A Series III Minor

By Paul Skilliter, Practical Classics 1985

Thirty seven years ago there were few closed cars that could out handle a Morris minor, and even though it wasn't terribly fast in a straight line, owners of sporty saloons of 3-litres and more found it surprisingly difficult to put up better average speeds over mixed roads. Such was the engineering competence of the Morris Minor back in 1948, fresh off the drawing board of Alec Issigonis.

In 1952 the 'A' series engine borrowed from the Austin A30 brought overhead valves to the Minor in its Series II form, the famous '1000' with an extra 143cc arrived in 1956, while from 1962 onwards the Minor was powered by the lusty 1098cc version of the 'A' series unit. Then, a 0-50mph time of 15.5 seconds and a top speed of 74mph were perfectly acceptable - but in 1985, 23 years later, that equates with slow.

London to Peking Rally 2000

VICTOR THOMAS & HUGH MARRIAGE have now returned to Blighty following their epic forty day journey across Europe and Asia

The London to Peking Rally formed the first leg of the Round the World Rally. Victor and Hugh's transport was a 1958 Trafalgar blue, four door Morris Minor, with a few modifications on board designed to last the 15,000km expedition.

This event saw the return to rallying for Victor, who was an active competitor in his student days back in the early sixties in a Mini Cooper. Co-driver Hugh says that their Morris Minor had had a chequered history and was in bits at the time of completing the entry form. Both living in Berkshire, Victor is Vice president and Regional Director of S.C Johnson & Son whilst Hugh Marriage is Financial Director.

THE CAR

If you have ever wondered what sort of preparations and modifications you can do to your Minor to prepare it for one of the most gruelling journeys it could ever take, then check out these specifications.

THE LANDS END TO JOHN O'GROATS RALLY

Article and photographs by Ron Crissell

Having done the Lands End to John O'Groats rally in 1997 with my son Nigel in a Triumph GT6, I decided to try again this year with a Morris Traveller. Around August I got in touch with Charles Ware's Morris Minor Centre in Bath. We picked a Traveller with a five year chassis guarantee and worked on the rest of the car, Tim Brennan and his staff at the Centre were very helpful and did all the modifications I wanted in a very short time.

A rebuilt marina 1300 engine was fitted together with a 5-speed Sierra gearbox. Also MG Metro front seats, halogen headlights, brake servo and a larger capacity radiator - amongst other mods. Having met my deadline I was asked to collect the modified car from Bath. I now had enough time left to fit extra instruments and run the engine in - and generally fettle the car for the rally. During the running in I found that the Travellers petrol tank only held 6.5 gallons, 'Not good' considering that we would be motoring late at night and in areas with no petrol stations.

Having decided on a crew of three and to carry 'posh' gear for the start and finish functions, together with emergency food and drink, extra petrol and bad weather gear we realised that weight was at a premium. Our third crewmember, Graham, was due to join us at the Severn Bridge. Nigel and I left at 5.00am on Friday 1st December for the journey to Lands End.

The Pros And Cons Of Restoration

SEAN SCOTT-HAYWARD

(This article was originally published in "Minor Matters" the official MMOC magazine.)

Matilda joined us 15 years ago when we moved house and needed a car that a young nanny could drive. She couldn't get into trouble in a Morris Minor we thought! So, off to Bath we went to see a man called Charles Ware