.. aka the Jelly Mould was a small eminently British car which appeared in 1948. It had a 918 cc which allowed for over 40 mpg and a 0 to 60 time of over 50 seconds. Despite less than fiery performance, there was a lot of room inside and the car handled surprisingly well. It also had rack and pinion steering which gave it good directional control. All controls were light and easy to use, even for novice drivers.
The photo on the right shows a nice, sedate example of the marque, the only real difference being the bright paintwork, lowered suspension oversize rims and tires, and huge V-8 plus blower.
Yes, this one would definitely blow off a Zodiac or Cresta of the period at the traffic light Grand Prix’s held around the country on a daily basis.
The ladies loved these cars. They were light and airy, good all round vision, bright cheerful colours (well some of them), light controls, ideal for transporting the kids and the shopping, and they rarely broke down.
The photo on the left shows a nice lilac Minor, a colour that would have gone down well had it not been for a surplus of camouflage paint from WWII.
The Minor was made in a variety of styles which included 2 door saloon, Tourer (convertible), Traveller (estate), panel van, and pick-up. There was also a 4 door saloon. Needless to say, no factory made cars sported the parts as seen in the above photo.
In early life, it lost its split windscreen and grille mounted headlamps, the lamps making it to better defined front wings, and in later life, it was fitted with an 1100 cc power plant.
OK, so now to a photo of a typical Morris Minor.
These cars were tough, and not too protective in an accident. The later models had front panels made of thinner steel in a bid to take some of the shock that was previously transmitted directly to the passengers, a crumple zone of sorts.
You should be impressed by now, having seen that the Morris Minor is not just one more boring British car. There is still an ardent following and cars are restored to original condition as well as being made into hotrods and such like.
The last photo shows how it looked in standard 2 door trim, a classic design which brought cheap affordable motoring to many, including a wind in your hair convertible.
It was replaced by the criminally poor Morris Marina, already blogged by me as a British Worst. Long live the Morris Minor.
For more.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Minor
