wonwinglo

Well,I am not really a car freak but will not see a column under used,come on everyone it is up to you to give this section input,dont just rely on Fred or Joe to do it get writing now ! it is no good moaning that there is nothing here because if you are an automobile enthusiast then you can give just a little input about the vehicles familiar to yourself,here is something to get you going but remember it is up to you to keep things going !

The Morris Minor.
My job in a garage ( yes I have experienced the joys of being a grease monkey !) brought about witnessing a wide variety of cars that customers wanted to part exchange for their brand new Vauxhall,at that time I was looking for a cheap runabout with character,one day someone dumped a very tired looking Morris Traveller onto the forecourt,I fell in love with it straight away despite its ragged woodwork,and worn out windscreen wipers ! a quick word with the gaffa and I was soon being deprived of £10 a week from my meagre wages,I think I paid £150 for this rust bucket,and could look forward to many weekends of filling and scraping to get her up to scratch,hardly a pulling car but to me she just oozed character,I drove her all over and the appeal to me was the ability to carry plenty of model aircraft in the back,she rattled and shaked but never ever let me down,in fact she was to become the first of many such Morris cars that I owned over the years.
I am an absolute fanatic about cars of yesteryear. I don?t mean the old crocs that needed a man carrying a red flag in front of it, what I mean is the cars that were developed and which sold in their droves from the early 1950s until the 1970s. These are the cars that brought the joys of motoring to ?normal? people in this great land of ours. They are the true classics.

The car that I love is arguably the most popular classic car in the whole world. It was the first British production car to sell more than one million examples, and came in various guises, such as two and four-door saloons, two-door convertibles, wooden-clad estates, as well as pick up and van versions. It is the car that has long been considered a joke, associated with district nurses and country vicars. It was the star of the 1948 motor show. It is the Morris Minor, known to its many fans as the ?moggie?.

The Morris Minor was the brainchild of Alec Issigonis. During World War 2 he designed a brand new concept in small car motoring, which was codenamed ?Mosquito?. Lord Nuffield, the owner of the Morris Car Company, hated the car?s design, likening it to a ?fried egg?. A number of changes were made and the finished car was given the tried and tested 918cc-sidevalve engine. This original, ?MM? series Minor is the rarest, the most valuable, and also the trickiest to own as an everyday car, principally due to the scarcity of body parts and parts for the sidevalve engine. The saloon versions of this car are unmistakable, principally by reason of the low-slung headlamps, which were moved higher to satisfy the demands of the US export market. Purists believe that this should not have happened, but as Britain was still going through austerity, the ?export or die? attitude meant that such changes would have to be made if the country was to survive and recover.

In 1952 the Series II Minor was introduced, with a number of changes, not least the implementation of an 803cc OHV engine. The deluxe specification of the car was enhanced, and included a heater, leather seats, over-riders and a passenger sun-visor. The wooden framed ?Traveller? was introduced in 1953. The wooden frame on the rear of this shooting brake is made of ash. It is necessary to look after it, as it is structural and can cause MOT failure if not tended to lovingly.

In 1956 the Minor 1000 was introduced, with a 948cc OHV engine. The Minor 1000 is by far the most widely available and popular model, and is still to be seen, as nearly all body and engine parts are still available and are very reasonably priced (engine £300, brake shoes around £15).

1961 saw the production of the millionth Minor. This was a true motoring milestone, as no other British production car had sold one million. It also saw the first ever limited edition model. Lilac coloured ?Minor Millions? were produced, with white leather upholstery, and badges that sport an extra three zeros. Only 350 were produced, and only around 60 survive to this day.

In 1962 the engine capacity was increased to 1098cc, adding some much-needed power without sacrificing a lot of economy. This was now the heyday of BMC, and so the seating was a choice of vinyl or vinyl (which on a hot day can get very hot!). The last saloon rolled off the production line in 1970, while production of Travellers and commercial vehicles ceased in 1971. In total 1,619,857 Morris Minors were produced, which is a heck of a lot of cars!

So what is appealing about these cars? The first thing that they have in their favour, apart from unparalleled spares availability, is ease of maintenance- they do not require a computerised tuning system and the BMC A Series engine is almost bombproof.

Replacement wooden frames for the estates are widely available, if a little pricey, and the one thing I absolutely love, and something I will do when next I get a Morris Minor, is that 2-door saloons can be turned into open-top convertibles for around £2000. That is a real saving if you really want to savour the rare hot summer?s days that we occasionally get.

So what problems exist? There are one or two- I am not completely blind to the car?s faults! They need to be looked after, and here I go all ?Fast Show? and start writing like Swiss Tony:

?Owning a Morris Minor is like making love to a beautiful woman. You need to pamper her then she will not let you down, you need to make sure she looks good, and you need to make sure that you have got oil on your dipstick, and that your trunnions are lubricated to ensure a satisfying experience.?

The other major problems are on the floor. For some inexplicable reason you will find the brake fluid filler hole underneath the driver'? carpet. The other problem just takes a bit of getting used to. The headlamp dimmer switch is a button located just to the left of the clutch pedal.

Now we get to the tricky bit. How much to pay for one of these little beauties. I will give approximate values for each of the cars in 3 conditions. Condition 1 cars are in excellent condition. While they will not win a concours, they should give trouble-free motoring. Condition 2 cars can be used regularly. They should have an MOT, but will need work to reach condition 1. Condition 3 means that the car will need a lot of work. It will probably be driveable, but major work is needed.

So come on now,no more whinging,I want to see articles by the bucketload on your favourite car,here is a challenge to everyone,what was the first car that your took a girlfriend out in ! I want details of comfort,leg room,speed,finesse,what held it together apart from the rust holding hands,where did you go in her ? did she ever break down,if I can do it and not know much about cars then you can !! Thank you.

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'And there I was oil on my goggles from a broken pipe,then I looked at the altimeter,all I could see was the makers name !'
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