New owner with some questions ~ 1000 Pickup

[BMC-USA]

So our shop just purchased an appropriate parts runner, a Morris Minor 1000 pickup that needs Everything. Our goal is, no matter how ugly, this will be put back on the road as a survivor. Mechanically, the body is sound and everything is straight enough. There was a 1275cc motor and ribcase with the truck but believe it or not, I am going back to teh 948cc engine because I have a few of them that run and I like a few of our cars very original.

The truck has the oval shaped later VIN tag but according to this portion of MMOC: http://potteries.mmoc.org.uk/ID/Chassis.htm
it should have an earlier plate only because of the numbers. This may have the older number type because it was an Export vehicle instead of a Home Market vehicle?


The truck we will be rebuilding has a Chassis plate on it that reads the following:
OFB 4/ 99201
This (oval) plate is the same type as the plates shown online as mid 1958- 1971 but it has the numbers of the [rectangle] 1952 through mid 1958.
My understanding is the numbers tell me this is a
"LCV" (I do not understand what that is)
Pickup
Light Grey in Colour
that was exported to the North American Market.
Vehicle #99201 –if this is like any other BMC product of its day.

Although I have considered this to be a possible restamped plate, there are a few things that are really confusing me.
First, the plate is old and most likely original with the amount and type of corrosion on this typical of these oval plates used on Austin and Morris vehicles here in the USA.
Second, there are no additional or incorrectly placed holes in the firewall.
Third, there is the plastic number plate below this which simply states: BMC 61
I have pulled that plastic plate off many BMC products from the 1960s and it usually follows the year of the vehicle.

So far, I have not identified the plate on the other pickup but know that the plastic BMC plate also says BMC 61. There are minor differences on the two minor pickups as well. If it is possible to find out more from you OR add to a register somewhere, I would really love to do that. Is this somehow something I could add to a database or help further the information on somewhere?

Help Greatly appreciated!

-Brian.

[moggiethouable]

Help no doubt will be on its way, but if you dont load photos everyone will sulk, including me.

[LouiseM]

Welcome to the messageboard

LCV means Light Commercial Vehicle.

Although the chassis prefix number OFB 4 would usually signify that a Minor was built pre-1958 (as per the Potteries website) in the case of LCV's the earlier style of chassis numbering lasted until 1962. So this would explain why your pick up has an earlier style chassis number but the later style chassis plate.

The chassis number 99201 signifies that your pickup was built in mid/late 1959. Apparently Minors had lost their popularity in America in the early 60's and according to Paul Skilleter's book, which has a section on American exports, "Virtually all of the '1961 Minors' in fact were leftovers built in 1960 and even 1959. Some had BMC-61 added to the serial number plate to convince dealers and customers that the two year old cars were actually current models. But full scale production of US-spec Minors had ended entirely by mid-1960" So although both of your pick ups have a 'BMC-61' plate it doesn't mean that they were built at the same time.

[BMC-USA]

Extremely Interesting!!

I have never thought that the little black plate that is on many Austins and Morris' would ever have had those changed out!! Really nice to know. I have to do some reading on this myself and really question that. that they would actually change THAT plate out on anything. A copy of that book needs to be installed on my shelves.

there are a few photos of the grey truck we are building AND one or two of the parts truck (yellow) that we are most likely going to part out here: http://bmcautos.com/facebook



TO SEE THE FULL IMAGE: log on to facebook and click the image, the entire image will come up.


Frankly I am grateful to hear the truck is a 1959 model year. I know it's a bit odd but I would rather say 195X than 196X.

Other vehicles that keep this truck company:
1959 Austin Healey Frogeye- my Dad has one and I wanted one too.
1959 Austin A40 My wife Found this one about a mile away from us- and we are way out in the boondocks where this car should not have been.
1961 Austin Healey MKII Sprite "The Green Sprite" (was Dad's)
1980 MGB 3.4L Fuel injected V6
-and more. I am a quantity guy. Nothing gets to perfection but we have plenty of unusual vehicles for the USA. The A40 here is far more rare than the Moggie pickup- and both are staying relatively stock even though I have enough 1275cc engines and disc brakes around here to 'choke a horse.'


Really great to find this site and the information.

Now if I could only find a site that had as much information about the Daimler DE27.

-BMC.

[POMMReg]

BMC

Dec 1959(?)

Oval 'Cowley' plate correct for
1953-71 export LCVs.

The cab 'code' possibly 'Z26840',
the cab number should fall between C66xxx-C69xxx.

Chris
POMMReg

[BMC-USA]

Okay, the first truck that already has info above-

This has a plate with the letters stamped outwards of:
Z27253
I didn't realise when i went out to look that there were numbers pressed in on the right end of the plate. I will check those out another time and report back... Please bear in mind i am not dressed for cold weather and will need to go back for more.

Now on the second truck
It is also an OFB 4/ the following, more important numbers need to be cleaned off. All I could make out for certain was a 9 with a possible 30 after that. so OFB $/ 930xxx
The other plate has stamped outwards Z26840 with the right end of that plate stamped inwards C26909


Both trucks have the black plastic tag that shows BMC 61 and I believe the grey one had straight blade screws which would say that someone, as you said, probably changed this out and the hardware of choice in local suppliers bins would have been straight blade whereas the factories would have used posidrive in the UK and phillips in the USA.


