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Morris Minor Classic Cars

Today the Morris Minor and 1000 are among the best served classic family-sized cars in the old vehicle movement and continue to gain popularity. The enduring affection for the "Moggie" (also a common British nickname for an undistinguished cat, or a Morgan) or "Morrie" (as it is often known in Australia and New Zealand) is reflected in the number of restored and improved Morris Minors currently running in Britain, Australasia and in India. In addition to more powerful engines, desirable improvements necessitated by the increase in traffic density since the Minor was withdrawn from volume production include the replacement of the original equipment drum brakes with discs. Other important upgrades include the 1,275 cc (77.8 cu in) version of the A-series engine, derided by Morris Marina enthusiasts as a key reason why many Marinas were scrapped. Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson once stated that the Morris Minor is Britain's Volkswagen Beetle.

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Related : Cars Article

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Classic Morris Minor Cars

The Minor 1000 gained an even larger engine, 1098 cc (67 in³, in 1962. It could now reach 77 mph (124 km/h), yet fuel economy was down to 38 mpg (6.2 L/100 km). Other modifications included a new dashboard layout (a lidded glove box on the passenger side, an open cubby hole in front of the driver), a different heater, plus new, larger tail/flasher and front side/flasher lamps.



Van versions were popular with the British Post Office, and some of these had front wings made of rubber, in order to cope with the sometimes unforgiving busy situations in which they were expected to work.



During the life of the Minor 1000 model, production declined. The last Convertible/Tourer was manufactured on 18 August 1969, and the saloon line was discontinued the next year. 1971 was the last year for the Traveller and commercial versions. Nearly 850,000 Minor 1000s were made in all. The Minor 1000 cars was officially replaced by the Morris Marina, which replaced it on the Cowley production lines. For the management of what had, by 1971, mutated into the British Leyland Motor Corporation, the Morris Marina was seen primarily as a "cheap to build" competitor to Ford's top selling (and in many respects conservatively engineered) Cortina, rather than as a replacement for the (in its day) strikingly innovative Morris Minor.

Engines:

* 1956-1962:948 cc A-Series Straight-4, 37 hp (28 kW) at 4750 rpm and 50 lbf·ft (68 N·m) at 2500 rpm
* 1962-1971:1098 cc A-Series Straight-4, 48 hp (36 kW) at 5100 rpm and 60 lbf·ft (81 N·m) at 2500 rpm

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Classic Morris Minor Cars

The Morris Minor Cars was again updated in 1956, when the engine is in capacity to 948 cc (57.9 cu in) increases. The division into two parts windscreen has increased with a curve of a piece and the rear window was replaced. In 1961 trafficators by more modern style lights flashing direction indicators have replaced and then the norm for the UK market. A luxury car on the lower floor, but with higher BMC B series engine was sold as One-Point-Five/Wolseley Riley from 1500 to 1957: a version with additional rear fins, or variation of this Wolseley Riley was also in Australia as Morris Major manufactures.

In February 1961 the Morris Minor was the first British car to sell over 1,000,000 units. (In Italy, the Fiat 600 won his first million in the same month.) In order to achieve, limited edition of 350 two-door sedan was small with a distinctive purple color, and remember a white interior created. Even the badge on the hood has been changed to read "Minor 1,000,000" instead of the usual "Children 1000". The millionth the same child, the National Union of Journalists, where they planned to use as a prize in a competition for the benefit of the widow of the union and Orphan Fund. The company, which was at the same time, a minor celebrity in London's Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, but the car was built from cake.

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Classic Morris Minor Cars

In 1952, the Morris Minor Cars line was updated with an Austin-designed 803 cc (49.0 cu in) overhead valve A-Series engine replacing the original sidevalve unit. The engine had been designed for the Morris Minor Cars's main competition, the Austin A30, but became available as Austin Cars and Morris Minor Cars were merged into the British Motor Corporation. The new engine felt stronger, though all measurements were smaller than the old. The 52 second drive to 60 mph (97 km/h) was still calm, with 63 mph (101 km/h) as the top speed. Fuel consumption also rose to 36 mpg (6.5 L/100 km).

An estate version was introduced, known as the Traveller (a Morris Minor Cars naming tradition for estates, also seen on the Mini Cars), along with Morris Minor van and Morris Minor pick-up versions. The Traveller featured an external structural ash (wood) frame for the rear bodywork, with two side-hinged rear doors. The frame was varnished rather than painted and a highly visible feature of the bodystyle. Rear bodies of the Morris Minor van versions were all steel. The 4-seat Morris Minor convertible and Morris Minor saloon variants continued as well.

The grille was modified in October, 1954, and a new dashboard with central speedometer was fitted. Almost half a million examples had been produced when the line ended in 1956.

