1. Morris Minor Series 2 (late) photographs.
Les sent over the first two Morris Minor Series 2 photographs to feature on this page.
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These 2 pictures feature a proud owner and her 1950s split screen Morris saloon. This is an early-ish saloon (but not the early MM series), dating to the 1950s, and is identifiable by the split 2-piece windscreen, and the different rear arch profile when compared to the back wings found on later
Morris 1000s. Later Minors also have larger front indicators instead of the semaphore indicators fitted to the B pillar of the 1950s Morris cars. I wonder where SUC 511 is now, if anywhere? The SUC series was introduced in March 1956.
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2. A Minor parked in Manchester.
This next photograph dates to the end of the 1950s, if the presence of a Mk2 A55 Cambridge to the right of shot is anything to go by (the Mk2 was introduced in 1959). Centre stage is a 2 door Morris Minor, registration MJA 906, a registration series introduced in November 1957, in the Stockport area. The Minor is seen parked outside the premises of S. Redfern & Co. Ltd., makers of rubber goods, and still in the hose business today. Just behind the Minor is a chap - a bus driver or conductor perhaps? - taking a stroll. Note the old-style cast iron School sign, bolted to the street lamp.
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3. Touring Europe in a Morris Minor.
The next four shots all feature a Minor of the mid-1950s. The registration (HCL 228) is part of a Norwich-area series first used in December 1954, suggesting that the splitscreen Morris in these photographs is an early 1955 example. It's seen with a group of four people, enjoying a tour of European countries. The first photograph looks to have been taken in Italy, the well-loaded Minor parked at an angle to the kerb.
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Photo #2 in this set shows the Minor at an Italian campsite (a note on the rear confirms this). How much better would this scene look in colour rather than black and white!
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The third photo sees the trusty Morris at a campsite in Weesen, Switzerland, with "Maurice and Roy" having a quick shave. Note the camping equipment stowed away in the Moggy's boot. The roofrack is empty, suggesting that while travelling they kept their tents stowed away on there. Another slice of British-ness is visible in this shot, thanks to the E-Series Vauxhall tucked away to the left, in the distance.
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The final shot of HCL 228 is at a parking area in the Alps. The tent is now stowed away on the car's roofrack, and the two ladies are sat on the car's back seat. The Minor appears to be eating a Renault 4CV!
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4. Another Series 2 Minor.
This next shot shows a gent stood alongside his Series 2 Morris, registration TPL 701. The TPL registration series was introduced in October of 1953, and the small rear window and split windscreen confirms this as a Series 2 Minor, so it probably rolled out of the Cowley factory in 1954 or 1955. It looks to be a totally standard 2-door Minor, this model fitted with the 803cc version of the A series engine. No details for a Morris bearing this number appear on the DVLA website, so it probably spent its final days perched on a pile of rusting Anglias and Minxes in a scrapyard somewhere, before finally heading for the crusher.
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5. Minor towing a caravan.
And now for an old family photograph, taken in the mid-1950s. The Minor seen here, registered in Cheshire circa 1955/56 as VLG 987, was pressed into service by my Grandfather who, at the time, worked for a caravan distributor. A caravan had to be delivered to Wales, so he took the opportunity to extend the trip into a holiday for the family. As a result, Mum, Uncle, both my Grandparents and both my Great Grandparents, squeezed into the Minor, and set off to Wales, with a period caravan in tow. Somewhere in the New Forest they parked up, and unloaded all the contents of the caravan and car. My Grandfather left the others while he went on to deliver the caravan, and collect another which needed bringing back up to Cheshire. Their possessions were loaded into the "new" 'van on its arrival, and the family continued on its leisurely way for a short holiday. I'm sure someone out there will recognise the make of caravan hitched to the Morris Minor?
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6. Carnival winner.
Thanks to John for the following photo taken in 1962. His Aunt Joey is shown perched upon the front wing of the family's four-door 1954 Series 2 Minor, registration 536 CMU. Evidently the family had just won first prize with the Morris for decorated vehicles taking part in a carnival parade. The car, aged eight years at the time, gleams like a nearly-new example. An AA badge, and a single Notek "Blue Spot" spotlamp, have been fitted. The reflection of the photographer can be seen on the reverse of the Minor's wing mirror.
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In the background is a highly-decorated Commer van. The front of the vehicle has received a make-over with the addition of eyes, nose and mouth, with a partially visible sign that reads "Any similarity .... alive or .... is purely ....", alas we can't see who the van is supposedly similar to. The letters M.A.P. are emblazoned above the windscreen. Had this photo been taken shortly after the war, then it could have belonged to the Ministry of Aircraft Production, but as that was wound up in 1946 it cannot be. Given that the van has a replica of either an aircraft fuselage, a rocket or a missile on its roof, then it would have been a good bet. Strolling along the pavement, the local vicar takes in the eye-catching assortment of vehicles.
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7. To the seaside, in a Series 2 Minor.
While the following Moggy's registration plate is partially obscured (by a gent sporting a particularly appealing item of headgear), the "DF" that is visible confirms that this Series 2 spent its early years on the roads of Gloucestershire. Note the 1950s roof rack fitted to this example, presumably it transported its owners' luggage to this (unidentified) seaside location.
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One thing I'm slightly confused by - the front panel is the type fitted to mid/late production Series 2s, with the horizontal bars. This replaced the cheesegrater grille found on MMs and early Series 2s. However, the sidelights are usually beneath the headlamps, fitted to the wings, rather than on the front panel. Cheesegrater grille cars have the sidelights on the front panel, but this isn't normally seen on cars with the later grille. It's not just a case of the owner deciding to move or install lamps on the front panel, as they're on slightly raised mountings pressed into the panel at the factory. Could a Minor guru shed light on this for me? Was it a transitional feature, from when the high-light MMs were replaced by the Series 2?
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Return to Motoring Photographs Page No.1.
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