'Moose'

The Plan
1 November 1998

When we bought Moose, back in June 1998, we had always intended to tour mainland Europe, Great Britain and maybe even do a coast-to-coast of the United States. With that kind of mileage it seemed to us that a standard Minor just wasn't going to cope if it wasn't in absolutely tip-top condition. Either that or it had a bigger engine, better brakes and suspension. And if we were going to do any cruising on the German autobahns it seems to me that the only sensible thing to do is to fit that larger more modern engine so that we won't be worried about breaking down in the middle of nowhere (as has already happened to us in Southern Germany).

A 1.8l Rover K-Series sounds like just the thing.

The original plan was to have someone remove all the Minor running gear, fix any spots of rust they found along the way, strengthen it where necessary, and fit the new bits and pieces. We'd be back on the road in 6 weeks, max. HA HA HA! Good joke! Everyone knows what Murphy said. "It will take 3 times longer and cost twice as much as originally planned". Murphy was an optimist.

So, with that in mind, join us as we take Moose from it's sleepy home in southern England, around Europe, across the USA and back home to New Zealand. These pages will keep you up-to-date on what's happening, how it's happening, and what problems we're coming up against.