1956 Morris Isis Traveller ? Minority Morris ? 264 ? Classic cars

November 29th, 2012 by NZ Classic Car

I?generally pride myself on an ability to recognise old Kiwi classic cars, and can usually even remember the last time I actually spotted a particular marque and model, or recall having seen one in my younger days. Perhaps it was just me, I hope not, but I can vividly remember trying to name every car we passed or that came in the opposite direction whilst sitting in the back seat of my parent?s car when on outings during my early and teenage years. I attempted to be discreet (I didn?t want my folks to think I?d gone completely bonkers, just as my younger sister had suggested on many occasions) but nonetheless, it was something I enjoyed doing.

Recently, Choppers Auto Body Shop Ltd on Auckland?s North Shore advised us that it had just completed restoring a 1956 Morris Isis Traveller, and asked if we would like to feature it in NZ Classic Car magazine. The attached pictures of the Morris looked fine, so we decided to investigate further.

Getting back to my initial point, I have to admit that I couldn?t ever recall seeing a Morris Isis Traveller or, in fact, a Morris Isis sedan for that matter. I was totally familiar with its smaller brother, the Morris Oxford, but had the Isis eluded me for all these years? I think so. However, I didn?t feel so bad when I was advised that these cars are, indeed, quite rare and this beautifully restored example was described as probably?being the only one in the country ? so you can imagine my surprise when I spotted two of them sitting in the car park when we went to photograph the restored Isis car, both owned by long time Morris enthusiast, Terry Bracey.

I couldn?t wait to sit down with Terry to find out where the other car came from, and he advised me that he also thought his Isis Traveller was the only one in the country, that is until he found a second one.

Rare Beast

Terry was also unaware that Morris built the Isis Traveller until one day in the early 1980s he was driving his Morris Isis sedan (very much his trusty workhorse) when, to his astonishment, he spotted a Morris Isis Traveller coming the other way. Terry quickly performed a U-turn in hot pursuit of this rare beast, and after a few kilometres of horn beeping and light flashing the Traveller eventually pulled over. An old bloke hopped out and general conversation ensued, ending in Terry providing the owner of the Traveller with his name and contact details and the request to ring him if he ever wanted to sell.

A few years later, in fact August 1986, having completely forgotten this incident and with his Isis sedan off the road ? basically it was worn out after providing many years of reliable service ? Terry recalls receiving a phone call regarding a Morris Isis Traveller. Confusion reigned until the caller identified himself as the son of the owner of the Traveller. His father had passed away and, while cleaning out his dad?s papers, found Terry?s name and phone number as a possible buyer.

The Traveller was located just north of Auckland, in Orewa, and Terry wasted no time in arranging a suitable time to view the car. He was surprised to see that it had a current WoF and registration. Although well and truly worn, the Isis looked to be totally original and exactly what Terry wanted. Once a price had been negotiated and money changed hands, Terry drove the Traveller home with the intention of restoring it ? ?shortly.?

Now, as we all know, when it comes to classic cars ?shortly? can mean anything in terms of timing and, in Terry?s case, shortly turned out to mean 26?years later, in August 2009. His thought at that time was along the lines of ?if the job wasn?t done then it never will be? ? and he finally embarked on the task of restoring the Traveller.

However, there was one minor issue that Terry wanted to clear in his mind before starting the restoration, which was to verify the rarity of his Isis Traveller and, following a quick search on the internet, he could only find one example in the UK. Suitable inspiration, I would think, for a restoration project.

Steel, Aluminium and Wood

Chopper was introduced to Terry?s Morris Isis Traveller in 2010 and found himself looking at one very rusty bodyshell. Subsequently, Choppers Auto Body Shop was given the job of restoring this tired old vehicle back to its former glory.

The first stage was to completely strip every part, including every nut and bolt, from the car before Chopper could begin fabricating new panels?? these would include a full floor pan, inner and outer sills.

