Morris Minor Owners Club

I passed my driving test in 1978 and worked at a BL dealership (Frank Watson & Son of Thornton Heath - long since closed). My first car was a blue 1951 Austin A40 Devon, followed in short order by a 1960 two-tone green Wolseley 15/60, a 1961 two-tone red/grey Austin A55 mk.2 Cambridge and a 1966 fawn Vanden Plas 1100 automatic. That takes me up to 1980. Next decade was a succession of Marinas (including a 1.8TC Jubilee which I should have kept) and Maxis. (I'm not really BMC/BL biased... )

My first was a half share in a 1955 Beetle, we painted it Chrome Yellow!
I can't remember now how much it cost but I'm sure we made a profit when it was sold.
The next was an A35 which was as rotten as a pear, that cost £5 and was sold for £7.50!

Always wanted an A30/A35. Never even sat in one but on my bucket list. My BMC/BL phase was broken briefly by owning a truly awful dark green 1975 Hillman Hunter GL. Around that time the Met Police used dark coloured Hunters as unmarked 'Q' cars. My local police station had a maroon one (AYL 85T) and oddly a bright yellow Marina Mk.3 HL with a black vinyl roof (AYL272T). I often found other motorists driving very sedately when they spotted my Hunter in their rearview mirror

My first car was the Morris Minor I still have - purchased by me somewhere around 1967/68 for £152.
Prior to the Minor I had a A35 van in which I leant to drive.
The A35 was tuned and went like the proverbial

First car was a lime green Austin 1300 GT with a black roof, purchased for £100 back in 1980. The engine failed after a while and I had to accompany my mechanic on a journey to St Buryan, to help tow an old Austin 1100 back to Penzance, where we pulled its engine to give my car a new lease of life.
It eventually rusted in too many places. From then on, it has just been Minors!

1st off road car at 13 was a lada niva cossack. 1st road car at 17 was a Rover 400 my parents gave it to me when the head gasket blew.

My first car was a grey 1952 Minor sidevalve KWF 904. This cemented my relationship with minors, which my parents also ran as driving school cars. These were all travellers. THP 150, BLG 375B, FVU 396D, with a loan car for a time of 456 YMA. Great cars!
After two years with the minor, I then graduated to a Daimler Conquest pre-select gearbox car, probably WND 658, which I really enjoyed for a year or two. Minors and Daimlers have both come back into my life at different stages, as I had fond memories of both types.

1954 Austin A30 Sage green 4 door (tiny rear doors)
The salesman had parked it tight against his showroom wall as that complete nearside was a dull finish as opposed to the rest of the car that was very shiny. I wondered why he ushered me into the driving seat so keenly! (It turned out the previous elderly owner lived on the seafront and had always parked it facing the sea, and sun, that side)
The salesman, after pointing this out to him later , eventually gave me a tin of 'Johhnsons One Step' the 'superior ' car polish of the day saying I was very, very lucky to have such a generous concession offered ! It finally improved the dull side after a few applications.
I am positive that salesman was either Swiss Tony,s dad or Arthur Daleys Brother !

First car was a 1935 Austin Ruby bought in 1962 !!! AOP 864 ( I think --must look out some photos ) . Wonderful little car , wish I still had it . Sold it to a friend who ran it with no oil in the engine and decided to scrap it --terrible shame .

First car was the minor I still use as my every day car, bought when I was 15 and made ready for the road just after I passed my driving test, still going well

I had a succession of other minors as well, most at one point was 6........ I finally bought something different last spring, a 1936 Austin 10 Sherborne

1275 Midget, did a lot in that car ( including caravaning with a Sprite Cadet which could be towed by a mini). The Epsom Area MGOC was a central part of my social life when I was in my 20s back in the 80s, in the days when car club members were a lot younger! Had it for 13 years, reluctantly sold when we moved to the Home Counties without a garage.

Mine was a 1973 Mini.

Mine, an Old English Ivory White A35 - MPM 680, bought for £30 in 1977 - did lots of body, cosmetic and engine work, fantastic learning experience on an A series engine. When it died i sold it for £50. Bought current minor in late 1977 for £200 Financed by above and insurance money from stolen pedal cycle. A series of modern cars followed over theist 30 odd years. None hold a candle to my Minor!

Mine was a 1974 Datsun 140j . My second was when I decided to upgrade and bought a 1968 two door maroon B Morris minor to which I carried out a running restoration and regretted selling it on ever since for a 1976 mini 1275 with full webasto sun roof and blooming expensive Denovo tyres. They were £30 each back in the early eighties!

Budgie wrote:Mine was a 1974 Datsun 140j . My second was when I decided to upgrade and bought a 1968 two door maroon B Morris minor to which I carried out a running restoration and regretted selling it on ever since for a 1976 mini 1275 with full webasto sun roof and blooming expensive Denovo tyres. They were £30 each back in the early eighties!

I remember getting four tyres for my girlfriend's Mini mk.1 in 1979/80. They were Henley Super Seventy cross-plies. With trade discount, tracking, wheel-balancing and VAT the total cost was about £55 !

My first car was a 3 Litre straight six Wolseley 6/99.
Just passed my test and couldn't afford to insure the damn thing!
Beautiful car though - two tone green and cream with walnut interior and polished copper fuel delivery pipes.

1971 mini 1000,in harvest gold. AJR 977K. Fun car but had its own mind.
Always quite envied my mates Imp...although its engine glowed red in the dark

Boomlander wrote:My first car was a 3 Litre straight six Wolseley 6/99.

Love the C-series. In the early '90s I briefly had a show-quality Austin A95 (2.6 C-series) until some intoxicated a****le in a Honda Civic totalled it on my way home from Bromley Pageant of Motoring

Vauxhall Victor 'F' type,in the early'70's.abandoned it after i got done for several motoring offences
then an Austin A40 'farina and a Hillman Minx,early '60's model.

A Ford Anglia 105E. My dad spotted it in the local Ford garage and took me to look at it. Black with a white roof. Both front wings had rot holes in them. Paid £30 for the car and another £30 to have new wings resprayed black. This was 1968 and metallic paint was the fashion at the time so saved up and had car resprayed metallic green. What an idiot