Another old photo kindly sent in by Les F, this time showing his classic Morris Minor 1000 saloon, parked alongside his father's Austin A60 Cambridge. The Moggy is a Minor 1000, a 948cc model that was first introduced in 1956, replacing the outgoing splitscreen Series 2 and its 803cc A series engine. A one-piece screen was now the order of the day, although at this time the Minors still had the clap-hand windscreen wiper arrangement from the earlier car. Later Minor 1000s would have a conventional wiper system, larger side/indicator lamp units front and back, and an A series engine stretched to 1098cc.
Les' car has extra turn signals fitted, plus a lightweight roofrack made from pressed steel. Quite what the problem with the A60 was isn't recorded!
2. A 4-door Minor.
Next, a four-door version of the Morris Minor, and of a similar age to the car shown above. 184 AUH was first registered in the Cardiff area, and at the time of this photo looked to be in fine fettle.
3. Another Morris 1000.
The following three photographs came in the same bundle as the car shown above, and also feature a Cardiff-registered Morris 1000. This car, VKG 206, dates to 1960. The first photo shows the four door Minor 1000 parked outside its Cardiff home on August 23rd 1960, on "The morning we left for holiday", according to a note on the rear.
(Please click the thumbnail to view full-size image.)
The second of these photos shows the same car two days later, parked in Exeter on August 25th. Just visible in the background is a sign for an Odeon cinema.
The last photo to feature VKG 206 was again taken on August 25th, near Selworthy (Minehead) by which time it had acquired a sprig of something in its grille. Note the child's pedal car in the distance.
4. Touring Italy in a Morris Minor.
The following five photographs feature a 1957 Morris Minor 1000, registration KVG 336, during a tour of Italy. Photograph no.1 sees the well-laden Morris parked alongside Lake Como on the 2nd September, 1958. The ladies of the trip stand with the car. Note the RAC member's badge fitted to the Minor's grille, and the snazzy whitewall tyres.
Another interesting fitment to the Moggy is the perspex sunvisor - presumably fitted especially for this trip, as I doubt there much call for it in Norwich - the home of the KVG registration series. This photo was taken at the foot of the funicular in Como, which takes passengers to the nearby town of Brunate. Does anyone recognise the LHD car parked alongside the Morris?
Photo number three in this set sees the happy campers setting up their tents and gear for the night.
Next, preparing a meal while camping in Sesto Calende, a town in the Lombardy region of Northern Italy.
And finally for this set, another camping scene that includes the dependable Morris Minor and two of its passengers in view.
5. Morris Minor Police car.
Ian kindly sent over this next photograph, which features a circa 1960 Morris Minor 1000 in service with the Northumberland Police force. TNL 55 was used, albeit for a brief period only, as a supervision divisional car apparently. Externally it looks like any other two-door Minor 1000, save for the sign and lamp on its roof, and could have been driven straight from the set used on TV's Heartbeat series.
6. Racing Minor, South Africa, 1959.
Found in a batch of photographs taken in 1959 was this next view, of a Minor 1000 at speed. The location is believed to be Pietermaritzburg in South Africa, where there existed a motor racing circuit (named the Roy Hesketh Circuit) in the outskirts of the town. Set up in 1953, the circuit continued to be used until the early 1970s and closed for good in 1981, when urban sprawl took over and the site was re-used for development. Three-day meetings were held during Easter time for many years, which is when this and the other photographs I have are believed to have been taken during 1959's meeting.
Evidently the racing Morris Minor, entry number 9, was being driven with some gusto. Visible preparations for the timed run appear to be limited to the addition of racing numbers, and the removal of the car's hubcaps. At least two passengers can be seen inside the leaning Morris, with the front seat lady passenger holding onto the quarterlight while a righthand bend is taken at speed. The course appears to be very narrow.
More information about the various Morris Minors can be found in this Minor guide. Photos of other Minor variants, such as the Minor Traveller, can be found in the vintage gallery, and in the video below.
Preserved Minors.
I've put together a short video featuring over 220 photographs of Morris Minors that survive to this day, it can be viewed here:
