Firstly thanks to Peter S for sending over the first three photos shown on this page, and agreeing to them being shown here. All three pictures show a 1936 Morris 8 4 door saloon, registration DNB 456, seen in July 1965. The car belonged to Peter's sister. Eventually the little Morris was traded in for a '53 Ford Prefect, did it survive I wonder? a quick check online shows that the number is still around, now gracing a BMW, so the car may still be around although now on a non-original registration number.
A number of Morris 8 photographs now feature on the site, although these are the first old photos featuring a Series 1 Morris 8 saloon. On this page there are two photos of a similarly aged Series 1 Morris tourer, and here is shown a period shot of a Series 2 Morris 8, in 2 door saloon form. Visually the 1 & 2 differed most obviously with the earlier car having spoked wheels as opposed to pressed rims, and a chrome radiator surround as opposed to the later car's painted version.
A little while back Roy sent me recollections of his first car, a Series 1 Morris 8, and they feature here, in the motoring memories section of the site. Roy took his test in this car, and recalls an embarassing 'moment' he had with the examiner during the compulsory emergency stop procedure..
2. A 2 door example of the Morris 8.
Next, a photo from my own collection, showing a 2 door Morris 8 with a full complement of passengers on board, and a dog looking like he quite fancies a ride in the little Morris too.
3. A 4-door Series 1.
This next photo was emailed over early in 2010, the sender hoping to have the car identified. The chrome radiator gives it away as a 4 door Series 1 Morris Eight, as do the smaller centre wheel caps. This particular car has been fitted with full-width wheel covers, disguising the car's age a little.
4. Another 8hp Morris.
VY 9321, first registered in or around York, is another example of a pre-war 8hp Morris in Series 1 guise. Harder to identify though is the part-dismantled car lurking in the shadows to the left, only the chrome screen surround gives any clue as to that car's identity.
(Please click the thumbnail to view full-size image.)
5. Picnic time with an 8.
A gent with his lady are seen enjoying themselves on a picnic, with a 1935 Morris 8 parked behind them. The distinctive swage down the centre of the rear wing visible in this photo, along with the shape of the rear window and the style of the bumper, were enough to identify the car as an 8hp Morris. The WD registration points to the car being registered from new in Warwickshire. A larger pre-war Morris is over to the right (cramping access to the 8's driver's door somewhat), while in front there appears to be a wooden-bodied estate car (woodie).
6. More leisure time spent with a Series 1 Morris.
Two young ladies are now captured on film, enjoying a day out with their Series 1 Morris 8. In fact there is a third lady in view, although for some reason she opted to hide away in the back of the car, rather than sit outside on the tartan travel rug. Maybe she was a little camera-shy. Printed on "Velox" brand paper, the photograph dates to 1938.
7. A Series 1 in WW2.
My thanks to William for allowing me to share his family photograph on this page. The photograph dates to 1941, ie during WW2, a time when fuel availability was limited to say the least. The car is, clearly, a two-door Series 1 Morris 8. The white paint applied to the edge of the visible running board, and the mask fitted to the nearside headlamp, confirm the date of this scene. His grandad was on leave from the Eighth Army, and is shown standing behind the Morris. His grandma is sat in the car, and his mum (aged 9) is stood leaning against the open door. Despite everything going on at the time, the family still managed to enjoy their time spent together as this atmospheric snapshot demonstrates. Great photo.
8. Sat on the roof of a 1937 Morris.
This Morris' best days were far behind it, when the following photo was taken. Registered ADR 66 (a Portsmouth/Devonport issue), this two-door Series 1 saloon was creaking under the combined weight of the two chaps perched on top of it. George Collings provided the photo, he's the youth stood on the rear bumper, while his mate sat above the windscreen "looking for the horse". George adds that the chassis was beginning to give way by the time of this photo (c1962), so the car's days were clearly numbered. Looking at the photo does reveal a gentle "banana-ing" of the structure. He also recalls the following:
"My mate passed his test, and two weeks later he "taught" (a lot of the time he was asleep in the back seat until he fell off after a bit of brisk cornering) me to drive on it, before I passed my test first time. It lost compression on one cylinder, so whipped off the head to get the size and visited the local scrappie whizzing off heads until we found one the right size, and swapped it over. Started breaking springs, and was then told we should not have oiled the springs as the reduced friction made the car bounce more so the spring broke. The floppy chassis made high speed (well, 55mph + downhill with following wind) braking interesting. Had another '36 model (cost five pounds), afterwards, it looked a tip - no headlining, rear of body rusting and collapsing downwards etc but due to a post-WW2 accident it had received a new chassis that still bore paint. It was poor "bird bait" so dumped it, but sold the headlights for near what I gave for it. I know where it is still but the quarry has been filled in - it'd suit a metal detectorist."
Great story George, thanks for letting me share your picture here.
9. My 1937 Series 1 seen c1949.
This next Morris 8 resides in my garage now here at OCC HQ, yet is shown here circa 1949 when the father of the previous family that owned it, invested his de-mob money in it. The Morris remained in the family's ownership until 2020, and was nicknamed "George". It carried the family all over, and was used for a continental sightseeing trip in the 1950s. A tattered English flag still resides inside the Morris' compact interior, next to the windscreen, this 8 is about as original as any old car could possibly be.
I've uploaded several videos about this car to the OCC Youtube channel now, they can be viewed on the following YT page: link. Just one example is shown below, on the day that I went to collect it.
To read an owner's first-hand memories of driving a Morris 8 in the 1950s, please visit this page within the Motoring Memories section of the site. A period photo of probably the rarest variant, the 5cwt van, can now be seen on this page.
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Old Classic Car (C) R. Jones 2023. Content not to be reproduced elsewhere.
