Well over one million Morris Minors were made and new spare parts are still available.
The Morris Minor is one of Britain's best-loved vehicles. It was the first British car ever to sell over a million. Models include the Saloon, the Convertible, the Traveller, and the Van and Pickup Trucks.
Designer – Alec Issigonis
In the early 1940s, Issigonis began to work on the design and by 1942 he had completed a scale model. (He was said to be going through an ‘American phase' at the time and the design reflected the Packard Clippers of 1941.) When Lord Nuffield (William Morris) saw the first Morris Minor (in 1947) he was furious and called it 'a poached egg'. Despite its unusual look (or maybe because of it?) the Morris Minor rapidly became very popular and by 1960 one million had been sold.
Morris Minor History
The Morris Minor was designed as (and rapidly became) Britain’s answer to the German Volkswagen (Beetle) and the French Citroen 2CV. It was meant to be a cheap and reliable car for the general public. The last car was manufactured in 1971, but the fact that so many are still driven regularly today testifies to its reliability and the sale of 1.6 million in the post-war years shows how much people loved it.
Morris Minor – Icon of the 60’s
Most British films set in the1960’s will have at least one shot of a Morris Minor. Usually this is a Traveller, because that model has somehow become quintessentially ‘English’, but occasionally it is a Saloon – for some reason always associated with the ‘District Nurse’.
These cars look very old now, but it is important to remember that in their time they were famous for their suspension and road-holding, and that they were considered relatively fast. In many parts of Britain the saloons were used as police cars (painted blue), and the Post Office used the van (painted red of course). Green Travellers were even used by the Army as staff-cars. View a YouTube video of Morris Minors with commentary by an obvious enthusiast.
Morris Minor Restoration
There are so many Morris Minors still on the road that it is easy to get hold of spare parts for them. This, together with their relatively low price, makes them an ideal restoration project. Perhaps the most difficult (and expensive) thing is replacing the wood on Travelers, since to do this it is necessary to remove the back half of the car, and the hand-made ash panels are not cheap. If there are aspects of the renovation that are a bit too complicated there are now many specialists who can undertake the work.
Sources
Chris Bransby Motors– Morris Minor Specialists (North Yorkshire)