He then excised all the remaining rusty tin and had Warren at NZ Soda Blasting clean the remains with glass media.

The next step was to apply Resene Automotive two-part epoxy primer to seal the entire body before the long task of cutting, welding and fabricating could commence. Chopper spent many hours researching how the car was supposed to look, as obtaining body panels was definitely not an option so every individual panel that had to be replaced was meticulously crafted in the traditional method by hand, using an English wheel, shrinker-stretchers and metal folders.

Chopper even thought about the way in which he could prevent potential water leakage into areas that could cause further corrosion, and fabricated special fittings and hoses that came out of drain holes to force the water down and out of those areas.

Once the metalwork was finally completed, the next stage involved exhaustive weeks of fitting panels to get everything to line up perfectly, including a new rear section of roof which, Chopper pointed out, is made from aluminium and is half the size of the car, requiring many hours of special care and attention to detail it to perfection.

Once the bodyshell was completely coated in primer and assembled the next task was to tackle the woodwork. The responsibility for this aspect of the car?s restoration was handed over to cabinetmaker Steve Cleary, of SC Interiors. Steve quite literally hand-crafted each individual piece from a large block of American Ash. The task proved to be not only stressful but also incredibly time-consuming, as one-off templates were required for each piece to be made.

Final Assembly

Once the Traveller was back in Chopper?s workshop, he was able to carefully sand and prepare the woodwork before applying a natural-coloured stain followed by Resene Automotive Durapox clear. Once completely cured, the woodwork was re-sanded and re-cleared with a Dupont 3050s 2k clear, creating the magnificent finish you see here.

The car was then completely disassembled, prepped, seam-sealed and the Subaru Green Dupont basecoat and clear was applied to the shell and the rest of the parts.

Once painting was completed Chopper stripped every nut and bolt clean and had them gold-zinc plated. He was quite adamant that he wasn?t going to reuse any bolt or fastener that wasn?t new and greased. Chopper also installed Mongoose sound deadener to every part of the interior of the vehicle to give it the nice, quiet sound of a new car.

The Traveller was then treated to a complete application of cavity wax throughout ? including injecting it into every seam, tiny hole, crevice, nook and cranny to ensure the car would last a lifetime.

The fully rebuilt running gear from Carr Automotive was then reinstalled together with a rebuilt radiator thanks to Albany Radiators. Wills Automotive and Terry Gruebner Motors attended to general mechanical work and the Traveller was completely re-wired by Mike Barlow Electrical.

The car?s completely stripped, blasted and powder-coated suspension was re-installed, including a fully rebuilt rear end from The Italian Job, while Al?s Mufflers fabricated a new twin exhaust system, this being HPC coated. The bumpers, as well as the entire exterior brightwork, were re-chromed and polished. New rubbers and lights were fitted throughout.

The long road was almost at an end and the final piece in the jigsaw for Chopper was to pass the Traveller over to Jim Woonton in Mairangi Bay to complete the interior upholstery ? this being accomplished in a perfect tan shade to complement the Morris? green exterior and ash woodwork.

For Terry, there were still a few small hurdles to cross before he could safely and legally head off into the sunset in his newly restored Morris Isis Traveller. Unfortunately, he wasn?t aware of the need to have kept the car?s registration ?alive? back in 1986. Not a problem, he naively thought.

The Dead Hand of Bureaucracy

Terry?s first contact with NZTA established the need to re-register the Traveller, no problem. Then there was the issue that, although the vehicle was built in 1955, it was not registered in New Zealand until April 1956 as a used car. As such, in the eyes of NZTA this made the Isis a 1956 model and, to re-register the vehicle, it had to be repair- and seat belt?certified. Conflicting information from two different NZTA officials added to Terry?s utter frustration at this point, and his pleas that the vehicle already had seat belts and a current WoF when taken off the road fell on deaf ears.

