'Moose'

The Adventure Begins!
1 May 1998

The adventure began in the sleepy little village of Bosham on the south coast of England. 'Moose' was discovered, in a shower of spring blossoms, under a tree outside the workshop of S.T.Foreman, owner and woodworker extraordinaire of 'Woodies'.

'Moose' got his name because of the sticker on the back door. We don't know why it's there, but as soon as we saw it we knew that was the Trav's new name. We had thought we would call it 'Woodstock' (of 'Snoopy' and 'Peanuts' fame) but that name was quickly forgotten. The moose got the nod.

So, Moose is a 1969 Traveller, with full service history for the past 12 years, and it even has the original delivery documents. It's had a lot of work done on it, including lots of rust removed, new guards, new wood, disc brakes and a servo have been fitted, and comfy reclining seats have been fitted to the front. It's suffered a bit in the past few years, being stored outside with no body maintenance, but it is structurally sound with no rust and no rot in the wood.

It's Snowberry White in colour, which to my eyes looks a bit odd with its slight green tinge. It's smart-looking, but slightly odd. We have to wait until the Blenheim Palace run in June before we can drive Moose home - I can't take the necessary time off work to drive him 'home' to Southern Germany yet (bummer!).

We plan to have a Fiat Twin Cam 2.0L fitted at some stage, but whether or not this is before we pick it up or after we return from our 'round Europe trip is another question. I kind of like the idea of doing the tour in a 1098cc Minor, just to say I've done it, but then again, how many road-side valve-grinds am I prepared to do? Minor heads aren't the most sturdy of things when cruising at 65MPH all day.

Anyway, Moose is ours. Now we just have to wait until June before we can see and drive him again. Oh, the frustration!