Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi, I was hoping someone could help with this Tourer I bought last year, and have since pretty much finished restoring.

chassis no. M/AT3 914105
engine no. 9M-U-H 631914

On the logbook it says it was manufactured in 1963 but first registered in December 1964.

I have had the car painted Old English White and it has a red interior. It has the older Smiths heater, trafficators and a 948cc engine which seem too early for a 1963/64 car?

Any help or information on how the car came out of the factory would be much appreciated.

Chris.[frame][/frame]

The numbers you give and the fact the car has trafficators would suggest a 1961 car.
If you contact the Heritage Museum at Gaydon they will be able to give you a copy of the production record with luck.

Whata wonderful Restauration!
any Chance of some pics of the engine area?

Would you re-check engine number (9/62), not a match for the car.

Have you located the stamped (into bodyshell) chassis nos? Virtually impossible to correctly re-stamp Vin plates to the correct spec, should be okay IF this is 100%.

Thank you. Where exactly will I find the numbers that are stamped into the bodyshell - I'll have a look when I get home?

Ps. Yes, the engine number on the logbook is different. I'll get that number for you too. *And inform the DVLA)

I've checked the chassis number stamped into the bulkhead panel and the numbers do match with the plate and the logbook details. The engine number on the logbook reads-

engine number 9HUH544960. The first H should maybe read 'M' ?

9MAUH 54**** sounds about right.

Didn't think 9MH engine production exceed 630*** - learn something new every day - although, what would happen to left-over 948cc engines upon the introduction of the 1098cc? (would they be supplied as BMC replacements).

Is the regn of the Tourer AHY-B, cannot see suffix...? This would support 1963/4 v5c date....but it's a '61 car!

Update...

According to my records, 9MAUH in early 63****s fitted to (Cowley DoB) export LCVs.

Maybe the car was first registered abroad. It was quite common for cars to be purchased new by servicemen posted abroad (there was a tax saving) and they brought the cars back to the UK with them a few years later. At that time, you were given a "new" registration rather than one which reflected the car's age. I had a 1973 car which was given a new 1979 registration when I registered it here.

I suspect AHY 495B could have been a replacement number for a cherished transfer in Bristol, or an import, as the AHY***B series was not listed as being originally issued in 1964. That could explain why a 1961 car is carrying a '1964' number, but not why the V5 document doesn't carry correct year of manufacture or date of original registration.
It carries a MAT chassis plate so should be a genuine factory made convertible. Only a check of the factory records will tell you if that car chassis number was built as a convertible. It has been known for what appear to be MAT chassis plated convertibles to turn out to be really good converted 2 door saloons. There's a good discussion from 'bluegrass' going on currently regarding Convertible Vin plates, etc, and how to recognise the genuine convertible from a really good conversion. Worth a read.

You can contact the DVLA and for a small fee they will provide a history search of all the information they have. This might throw some light on the re-registration. Probably worth following up if you're interested in the car's history.

Few Cowley built (post LRBM) Minor's in Oz carry Tourer chassis numbers, but are 2drs!

Thank you for all the replies. I'll maybe get a Heritage Certificate and contact the DVLA to try to uncover more of its history.