Classic Cars – Minis and Minors
Monday, February 15th, 2010
2008 saw the 60th anniversary of the launch of the Morris Minor, and 2009 marked a very happy 50th birthday for the Mini. Jim Rawlings raises a toast to two British classics.
Few cars engender more genuine love and devotion in their owners than a Morris Minor. The development of the Minor has given rise to many stories, some apocryphal but some more reliably documented. Sir Alex Issigonis’ own recollections are particularly interesting. He described the final refinements of the design process thus: “I wasn’t very happy with the final version, so I went to the shop one evening and told the mechanics to cut it in half!” The original prototypes were 57 inches wide, but Sir Alex ordered the two halves to be moved apart until he felt the proportions were right. This added four inches to the width of the car – and a reminder of this decision can be seen on all Morris Minors, in the flat strip that runs down the centre of the bonnet.
However the boss of Morris Motors, Lord Nuffield, was far from keen to produce the Minor. Sir Alex recalled his reaction on being shown the prototypes: “He was furious. He called it a poached egg, and everything under the sun! ‘We can’t make that!’ he said, and walked out. I wasn’t even there at the meeting; in fact I only met him twice in my life. The second time was eleven years later, when we’d made a million Morris Minors. Then he had the grace to thank me.”
Despite these inauspicious beginnings, production of the Minor was to continue until 1971, making it the first British car to exceed a million units –in total over 1.6 million were produced. There were several changes along the way – the original “lowlight” Morris Minor had its headlights mounted in the front grill (which were eventually moved to the front wings because of American lighting regulations) and a distinctive split windscreen. Development continued with many improvements in engine size and design, expanding to include many body types including convertible and commercial vehicles and the famous timbered Traveller.
A special standard two-door model was produced for “Disabled Persons” which used the engine from one model and the transmission from another. Fully adjustable front seats were mounted on sliding runners, and there was provision for a fire extinguisher to be fitted. Other options included swivel and fully-reclining front seats.
We asked our members to write in and share their memories of driving these early accessible vehicles. They may be a long way away from the hi-tech adapted cars and ‘WAV’s available today, but many of you had some wonderful memories to share.
The Morris Minor was widely remembered as being reliable and easy to maintain. Brian Palmer remembered his cream Morris Traveller as being “a good little work horse that earned its keep going to and from the wholesalers”. Mrs P M Putland described several adventures in her trusty Minor, including a 7,700 mile, six-month, 10 country tour of Europe, including snow-covered mountain passes. Her 1958 Minor certainly earned her description of it as “a fabulous little car”!
A Mini Revolution
In response to the increase in “bubble cars” on British roads (itself in response to the Suez fuel crisis of 1956) the British Motor Corporation instructed Sir Alex Issigonis to produce a car to drive the Bubble car off the road. “Revolutionary” is perhaps an overworked expression, but it certainly applies to the Morris Mini-Minor (the Mini) which clearly demonstrated his automotive philosophy – to provide a vehicle that carried the greatest possible payload in the smallest practical space.
The Mini was launched in 1959 and stayed in production until 2000, selling 5.25 million units. The great innovation in design was to devote 80% of the car’s ten-foot length to passengers and luggage, with the remaining 18 inches allowed for the engine and gearbox. This was achieved by turning the engine sideways and mounting the gearbox under the engine driving the 10-inch front wheels mounted at the corners of the body. Along with the use of a new form of rubber suspension, this wheel positioning gave the Mini legendary agility; after being tuned by John Cooper the Mini won the Monte Carlo Rally three times.
Although not an immediate success, the popularity of the Mini took off when celebrities ranging from the Queen to Norman Wisdom began to purchase the vehicles, and the Mini quickly became a symbol of the “swinging 60s”. A rare, if not unique event, in that something so practical should become a fashion icon.
I drove one of those!
Throughout the 1960s Mobilise Vice-President Denny Denly reported in depth on the running costs of the Mini as well as his experiences of promoting it in the USA and demonstrating it to Stirling Moss, around the streets of Mayfair, using the latest hand controls.
Denny and family with their trusty Mini
The Mini was described by several of you as having a “Tardis” quality – and this was true of Denny’s, even if the boot lid had to be tied down to accommodate the family’s luggage and wheelchair! Denny admitted this did result once in a bag of nappies falling out and being distributed along the recently opened M1 – whereupon a following motorist stopped, collected them up, overtook and handed the nappies back. Not a good deed to be attempted on the motorway today!
John Sidebottom and his new wife spent their first week as newly-weds in a tiny caravan on Hadrian’s Wall, not quite sure why their teal-blue Mini Clubman smelt of fried onions. The mystery was solved on the last day when they discovered that some wag had tied an onion to the exhaust manifold!
Mrs V Upham wrote that her blue Austin Mini was her “pride and joy – it took me to many places and gave me a wonderful sense of freedom”. Minis were also praised for keeping members mobile in all weathers. Richard Schofield’s wrote “I often left stranded cars and motorists behind when we had good old-fashioned winters! – the Mini just kept going!” Mr D Field’s Mini also stood up well to the Yorkshire snow: “I usually managed to get to work in our Mini, despite a low ground clearance due to those ten-inch wheels! The Minis were much more rugged than they looked.”
However, Mr W F de Haan did point out that his Mini had one major fault: “If you were driving the car in heavy rain it was most likely that suddenly the car would stop! This was caused by water in the carburettor and you had to wait for an hour or so before the engine would start again!”
One of the family
The greatest pleasure that many disabled motorists experienced for the first time in their Minors and Minis was not having to endure the “solitary confinement” of the trike. Mr W Davies wrote that the red Mini Mayfair – his first ever car through the Motability scheme – changed his life “as before if I wanted to go anywhere I had to go alone.” Jenny Sunley told us “My mini was bright yellow and such fun to drive, and it was so much better being able to take passengers!” Indeed, some of you seem to have tested the Mini’s capacity to the limit. Tony Sargent, who received his first Mini from War Pensions HQ after a parachuting accident, wrote “I soon became a taxi service for my mates – many a time we had four in the back, two in the front and my wheelchair in the back with the lid open to fit it in!”
It was obvious from your letters that both Minis and Minors were held in great affection, and were eventually replaced with sadness and regret. Joan Clayton’s story seemed to sum up the emotions that these cars inspired. She told us “Once I had married and had my first baby I applied for my first ‘ministry Mini’ – it changed my life! I went on to have a daughter too and the Mini carried on being my best friend… my love affair with the old girl lasted until the early eighties when we finally had to get a bigger car. Happy Birthday Mini, and thank you for some memorable years!”
Thank you to all those members who contributed their experiences.
This article first appeared in the June 2009 issue of Mobilise magazine, which goes out to all our members and includes reviews of adapted cars and mobility equipment, features on accessible travel and leisure, campaign updates, news, competitions and real-life stories.
Membership of our charity costs just £16 per year and includes your monthly subscription to Mobilise.
Tags: adaptations, classic cars, history
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