Morris Minor

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Morris Minor

WHY SHOULD I BUY ONE?

Because the Morris Minor is as much a symbol of 1950’s Britain as the ration book or Coronation souvenirs. It’s a reminder of days gone by, it will raise a smile wherever you go, and the following ensures parts are plentiful and cheap.

WHAT CAN I GET?

From launch they had the 918cc sidevalve engine from the Eight, uprated in 1952 to an 803cc variant of the Austin-derived A-Series. A year earlier in 1951, a facelift had seen the headlamps moved to the top of the wings. The Series 2 ushered in the Minor 1000: a new grille and a 948cc engine made the Minor we all know. In 1962 it was enlarged to 1098cc, though kept the 1000 moniker. It continued in this form until 1971. Saloon and convertible were available from launch, with a four door saloon launched in 1950 and a halfwood Traveller in 1952. Commercial variants were available from 1953.

WHAT ARE THEY LIKE TO DRIVE?

They’re a lot more fun than the Nurse Gladys Emmanuel looks would have you believe. They aren’t quick – though the 1098cc cars are brisk enough – but that doesn’t matter. They handle quite brilliantly for what they are, with sharp turn-in, responsive steering and predictable oversteer if you push it too far. The drum brakes work well enough too – in fact, we’d argue that a Minor is probably the ideal vehicle in which to learn how to control a car a low speeds in safety.

WHAT ARE THEY LIKE TO LIVE WITH?

With the amount of specialists out there, the cheap parts, and the ever-keen owners’ club and community, a Minor is one of the most hassle-free cars you could own. Nothing on a Minor is difficult to repair – and if you’re not handy enough with the spanners to do it yourself chances are there’s a specialist nearby. You’ll make scores of new friends in the owners’ club – and in the wider world in general – and the Minor is certainly a practical enough proposition for daily use. While Minors rust just as well as anything else of the period, all the panels are available and restoring one shouldn’t be tricky although Travellers need a little more care, as the wood is structural and rots over time costing up to £2000 to restore.

OVERALL

There’s a reason there are still so many around. They make a lot of sense, and to many people they’ve become a way of life and this is starting to include young drivers. It might be seen as a touch clichéd on the classic car scene, but the Morris Minor is more than the sum of its parts.