Morris Minor and 1000: Books - History and Models (1/2)

Morris Minor

At its launch in 1948 the Morris Minor was an exciting and fresh concept, with radical engineering and daring 'American' styling.
Morris Motors had given a young engineer named Alec Issigonis his first chance to head up a design team and, though he would become most famous for the Mini ten years later, the Morris Minor was just as innovative in its time.

Manufactured for twenty-three years, some 1.6 million would be made before production ended in 1972. Behind the Minor's success as the first British car to reach 1 million sold, however, there was a fierce battle to get it into production in the face of opposition from the company's founder and chairman, Lord Nuffield.
Sold as an estate car, a convertible and a van, and used in motor racing and rallying, the versatile Morris Minor was much loved as a production car and has retained its popularity as a classic, with many clubs devoted to keeping it on the road.

Using period illustrations from the BMC archive, Gillian Bardsley tells the story of this iconic British car.

This book is part of the Britain's Heritage series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain's past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with the Morris Minor in all its variety.

Morris Minor : 70 years on the road

The postwar Morris Minor, designed by Alec Issigonis, was one of the most popular British Cars. 2018 marks 70 years since the first Minors rolled off the production lines at Cowley in Oxfordshire.

In this celebratory publication Ray Newell looks in detail at the development of the wide range of models produced during a production run that spanned twenty two years in the UK.
Using mainly contemporary materials covering four decades, he transports the reader back to an era when the pace of life was much slower and the marketing of the vehicles was considerably different to the slick advertising of today.

The worldwide appeal of this trendsetting vehicle is examined in the context of the `export or die' mentality that dominated postwar Britain, as are the innovative production methods used to ensure that `Morris Motors Ltd' lived up to its `quality first' reputation.

Variations from standard specifications are considered with reference to mechanical uprating, different body styles and the use of modern accessories to enhance further the comfort and styling of what was dubbed `The World's Supreme Small Car.' Issigonis sketches of the prototype cars, sales brochures, promotional materials, and rare and unusual photographs make this a fascinating book.
The continuing appeal of the car voted Britain's most popular classic in 2016 is examined, as are the factors which continue to attract a new generation of 21st century owners.

Morris Minor - MM & Series II

Brooklands Portfolio book about the Morris Minor MM and Series II models from the years 1948-1956. Describes the models with splitted backlight: Saloon, Tourer, Traveller, Pick-up and Van.

• The articles, taken from contemporary British and American car magazines, provide much information about history, model changes and technology.
• Also driving impressions, tests, comparison tests, technical specifications, etc.

▶  More information on the Brooklands Portfolio books

Morris Minor Traveller - The Complete Companion

For 60 years the Morris Minor Traveller has been a familiar feature of rural and small-town Britain. Unpretentious, uncomplaining, half-timbered in an age of sleek pressed steel, Travellers were to be seen everywhere, laden with schoolchildren, dogs, or jumble for the jumble sale, buzzing bravely along at no great speed.

Ray Newell begins by providing in-depth descriptions of all the 803cc, 948cc and 1098cc Traveller models, with details of production and specification changes. Following a chapter on building the Traveller, he ranges through such fascinating topics as the Danish-built 1000 Combi, military, naval and police Travellers, one-offs and variations, and commercial Traveller conversions - even a hearse. Especially intriguing is the stretched three-door 'Shooting Brake', first converted in the late 1950s, whose recent restoration is covered in words and pictures.

Countless Traveller owners have had to face - with a sinking heart - the need for replacement of the timber framework of the body, a major undertaking. A unique and outstanding feature of this book are the chapters by specialist Steve Foreman devoted to this task, set out in step-by-step format with 150 accompanying photographs and covering dismantling and replacement as well as restoration and partial replacement.

The final section of the book deals with upgrades available to bring the Minor's performance, braking and suspension up to more modern standards. These include engine replacements, five-speed gearboxes and disc brakes as well as less radical modifications.

With some 450 colour and black-and-white illustrations in all, including specially commissioned photography of outstanding examples of the cars, this is truly the owner's complete companion to the Minor Traveller.

Morris Minor 1000

Brooklands Portfolio book about the Morris Minor 1000 models from the years 1956-1973.

• The articles, taken from contemporary British and American car magazines, provide much information about history, model changes and technology.
• Also driving impressions, tests, comparison tests, technical specifications, etc.

▶  More information on the Brooklands Portfolio books

Morris Minor: The Biography - Sixty Years of Britain's Favourite Car

The split screen, the indicators poking up like perspex orange fingers, the notoriously rust-prone floors, the pootling exhaust note... just some of the much-loved characteristics of the Morris Minor or Morris 1000. Designed by Sir Alec Issigonis back in 1948, this bulbous little creation was Britain's first mass-appeal car. By 1972 some 1.6 million were built.

There were variants like the Morris Traveller (timber-framed estate) and the Morris Million (painted pink). For thousands of newly marrieds, or penurious students, it was their first car. It was also the kind of car in which the district nurse did her rounds.

Martin Wainwright (who proposed to his wife over the gearstick of a Morris Minor) gives us a quirky and fascinating history of this quintessentially British car. You'll find everything from the post-70s vogue for restoring and rebuilding Morris Minors, to the alarming habit of their bonnets to open at speed and entirely obscure your vision.