The Motor magazine tested a 4-door saloon in 1952. It reported a top speed of 62 mph (100 km/h) and acceleration from 0–50 mph (80 km/h) in 28.6 seconds. A fuel consumption of 39.3 miles per imperial gallon (7.19 L/100 km; 32.7 mpg-US) was recorded. The test car cost £631 including taxes.

Engines:

* 1952-1956:803 cc A-Series Straight-4, 30 hp (22 kW) at 4800 rpm and 40 lbf·ft (54 N·m) at 2400 rpm

Picture Of Morris Minor Classic Cars

Picture Of Morris Minor Classic Cars

Early cars had a painted section in the centre of the bumpers to cover the widening of the production car from the prototypes. This widening of 4 inches (102 mm) is also visible in the creases in the bonnet. Exports to the United States began in 1949 with the headlamps removed from within the grille to be mounted higher on the wings to meet safety regulations. These became standard on all Minors for 1951. When production of the first series ended, just over a quarter of a million had been sold with a surprising 30% being the convertible Tourer model.


A tourer tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1950 had a top speed of 58.7 mph (94.5 km/h) and could accelerate from 0–50 mph (80 km/h) in 29.2 seconds. A fuel consumption of 42 miles per imperial gallon (6.7 L/100 km; 35 mpg-US) was recorded. The test car cost £382 including taxes.

Picture Of Morris Minor Classic Cars

The original Minor MM series lasted from 1948–1953. It included a pair of 4-seat saloons, 2-door and 4-door, and a convertible 4-seat Tourer. The front torsion bar suspension was shared with the larger Morris Oxford, as was the almost-unibody construction. Although the Minor was originally designed to accept a flat-4 engine, with four distinctive gaps in the engine bay to accommodate it, late in the development stage it was replaced by a 918 cc (56.0 cu in) side-valve straight-4 producing 27.5 hp (21 kW) and 39 lbf·ft (53 N·m) of torque. This little engine pushed the Minor to just 64 mph (103 km/h) but delivered 40 miles per imperial gallon (7.1 L/100 km; 33 mpg-US).

Picture Of Morris Minor Classic Cars

Internal politics inside BMC, the parent of Morris, may have led to the limited North American sales of the Minor.


Over 1.6 million of the lightweight, rear-wheel drive car were eventually produced, mainly in Cowley, Oxfordshire, and exported around the world, with many variants of the original model. Production continued in Birmingham, England until 1971 (for the commercial variants and estate only), and it remains a well loved and collected vehicle. The very last Morris Minor Classic Cars (commercial) was assembled at Stoke, Nelson New Zealand in 1974.

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Sir Alec Issigonis is famous for his creation of the Mini and a range of later cars for the British Motor Corporation (BMC), but he became known to the general public for designing the Morris Minor Classic Cars. It was conceived as a vehicle to combine many of the luxuries and conveniences of a good motor car with a price suitable for the working classes. The Morris Minor Classic Cars, when compared with competitor products in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, excelled as a roomy vehicle with superior cornering and handling characteristics.

Picture Of Morris Minor Classic Cars

The Morris Minor Classic Cars was a British motor car aimed at the family market. It was the work of a team led by Alec Issigonis, who would go on to design (and be knighted for) the successful Mini. The Minor was launched at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, on 20 September 1948. The prototype had been known as the Morris Mosquito, and some later models were called Morris Minor 1000. It should not be confused with the earlier Morris Minor of 1928.


At launch there were two variants, the standard 2-door saloon, and the tourer (convertible). The 4-door saloon was introduced in 1950. The wood-framed estate called the Traveller, plus a panel van and a pick-up truck version were introduced later with the Series II upgrades in 1952. The Traveller was very popular, and remained in production until 1971, a year after the saloon had been discontinued.


According to one author, the car has frequently been described by writers as typifying “Englishness.”

Picture Of Morris Minor Classic Cars

Picture Of Morris Minor Classic Cars

The engine was proving to be expensive to make and suffered from oil getting into the dynamo and so, in 1931, a simplified side-valve version was designed giving nearly the same power output, 19 bhp (14 kW) at 4000 rpm. For a while both version were produced with the overhead-camshaft unit surviving until 1932 in the four-door model which also gained hydraulic brakes. The use of hydraulics distinguished the Minor from the competitor Austin 7 with its less reliable cable brakes. The lower cost of the new engine allowed the Minor to be sold for the magic £100 in a stripped-down two seater.


In 1932 the body was slightly restyled with a more rounded look and the fuel tank moved from the scuttle area below the windscreen to the rear of the car. An electric fuel pump was fitted. 1933 saw a four-speed gearbox replacing the three-speed unit on the more expensive models and in 1934 this was fitted with synchromesh on the top ratios. All models now had hydraulic brakes.


The Minor was replaced by the Morris Eight in 1934 which continued as a sales success and the Morris Minor name was revived in 1948 on the Issigonis designed car.