The only car I ever really wanted....
Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2010 10:06 am
Hullo Folks
As a newly re-activated forum member (I've briefly dipped in and out under various guises over the past few years or so
) I thought it a good time to post some pics and a random collection of words relating to Morris Minors and my particular Morry Thou.
Bear with me.....
I've been a fan since I was a toddler when my Father had a Morris 1000 van, also Trafalgar Blue, as a company vehicle. I used to stand in the gap between the seats, leaning on the back of them. Inevitably, one day I pitched headfirst into the dash and was rewarded with a lovely big bump on the noggin! It was this bump, my Father claims, which scrambled my brain and led to my love affair with these wonderful cars. You can imagine how devastated I was when it was later swapped for an Escort van after a couple of years!
Anyway, known simply as "The Morris", I have owned this rather charming chap for the past 12 years.
He's a 1969 Trafalgar Blue 2 Door. According to the chassis number, built not all that far from the final saloons on the assembly line I've been told.
I ran him as a weekend car for a couple of years but since then, after a few years tucked away in my folks' garage and having many a promise of assistance with the bodywork fall through, I was lucky enough to land a well paid job out here in Saudi Arabia and decided to put some of that tax free cash to good use.
So far, since aquiring him, he's had the following work done:
(98/99) second hand replacement engine (which had only done 30k miles!:-) )
(98/99) work on the floor pans, underbody, cross members et al
(98-02) tinkering and cosmetics, new carpets aquired plus other interior bits
(04) replacement driver's door aquired but not yet fitted
(10) four new wings, new 155/14 tyres, replacement driver's door finally fitted, passenger door bottom repaired, new brake cylinders, rub down and respray, wheels sandbalsted and resprayed, set of good second hand seats (in the right colour), replacement wing mirrors, service and fresh MOT and lovely free road tax.
Still to come:- as you can see from the pictures, the chrome is a bit naff so new bumpers and nice new chrome bits as and when. Or maybe stainless steel as an option. The interior, which had been changed to red at some point, I stripped out completely just after taking the latest shots as the car was parked up on my brother's drive. The new carpets, door cards, seats etc will be in on my next trip back to the UK at the end of the year.
Mechanically he's in very fine fettle, let down by a grumpy old gearbox. I need to strip the box as the bearings are noisy as hell due to the car having sat in the garage for a while. Anything over 40- 50 mph is likely to breach noise abatement legislation at the moment.
The car is located in South Wales, at present with my brother but soon to return to my folks' house just outside Swansea and will be my means of transport when on trips to the UK from work here in Saudi.
If anyone knows anything about the history of the car, please let me know. I think am only the third private owner as at some point it was a government car it seems. Nothing grand, perhaps an early form of mobility car maybe?
There are more shots of the car in various stages of 'undress' during the summer, but for some reason they are all on my sister-in-law's facebook page...!? As soon as I can get them I will post those too.
Anyway, long ramble over, here's some quick before and after without the inbetween.....[frame]
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As a newly re-activated forum member (I've briefly dipped in and out under various guises over the past few years or so
) I thought it a good time to post some pics and a random collection of words relating to Morris Minors and my particular Morry Thou. Bear with me.....
I've been a fan since I was a toddler when my Father had a Morris 1000 van, also Trafalgar Blue, as a company vehicle. I used to stand in the gap between the seats, leaning on the back of them. Inevitably, one day I pitched headfirst into the dash and was rewarded with a lovely big bump on the noggin! It was this bump, my Father claims, which scrambled my brain and led to my love affair with these wonderful cars. You can imagine how devastated I was when it was later swapped for an Escort van after a couple of years!
Anyway, known simply as "The Morris", I have owned this rather charming chap for the past 12 years.
He's a 1969 Trafalgar Blue 2 Door. According to the chassis number, built not all that far from the final saloons on the assembly line I've been told.
I ran him as a weekend car for a couple of years but since then, after a few years tucked away in my folks' garage and having many a promise of assistance with the bodywork fall through, I was lucky enough to land a well paid job out here in Saudi Arabia and decided to put some of that tax free cash to good use.
So far, since aquiring him, he's had the following work done:
(98/99) second hand replacement engine (which had only done 30k miles!:-) )
(98/99) work on the floor pans, underbody, cross members et al
(98-02) tinkering and cosmetics, new carpets aquired plus other interior bits
(04) replacement driver's door aquired but not yet fitted
(10) four new wings, new 155/14 tyres, replacement driver's door finally fitted, passenger door bottom repaired, new brake cylinders, rub down and respray, wheels sandbalsted and resprayed, set of good second hand seats (in the right colour), replacement wing mirrors, service and fresh MOT and lovely free road tax.
Still to come:- as you can see from the pictures, the chrome is a bit naff so new bumpers and nice new chrome bits as and when. Or maybe stainless steel as an option. The interior, which had been changed to red at some point, I stripped out completely just after taking the latest shots as the car was parked up on my brother's drive. The new carpets, door cards, seats etc will be in on my next trip back to the UK at the end of the year.
Mechanically he's in very fine fettle, let down by a grumpy old gearbox. I need to strip the box as the bearings are noisy as hell due to the car having sat in the garage for a while. Anything over 40- 50 mph is likely to breach noise abatement legislation at the moment.
The car is located in South Wales, at present with my brother but soon to return to my folks' house just outside Swansea and will be my means of transport when on trips to the UK from work here in Saudi.
If anyone knows anything about the history of the car, please let me know. I think am only the third private owner as at some point it was a government car it seems. Nothing grand, perhaps an early form of mobility car maybe?
There are more shots of the car in various stages of 'undress' during the summer, but for some reason they are all on my sister-in-law's facebook page...!? As soon as I can get them I will post those too.
Anyway, long ramble over, here's some quick before and after without the inbetween.....[frame]
