Morris Minor Owners Club

I am pretty sure that the chassis plate on my 1965 Minor is genuine but apart from the prefix M/AS5D it only has 3 characters.

Is this a common occurance or known occurance?

The previous owner had the car 28 yeras and I was told it had been bought originally direct from Cowley by an employee. Perhaps that has some bearing on it?

Any thoughts/ comments welcome.

Mike

Do you mean on the plate on the drivers side bulkhead thats fixed with screws.

possible prototype car? not front wheel drive is it?

Yes the plate on the driver's side bulkhead. Looks entirely genuine.

I suppose it could be a prototype , especially as I was told it was bought direct from the factory.

I've sent off a form to DVLA to get the details of the previous owners of which there are 3.

Also wondering if it is possible to get details from Gaydon?

Sounds like it could well be a prototype. These were always renumbered with 3 digits if sold as a second - hand vehicle.

The last Minor prototype was despatched for second - hand sale in February 1965.

There were only 79 prototype Minors so yours is very rare if it is one

What number does it have?

It's well worth a personal trip to Gaydon, just done this recently to help Jon Pressnell out with some research for his new book and we had all the production build books out together with the trim sheets. We even managed to trace which garages our cars had gone to for sale. If you make an appointment with them you get far more information than just applying for a Heritage Certificate.

I have three M/AS5D numbers for 1963/5/and 6 what is your number?

The number is 473 and was first registered in 1966.

According to my list your car details are: Original number MAS3/954004
which was given the EX no. 422 on Feb 2nd 1962. It was given the final number of MAS5D/473 and despatched on May 5th 1966. It would be interesting to know which number is stamped on the bulkhead just to the right of the bonnet pull rod.

So it is a prototype car? Have you got any more information about it than that Willie? Specifically what was new and interesting about it!

Thanks Willie.
Can't find a number on the engine side of the bulkhead but this might well be be that it has been filled with paint as I stripped the car to bare metal and repainted it using modern etch primer, high build primers and 2k top coats.

There are a couple of things that you don't often see.

Firstly there are two heater/fresh air fans. One on the O/S inner wing and one under the dash. The wiring loom caters for both.

The glove compartment behind the steering wheel is filled in and contains an oil pressure gauge, a clock and an ammeter. Again the wiring loom contains the wires.

You can also see that the windscreen frame contains the visor mounting holes for both the visors that mount in the corner and the smaller ones that mount inboard.

There have been one or two things that are now explained. The door cards are plain not fluted. The boot lid has the later support mechanism and you can see it has been pop riveted on. The older support on the left of the boot has been cut off.

Interesting history

Fortunately the car has been looked after and is completely rot free. The only corrosion I found was a small amount at the base of the A posts and two small area on the floor. One being behind the exhaust shield. The inner wings, chasis rails etc perfect. I've had it 7 yeras and the person before me had it for 20 years until he gave up driving when he reached 90. He worked for BMC at Cowley and I think he bought it from a works colleague.

I was selling the car and had been accused of making a ringer as the chassis number was wrong etc.

So is the car worth more as a prototype?

M

WoW, its like history in the making!
Is there a register for prototype cars any where? woild be interesting to read up on.

The glove compartment behind the steering wheel is filled in and contains an oil pressure gauge, a clock and an ammeter

Mine had thoase as well There isnt any chance mine could be a prototype?(Tells him self its a fat chance)

There isnt any chance mine could be a prototype?(Tells him self its a fat chance)

Check the chassis number. Prototypes only have 3 numbers.

So is the car worth more as a prototype?

Well they're rare so probably, and yours is the second from last prototype made. I assume it's a 4 door white saloon?

For anyone interested there is a chapter on prototypes in Paul Skilleter's Book, 'The worlds supreme small car -Morris Minor'.

Yes it's a 4dr in white.

Didn't they destroy most of the prototypes?

well later models were renumbered and sold on i think, e.g. protype 1000 convertible was at the national last year....

I am sure there is a mention of this car in Original Morris Minor, but I will be damned if I can find it!

the renumbered ones are in MORRIS MINOR – THE WORLD’S SUPREME SMALL CAR By Paul Skilleter. Theres a few pages tracing the prototypes and their renumbering.

Whereabouts in the book are they? I can't find them, though I haven't spent long looking