Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello folks,

On the very first MM cars, there was no rib below the rear windscreen yes ?

When was this rib introduced ?

Do we know what body number this rib was introduced at ?

Others with more knowledge than me can probably pinpoint the change more accurately but I have owned a 1950 "lowlight"car which had no rib and a 1951 "highlight" MM which did. The rib at the base of the roof panel gave it a bit more rigidity which would have made it easier to fit and weld to the rear deck during production. In turn, this meant that less lead work was required to finish off the bodywork prior to painting, saving both time and money.

I'd agree with ManyMinors. I have a few 1950 lowlights and they do not have the rear body moulding.

Looking through Ray Newell's Original Morris Minor book, he says this was introduced on four door cars from 1950. Presumably two door cars followed soon after, likely early 1951.

philipkearney wrote: ↑Tue Jul 12, 2022 10:41 pm I'd agree with ManyMinors. I have a few 1950 lowlights and they do not have the rear body moulding.

Looking through Ray Newell's Original Morris Minor book, he says this was introduced on four door cars from 1950. Presumably two door cars followed soon after, likely early 1951.

The car I'm looking at has been registered in Sri Lanka in June 1950.
It has low lights but has the rib at the back. Just wondering if it's original or if the body has been swapped.

Where was Sri Lanka supplied from? Was it a local CKD kit assembler? Probably took a freighter a fair while to get there from Cowley via Nuffield Exports . Interesting!

As a guess, early cars would be supplied direct from Cowley. From the early fifties, cars were assembled at two factories in India, Madras and Calcutta (as was), so cars were probably supplied from there.

I suppose it would have taken a freighter a good while to reach there but then, the early Australian and New Zealand cars were also sent by boat - that would have been an even longer trip !

Thanks, really great to know. Certainly a much more local trip from Madras than shipping from Uk.
The passenger journey to Ceylon (as was, using old name for historical reasons) from India in old days was by train from Madras to Turicorin then steamer to Columbo.