On that number that you stated: Z26840- since that was found on the second pickup, either you know that all these trucks had the same markings or maybe the tags were mixed up by the last owner? I don't think he switched them around though.

-BMC.

[Fingolfin]

HOORAH FOR ORIGINALITY IN AMERICAN MINORS!!! Bring back all the 948s! Honestly, I was starting to think I was the only one. Good to see another American restorer here, and especially fantastic to see a pickup. Good luck!

[BMC-USA]

HOORAH FOR ORIGINALITY IN AMERICAN MINORS!!! Bring back all the 948s! Honestly, I was starting to think I was the only one. Good to see another American restorer here, and especially fantastic to see a pickup. Good luck!

HAHA!! Yeah, I am really bothering friends and other British car owners that I am going to bring this one back to what it was. I admit, its going to be fairly slow but thats okay.

There are two kinds of acceleration excitement you know. Cars like my MGB V6 does 0-60 probably around 6 seconds. The excitement in that is watching out for whats in front of you and what YOU might hit.

The A40 Farina and the Morris pickup are quite the opposite. As you accelerate, the excitement is what will hit you.

-BMC.

[JOWETTJAVELIN]

An A40 Farina. Is that LHD? What were they badged as over there or simply 'A40'? Of course they had a long line of A40's: Devons (big U.S. seller), Dorsets, Somersets and Cambridges.

[BMC-USA]

Simply Austin A40. It is a LHD. Interesting enough, I was told the owner purchased it in England and drove it over there. The first time I cleaned the inside of the windscreen, I started unknowingly wiping off a bunch of what look like small vinyl graphics on the glass that gave all the road signs. I was quite upset after realizing that I damaged something that i did not know was there. Never seen this before or after this. Hmm. I should take photos and send those out but the car is not easy to get to at this time.

I know I am going to get some Flak for this but always thought of myself as an Austin guy, but if I had to pick an MM, 1000, A30, A35, A40 car, I would basically start with the oldest model Austin then Morris and move forward.
A30/A35 then MM then A40 then 1000 but any one of them is great.
Now if I could find a ready to drive A30 or MM.... Oh and I do like the older A40s too. Too many cars.

-BMC.

[JOWETTJAVELIN]

Well, dare I say it, I'm an Austin man myself.

[MarkyB]

Cubic inches aren't everything no matter what American folklore says!
The 948 is highly tunable and much freer revving than the 1098.

[BMC-USA]

Cubic inches aren't everything no matter what American folklore says!
The 948 is highly tunable and much freer revving than the 1098.

I agree!

I am all of 37 years old so when I was a boy and at the racetrack watching the GP, HP and FP (G Production, F Production and H Production) SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) run the full race course, namely Brainerd International Raceway- a 3 mile track, 10 turns and almost a mile long straight... Anyways, going around the back half of the track, the GP 1098cc Spridgets would get a long way in front of the 948cc cars and they would be at least a 1/4 of the way down the straight by the time the HP 948cc Spridgets would make it around the corner. By the end of the straight, the 948cc engines would catch up and pass the 1098cc- and then it would start all over again!! The location of the start/finish was on the straight but the 1098cc would always beat the 948 due to location of that finish line!!!

Anyways, the 948cc has more potential on the track for beating out the 1098cc but on the street, the 1098cc has it. But then again, I am not certain of the camshaft and head specs allowed in those years on the engines.

Oh and the 1275cc FP? Yeah, if you had a decent 1098cc, it would hold up to it in mid RPM but the 1275cc had it... And during some runs in later years where they added V8s on the track at the same time- well, the 1275cc would look silly except in the rain when I would laugh at the large US cars that couldn't stay on the wet pavement at low speed!

Dad always supported 1098cc engines. Speaking of which, the race car driver just dropped his street Midget off last week that we are working on. His street car is a 1275cc and it's been years since he drove a Spridget in SCCA. He has Miatas now.

Believe it or not, I was never a Big American cubic inch guy. I probably am more now because of what I don't have to do with a 3.4L V6 than I can with ANY amount of money and time with a B series engine in an MGB. That's another story.

-BMC.

[POMMReg]

JJ's a closet Stationary engine nut, put him beside a Petter 'Chug-pop-pop' & he's happy!

Re; OFB4/930xx cab nos SHOULD read C 62909 - as C 26909 = mid '55 Ser2 Civvy LCV cab.

99201 will be in the cab nos. range; C 66xxx-69xxx(?)

Mind of useless information!

Chris
POMMReg

[BMC-USA]

Not useless when we like deciphering the little things! I appreciate it.

Hit-Miss engines is another name for stationary engines. I just haven't found the right Hit-Miss to purchase and if I do, I need to have some excuse to fire it up once in a while... Yeah, me too. And since I don't own acreage, a small John Deere 140 H3 is all I can fit here with the cars. Outside of British cars, namely BMC and pre-BMC era cars, (Nuffield and Austins and a few more) there is little else.

-BMC.