1959 Morris Minor Traveller Wagon Spent 40 Years in a Barn, Refuses to Die

There's not a lot of background info on this 1959 Traveller, but the story goes that it spent more than four decades in a barn before it was sold at a farm auction. It's also described as a tornado survivor, which likely means that the building it was stored in was damaged by the elements at some point. The car itself appears to be in solid condition, so I doubt it was struck by a tornado.

Anyway, this Minor is no museum piece, but it's surprisingly sound for a vehicle that's been more than 40 years off the road. The original blue paint is weathered but still present, while the wood trim on the rear section survived the test of time rather well. The interior doesn't look all that bad either except for the rusty floors.

The engine, on the other hand, wasn't running when the car came out of storage, but the folks over at YouTube's "Mr. Goodpliers" managed to fire it up. Not only that, but the tiny four-cylinder ran surprisingly smooth and had enough oomph to take the 63-year-old subcompact for a spin in the backyard.

If you're not familiar with the Morris Minor, the British economy car debuted in 1948 as a replacement for the pre-WWII Eight. Known as the Minor MM, the first generation was produced until 1953. That's when Morris launched the Minor Series II.

The car you see here is part of the Series III lineage. Also known as the Minor 1000, it debuted in 1956 and became the most successful iteration of the subcompact with almost 850,000 units sold. Speaking of which, the Minor became the first British car to sell more than one million units in late 1960.

Powered by 0.9- and 1.1-liter four-cylinder engines, the Minor 1000 was offered in a variety of body styles, including two-door sedans, convertibles, and wagons, as well as a four-door sedan. Often compared to the Volkswagen Beetle, the Moris Minor was discontinued in 1971 after years of declining sales.

But that's enough history for today. Hit the play button below to see one of the very few Minors from North America come back to life after more than four decades.