Then the car had to be VINed, which amounted to a staggering all-up on-road cost of?$1470 ? and that was before a spanner was even laid on the vehicle.

By this stage, Terry was beginning to have second thoughts about attempting to wade any further through this discouraging sea of bureaucracy, and he came very close to finishing the rebuild and driving it without a WoF or registration. Terry figured his chances of being caught by the constabulary would be slim unless they had an interest in old cars and, as the Traveller would only be used for the equivalent of going down to feed the ducks on a fine Sunday, his chances of being caught were remote.

However, he decided to continue with the process of making his new pride and joy completely road legal, and admits the final kick in the pants came when he went to the AA to complete the registration. The contact person insisted that he had to physically sight Terry before contacting the NZTA ? Terry reckons it was probably to make sure that he wasn?t a six-eyed alien from Alpha Centauri or other such intergalactic place.

The good thing now is that it?s all behind him and he can enjoy the Traveller as intended ? and legally. He admits that he was fortunate in discovering four extremely talented individuals, three of whom have adjoining premises in Birkenhead, Auckland ? Choppers Auto Body Shop, NZ Soda Blasters and cabinetmaker, Steve Cleary. Upholsterer Jim Woonton wasn?t too far down the road in Mairangi Bay and, overall, Terry is very happy with the result.

Enter Murphy?s Law

No, I haven?t forgotten to tell you about the second Morris Isis Traveller we discovered in the car park.

Within two weeks of finishing the three-year rebuild and single-handedly attempting to lift Auckland?s economy out of recession, Terry was perusing the minutes of a recent meeting of the Auckland Morris Register and discovered a query from Christchurch regarding the possible sale of a 1956 Morris Isis Traveller. Terry couldn?t resist calling the club secretary for a name and phone number, and subsequently made the call. The person on the other end of the phone established that the Traveller was part of his stepfather?s estate and was a completely original, one-owner from-new vehicle. Photographs sent via email seemed to confirm this. The story was that this chap?s stepfather bought the Traveller brand new in Canada back in 1956 for C$2585, and when he emigrated to New Zealand in 1960 he brought?it with him and had it converted from left- to right-hand drive here in New Zealand.

So much for his car being the only one in the country, Terry thought.

Following an accusatory conversation with God, Terry flew down to Christchurch to inspect the ?original? Isis Traveller ? where he discovered it was exactly as promised. Absolutely original, the Isis came with a current WoF and registration, lots of spares and even a copy of the original bill of sale. Once a price was negotiated, Terry paid up and drove the Traveller back to Auckland without missing a beat. It ran very sweetly.

Terry plans to keep this second Traveller original, and intends tidying up a few areas here and there ? but no restoration is planned.

There you have it. There are now two Morris Isis Travellers in New Zealand according to Terry, and even the Auckland Morris Register?s historian believes these vehicles are extremely rare indeed. However, if you happen to know of another one lurking in the back of a barn somewhere, I think it best to keep it quiet as I think Terry has run out of garage space.

This article is from NZ Classic Car issue 264.?Get your copy?here.

1956 Morris Isis Traveller ? Specs

Engine Morris in-line six-cylinder
Capacity 2639cc
Bore/stroke 79.4?88.9mm
Valves OHV, two per cylinder
Compression 7.25:1
Max. power 64kW at 4250rpm
Fuel system SU carburettor
Transmission Four-speed manual
Steering Bishop cam and lever
Suspension F/R Independent by torsion bar and wishbone/ semi-elliptic
Brakes Drum/drum
?Dimensions:
Overall length 4521mm
Width 1651mm
Height 1619mm
Wheelbase 2362mm
Kerb weight 1295kg
?Performance:
0?100kph 17.6 seconds
Max speed 144kph (90mph)
Economy?10.8l/100km (21.8mpg)

Words: Ashley Webb ?Photos: Adam Croy

Source: http://www.classiccar.co.nz/articles/1956-morris-isis-traveller-minority-morris-264

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