John's Morris Minor Info
Morris History
The classic Morris Minor that we know and love was launched in 1948 and continued in various facelifted versions until 1971. The Morris Minor MM was made from 1948 to 1953, with 176,000 made. This car is best known as the 'lowlight' due to the low position of the headlamps, but in fact the MM had the more usual high headlamps from 1951 (1949 in the US). The car was launched to much critical acclaim and the designer Alec Issigonis had every right to be proud of the car, with its revolutionary monocoque construction. The car was let down by the prewar 918cc sidevalve engine.

In 1952 Morris launched the Minor Series II, and this was produced up to 1956, with 270,000 being made. Morris had merged with Austin to form BMC and the Morris made good use of the 803cc Austin A-series engine to add a little zest to the Minor. Other changes included the central speedo which made it easy for the factory to make LHD and RHD variants.

In 1956 BMC launched the Morris Minor 1000, with a much awaited 948cc engine to really do justice to the cars very capable ride and handling. The car also had a larger rear screen and a one-piece widscreen. In 1962 the Minor 1000 got a 1098cc engine, and larger rear lamps and indicators, and continued in this form until production ceased in 1971 (1970 for the saloon). In all, about 850,000 Morris 1000s were made, with the total Morris Minor production standing at 1.3 million.
Morris Links
Morris Minor O.C. Membership has its benefits.
Charles Ware's Parts Great mail-order service.
Morris Modified Register Lots of good cars.
Morris Minor Adverts A piece of history.

Menu

Morris Pictures

Lada

My Cars

Home Page

Guestbook

Search



Tile: The Cool Archive


Copyright 2002 Bad Design Inc