Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Rick]

Hi all,

1948 saw the world's introduction to the (Issigonis-era) Morris Minor, although the name had been used in much earlier times.

What are your memories, thoughts etc of the post-war Moggy? Do you rate them? Do you dislike them? Were they produced for too long?

Me, I like mine as it was bought to have a local runaround and it does the job admirably. Saying that, I'm not evangelical about them, and I'm not sure I'd ever go to a Minor-only event as I'm not that fascinated by them.



RJ
_________________
Rick - Admin
Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
Videos:https://www.youtube.com/user/oldclassiccarRJ/videos
OCC & classic car merchandise (Austin, Ford ++):
https://www.redbubble.com/people/OldClassicCar/shop

[Ashley]

I think Morris Minors are amongst the best looking and brilliantly designed cars ever to come out of this country. They’re also good looking even now, a real classic.

Only trouble is BL carried on making them without improvement until they were well past their sell date. It’s easy to forget how they were received when they first appeared.

Here’s a paragraph from the Motor Year Book of 1950, which gives and idea of how impressive they were at the time.

[Ellis]

Whenever possible I always try to post positively on here but there are two cars in particular which I cannot enthuse about - the Volkswagen Beetle and the Morris Minor - in that order of or lack of affection thereof.
I know that I am in a tiny minority because both cars have huge following but if I had to choose I would opt for a Morris Minor rather than a Beetle.

Thirty years ago I was offered a 1958 black Morris Minor two door following the passing of a village resident. His widow offered it to me at a very modest price and it was in good condition having been owned by her late husband since the late 1960s. It even had it's original local registration number and a box file full of receipts including handbook and service documents.
I could not and would not as a matter of conscience have sold it on at a profit .
I didn't want it either but the individual who did buy it had it for sale on Autotrader within a week minus it's registration number.

I drove, I think, half a dozen Minors except a pick and the convertible up but the one I did like was the van version which belonged to a friend. It felt different to the car version.

I can relate the story of one Morris Minor enthusiast who fulfilled his ambition by buying a 1963 Almond Green 4 door in 1989, an Anglesey car with a non suffix EY registration number in great order. He was looking forward to a motoring tour of the Cotswolds. The Minor broke down in Broadway and he had to have it towed away from Painswick Abbey when it failed to start.
He persevered with it for six months and gave up and sold it.

He bought a Ford Anglia 105E in it's place. A much better car in my view because I really enjoyed the 1964 105E I owned between 1988 and 1993.

Edit. I may have mentioned this before but my mother had a hankering for a new Morris Minor Traveller in March 1971 in place of her Mini Estate. There was a new range of colours in 1971 including Bedouin with Tobacco Leaf upholstery. I sometimes wonder whether it would still be here today if I had learned to drive in it. I don't think so on reflection.
_________________
Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[peter scott]

I would align with Ellis. My first (four wheeled) vehicle was an 803 cc Minor. It was dreadful! Completely gutless but not especially fuel efficient. It was noisy and when you slammed the door (they didn't shut unless you slammed them) it was like closing the lid on a tin can. The seats were very upright and very uncomfortable and the heater was pathetic and the boot was tiny.

My father had a succession of Hillman Huskys that were quite nice but when the Husky became an Imp van with windows he chose a Morris 1000 traveler (1098 cc). It performed much better than my 803 cc Minor but the seats were just as uncomfortable and I couldn't stand a long journey in it.

Personally I thought the 1200 Beetle was much nicer than my Minor. Well at least it had a top gear ratio that could call itself that. The Minor was so low geared as to appear to be always in an intermediate.

As to Ashley's article I think William Morris actually copied the Ford 8 engine for the Morris 8 and thus the first Minors. This was a better engine than the clapped out 803 in my Minor.

Peter
_________________
http://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[mikeC]

[peter scott]

Hi Mike,

I must admit that I hadn't realised that the side valve was also used in the early Minors as early as 1931.



It's true that the Ford Y type engine only reached the drawing board in October 1931 and wasn't in production until August 1932.

The Morris 8 and the Y type are incredibly alike in design and dimensions but perhaps I got it wrong as to who copied who although the Ford does predate the Morris 8. The aspect that looks like Morris copied was the cylinder dimensions and the move to three main bearings whereas the Minor side valve unit was of smaller capacity and only had two mains.

Peter
_________________
http://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[Ashley]

Whereas the Morris 8 engine would give a reliable 60bhp with an Alta cylinder head conversion, the 803 Austin A series engine was a POS. It was years before it became reliable and not till the A plus did they stop that frightful crank rattle, which the Bs had too until the MGB.

The best BMC engine was the C Series and Morris designed that.

The poor Morris Minor suffered first because William Morris took exception to it’s not having a traditional radiator grill and secondly because Len Lord had a beef with Morris because Lord Nuffield had sacked him for having an affair with his secretary.

All this and loyal customers kept buying them through all the internal political crap. They sold and sold because they were excellent compared to their contemporaries. Sadly they were never updated, just cheapened.

You have to judge these things in context and not because you like or dislike them IMO.

[alanb]

I can't say I was ever a great fan of the Morris minor or Austin A30 I much preferred my Standard 8 it was nippier than the Morris and handled better than the Austin and was more economical and more comfortable in ride and seating than both the Austin or Morris. In the 60s I worked for a company that ran a fleet of A35 vans and one Morris van, the A35s were swapped for Ford 105e vans in 1965 the Morris was retained which came in handy in the winter for tow starting the Fords in the mornings. The Fords were popular with the drivers because of the better performance than the Austins but because of their poor reliability and economy were swapped within 2 years for Hillman imp vans.
_________________
old tourer


Morris 8 two seater

[Miken]

[ukdave2002]

The Morris 8 engine was French firm Hotchkiss derived, hence the metric threads.

Dave

[lowdrag]

My first company car in 1969, duck-egg blue, OSC 248 G. I remember it well. Compared to the two Marinas that followed it was a truly lovable car, and who can forget that exhaust on the over-run! My employers were so tight that when I had a gear box problem they refused to have it fixed because the new Marina was on order, and I had no reverse for three months!

[peter scott]

[Ashley]

The side valve in the post war Morris Minor was the one that appeared in the Morris 8 Series and the E. It was designed by Morris, 917cc and very robust and durable, more so than the 803 cc A Series engine. Both developed about 27bhp.

The Morris back axle was stronger than the Austin one too. BMC switched to it along with the A Series engine.

[ukdave2002]

[Ashley]