Morris Minor Owners Club

Dear friends,

I have some doubts regarding the restoration of my 1954 early Series II. The car is black with maroon interior so I ask you, experts:

- Was the headlining grey or beije/fleck?
- Were the carpets red, independently of the seats being red or maroon?

Thanks,
Pedro

I think you will find that the headlining should be beige, and the seats and carpets maroon.

Thanks!

By the way, the seat's piping was in matching colour, right?

That's right.

Dear Judge,

Today I've unearthed the seats that had been put away since the begining of the restoration (2 years ago...) and realized something that puzzled me:

The seat facings are in maroon leather (both front and rear, both seat and back) and the rest of the seat is Vynil but, the front seat's piping (and only the front seats') was in contrasting colour (I can't tell if it's white or cream under all the dirt!).

What do you make of this?

Pedro

Hi Pedro,

It was normal for only the facings to be leather, the remainder Vynide.

As it is only the front seats that have contrasting piping, I can only assume that they have been replaced at some time in the past.

Bill.

Dear Bill,

I'm a bit confused with this seat/piping issue!

I consulted Ray Newell's "Original Morris Minor" book as well as some internet sites and concluded the following:

- Contrasting seats piping was discontinued in 1951 in MM models.
- The fact that the seat have leather facings indicates a Deluxe version (common on export LHD 4-door saloons).
- Sometime in 1954 the trimming process was changed and so there may be some exceptions to the general rule.


HOWEVER... I've looked at the seats again and, at least the front ones (the ones with the contrasting piping) really look original and unchanged. I can not be so sure about the rear ones (maybe these were refurbished sometime in the past and not the other way around...).

On the other hand, I searched online and ended up at Newton Commercial's website (a reputable source, I gather...) and they display an image of what they call an "early Series II" with maroon seats with cream contrasting piping around the outer edges.

What's your advice? Should I use the matching or the contrasting piping? Personaly I fancy more the contrasting one but originality is what matters here...


Thanks again,
Pedro

I can say early Series III cars had contrasting piping. When the folding passenger seat was introduced in late 58 or when they went to the wide pleat was the end of the contrast piping. There are some folding seats with the narrow pleats but I forget if the piping was light colored. I believe it was.
The leather seating area was just another feature that was above the Beetle. Carpets and more interior room would be others. The problem with the leather seats was they were so unexpected in this class of car, nobody took care of them so they dried out and tore. It's not uncommon to find the standard seats in good shape but might need to be resewn.

My seat have the "narrow pleat" as jaekl mentions but are not folding. I think (though not sure..) that 4-door saloons never were equiped with folding seats (there was no point really!). On the other hand, the front ones, have the round "bucket-style" back, similar to the MM Series.

Sadly, my seats' trim is REALLY unrestorable. They are extremly deteriorated, torn, discolored and unsewn.

Pedro