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.

Picture Of Morris Minor Classic Cars

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.

Picture Of Morris Minor Classic Cars

The engine was based on one designed by Wolseley who were by then owned by William Morris personally. It was largely a new design being much smaller than any existing Wolseley unit and having the overhead camshaft driven by a geared shaft that passed through the dynamo carrying the armature. A single SU carburettor was fitted and coil ignition used. The engine produced 20 bhp (15 kW) at 4000 rpm. The electrical system was 6 volt.


The 78 inch (1981 mm) wheelbase chassis was built of channel-section steel and the suspension was by half-elliptical springs all round with rigid front and rear axles. Brakes were on all wheels and cable operated. Initially the only body types offered were a 2-door fabric-bodied saloon and a four-seat tourer. At the launch at London's 1928 Motor Show, the saloon cost £135 and the tourer £125. Steel-bodied cars and a van were added for 1930.

Picture Of Morris Minor Classic Cars

The Morris Minor Classic Cars was produced by the Morris Motor Company in two versions. From 1928 to 1932 the cars had an 847 cc single overhead camshaft engine. This was then replaced by a more conventional side-valve unit of the same capacity until production ended in 1934. 39,087 of the overhead camshaft type and 47,231 of the side valve version were made.


The success of the Austin 7, launched in 1922, stimulated Austin's competitors to come up with rival designs. The Minor was Morris's attack on the very small-car market that had really been created by the Seven. Although the company's main assembly plant was at Cowley, outside Oxford, the new car was not designed there. The chassis and running gear were designed at one of the company's subsidiaries, EG Wrigley, a Birmingham-based gearbox maker who had been bought out of receivership and renamed Morris Commercial Cars.