mini Traveller
1973 LR Series 3 88
2007 LR Freelander 2

Yes you're right the other photos almost show it.

I guess the rear corners would be the strongest, I wonder if they reinforced the area at all. It would be very useful to know how the factory had intended to solve the rear seatbelt problem. The UK were unbelievably slow to bring in rear seatbelts, even in 1986 when they became mandatory, they only had to be lap belts.

Wish I had a lazy $10K

Tim

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1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian

or even a busy $10k....

looking at that rubber liner in the back, there doesn't appear to be a spare wheel well under it - the impressions of the ribs in the standard van floor are visible

The Countryman came with a steel cover over the spare wheel with the same pressings as the van floor.

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Too many cars, and too little time.

Real Countryman /Traveller rear floors were completly different from vans and there were 2 styles early ones with the battery next to the spare wheel , and later ones with no battery as it was underneath the rear seat.

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That's why it's good to be.............ME

that's odd - should be a wood board with carpet on it



yeah... like this

Apparently this traveller is indeed and aussie built one.

I've been in discussions with the owner and have seen the original sales/delivery dockets and original rego papers from Leyland.

The story goes that Leyland were investigating the possibility of putting an Aussie traveller into production in the late '70's. An engineer from BL came out to Australia with all the necessary hardware to do the conversion (of which I think two were assembled).

Watto knows a bit more than me on the subject and may be able to help with the info.

The original rego papers say that it's a 1978 Mini Traveller.

I'm guessing - a very rare car indeed.

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Julie.............

I collected quite a few pictures from various places on these and i havent seen one like it. would be interesting to have a closer look. I see you kept the good bits from the one you wrecked simon