Case No.8
Make: Morris
Model: Minor
Year: 1929
Sold on: eBay
Category: Classic Cars
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Project description.
Vintage, pre-1931, cars of this size usually sport an Austin badge on their radiator, rather than that of Morris. Pre-war Morris Minors tend to be the post-vintage sidevalve models by and large. I've a couple of early 1930's Minors, one a 1932 two-seater (tourer), the other a 1934 saloon, the latter used regularly for local forays into the countryside, and the odd school run. They drive excellently for their age, and are a more civilised proposition in many ways when compared to the Longbridge-built tiddler, the brakes for example being more than adequate, and their clutch action progressive rather than "on/off", a criticism often levelled at Austins. The car featured here is a bona-fide vintage Minor, and an early one at that, dating to 1929, the first season for Minor production. The 847cc (8hp) Minor made its debut in October 1928, and was available as a fabric-bodied saloon, or as the neat four-seat tourer shown above. Both were powered by an innovative overhead-cam engine - quite a novelty when compared to its direct rival, the Austin 7, with its 7hp sidevalve engine. The Minor's engine, while quite exotic, proved to have reliability issues and was in fact replaced a few years into production by a simpler, and easier-to-live-with, sidevalve unit.
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Anyone wanting to compete in VSCC trials for example using a pre-war Minor, will need to seek out a 1928-1930 example, so this might well be a suitable ticket into the world of vintage car ownership and gentle competition, albeit one needing restoration in several areas. Apparently the engine and gearbox have been "done" - perhaps some paperwork not referred to in the listing will back up exactly what this entailed - but first impressions of the under-bonnet area are promising. The owner took the Morris in as a part-exchange, so it may be that finding out precisely what work has been done to the car could be tricky. Photographs of the chassis, minus coachwork, also show it to have been re-painted at some point in the recent past. Whether it was fully overhauled at this point, or simply cleaned up and re-painted, would be worth establishing. The exhaust looks like a replacement, so one less thing to worry about.
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As the body is shown on the chassis in the other photographs, I can only assume that it is resting in place, rather than actually installed onto the chassis. The wings look to be solid enough, although will need further work before paint can go on. The bonnet too looks to be fairly straight, although whether it's the original I'm not sure. Some panels aren't visible, so whether it comes with running boards, and the front apron, isn't clear. The hood frame is present in some of the photos. There are no clocks fitted to the dash, and the interior trim (seats, door panels etc) are also elsewhere and are, the listing advises, requiring new covers. Having been stripped down by an earlier owner, establishing whether all the small fiddly parts, such as door hinges, handles, switchgear and the like are present and correct would need checking out.
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Paperwork, or rather the existence of any, isn't referred to, but a look on the DVLA site shows that FL 7665 is currently registered, with a date of liability (ie the last time that the road tax was due) of September 1982.
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Although looking a bit of a basket-case, there are the makings I think of a useful vintage car here. Being a four-seater makes it very usable, and its VSCC-eligibility will make it an easy car to sell in future if the need ever arises. Pre-war Minors are rarely encountered at shows, on the road, or in vintage competition, so returning this rare machine to the road will be welcomed by many I'm sure. Whether it will sell on eBay rather depends on what the reserve has been set at, and who sees it, but I'm sure the bidding will climb up significantly from its current 1500 start. Does anyone know what became of this Minor?
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