Popular Classics - The Morris Minor.

The classic postwar Morris saloon.

The Mosquito, as it was known during pre-production testing, was finally launched at the Earls Court Motor Show during September, 1948. The Minor was just one of a large range of cars built by the various constituent parts that formed the Nuffield Organisation, some of whom were fierce competitors prior to the various mergers that took place after the war.

The early, 'low light', Minors, featured the 918cc sidevalve engine that had already proved to be a reliable unit in the outgoing Morris Eight (E Series). Early designs predicted that the new Minor (reviving the model name first seen in the 1930s) would feature brand new flat four engines, but in the end the decision was made to use the old sidevalve lump, instead of incurring significant costs in developing a brand new unit.

Despite the engine being somewhat long in the tooth, other areas of the new Minor's design warranted recognition. The new car, penned by Alec Issigonis, featured unitary (ie chassis-less) construction, rack & pinion steering and torsion bar independent front suspension. This was at a time when Austins were still sticking with the steering box and traditional suspension layout. However the latter did have an ace up their sleeve, in the form of the A series engine, something that Morris would be using a few years further down the line.

The eagle-eyed Minor enthusiast will know the story behind the curious plate attached to the front bumper of the early Moggie. Late in the design process, Issigonis, still not entirely happy with the design of his new baby, decided to widen the car by a significant 4 inches. A prototype was chopped in half, moved apart, re-joined together, and tested in this new configuration. Improvements in handling were very noticeable, so this alteration remained, despite causing some headaches for the production and design teams! All Minors, right up to the end of production in 1971, bear testimony to this decision thanks to the 4" wide strip running up the centre of the bonnet.

The MM was launched in September of 1948, and caused quite a stir, notwithstanding the use of a sidevalve engine. Soon there would be a choice of 2 and 4 door saloons, and the popular soft-top tourer.

In 1952, following the merger of the Nuffield Organisation with the Austin Motor Company, the Series 2 Minor was introduced. Most significant of the revisions was the use of its one-time rival's new A Series engine, debuted in the A30 AS3 in 803cc form.

This brand new engine featured overhead valves, and would star in all future Minor production right to the end, albeit in slightly enlarged form. Visually the greatest change was the raising of the front headlamps from their low-down position on the MM, not a move that met with Issigonis' approval however. The car still came with a split screen.

During the second year of Series 2 production came the LCV (Light Commercial Vehicle) offerings. Unlike the unitary saloons, both pickup and van came with a hefty separate chassis. A few months later the woodie Traveller cruised onto the scene. This car stuck with the monocoque approach, although the wooden rear assembly was structural and not just for show (unlike later BMC Mini woodies for instance). The roof panel was aluminium, and the back body was accessible from behind via two, side hinged, wooden framed doors.

In '54 some detail revisions were made to the Series 2, noticeably the old cheesecutter grille made way for the more familiar (now) slatted variety. The dash was also revised, and larger lamps fitted to the rear wings.

Minor production ran in parallel to various offerings from the Austin stable. In '56 the Minor adopted the uprated 948cc version of the A Series engine, as now found in the A35 (itself a revision of the earlier A30). The gearbox was replaced, and now featured a driver-friendly remote shift, similar again to that found in the updated Austin. A curved screen was now fitted, replacing the split screen first seen on the earliest MMs. The rear window was also enlarged, yet another idea shared with Austin when updating the A30 to A35.

The Minor originally came with pop up trafficators (semaphore indicators) as standard, but these were phased out in 1961, being replaced with flashing indicators.

By '62 the A35 saloon had long been dropped from the BMC range, yet the Minor would continue to soldier on for quite some time yet. It was during this season that the Minor 1000 received the larger 1098cc A Series engine (also to be found in the A35 van), along with some improvements to the heater, and beefed up clutch and drum brakes.

Changes from now onwards would be thin on the ground - a few tweaks were brought on stream in '64, but by and large that was it, and the Minor would carry on for a few more years, largely being left 'as is' design-wise, BMC's attention focusing on more recent models such as the 1100 and Mini, both of which would contribute to the declining number of Minor sales as the decade drew to a close.

As part of the recently formed British Leyland (or BL), Morris and Austin concentrated their efforts on the brand new Marina and Maxi models, which were designed to take over from the Minor in the medium-car market. Production of the Moggy saloon would final wind up towards the end of 1970, with the last of the Travellers being screwed together a few months later.

The Marina and Maxi represented BL in the market once owned by the Minor (and latterly the 1100), but didn't capture the imagination in quite the same way as the original Issigonis offering.

Other Morris Minor material on oldclassiccar:
Morris Minor converted to LPG
Morris parts for sale and wanted ads
More photos of various Minor 1000s
Morris owners' clubs

Some external links of interest to Minor owners and restorers:
The Minor Site
The Morris Minor Page
Minor Monthly Magazine
Morris Minor's Marvellous Motors (BBC)

Go back to the Popular Classic cars page here.

Morris Minor slideshow.

Over the years I've photographed a large number of surviving Minors, 222 of these photos I've now put into a Youtube slideshow - this can be viewed here by clicking the play button in the window below.

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