Morris Minor Owners Club

I have a very early series 11 convertible pre December 1953, I am trying to find out which bonnet badge and chrome embellishment should be on it, when I search for images of 1953 cars some have a badge with a point on it and a raised chrome part on the bonnet above it, some have a smaller badge and a chrome strip on the bonnet, which is correct for my car?

Hi, Your car should have the small badge and long chrome strip.

Thanks there seems to be a lot of pre 54 with the wrong bonnet adornments

That image is purely to illustrate the lighting changes on the potteries website. As far as I am aware, as most changes seem to be fluid, If it has a bonnet 'handle' and larger it is Series II (or later) - if if has the long flash and small badge it is Series MM.

Early Series 2 cars retained the small badge and chrome strip, probably to do with the stepped changes in production from Series MM to Series 2. I used the image from Potteries site on my previous post to show the badge and chrome strip, not a point of reference. I have amended my previous post in case it caused confusion.

I have never seen any original Series 11 car with the "MM" style smaller front badge and chrome plated strip. Even the original publicity photos of the first Series 11s show the later handle type badge with the enamel "M" on top of the bonnet. I was always told that the way to distinguish the "MM" from a Series 11 externally was from the bonnet badge arrangement

To quote the 'Original Morris Minor', the section on Series II Body Trim commences....

The clean flowing lines of the later Series MM models carried through to the early Series II with few significant changes. Notable exceptions were the new style bonnet flash and the enlarges bonnet badge. These items of brightwork assumed increased significance on the early Series II cars because they were the only external features which distinguished them from the Series MMs.

However, as MM1949 states, the factory were pretty poor at having clean change points in using up parts; in fact the production of MM and SII overlapped considerably. The first car produced with the 803cc and associated running gear was August '52, but the final MM dates from Feb '53. It must've been a very confusing period at the factory.

So there is a good chance a few cars left the factory as 'mixed parentage' models...

It's a shame I can't get a reference to the vin number, as in several other things, for instance, the front wheel bearings for series 11 after a certain vin number were angular contact bearings, but mine being a series 11 was before that vin number so were ordinary deep race bearing's
That would be a sure way to decide which bonnet badge to fit

What does the NMP plate / bulkhead strip read? Chris (Pommreg) Stevens is very good at giving accurate dates.

I know the dates, what I meant is it would be nice to have the books say what was fitted before and after a vin number

BSAA10Richard wrote: ↑Sat Apr 05, 2025 5:18 pm I know the dates, what I meant is it would be nice to have the books say what was fitted before and after a vin number

Depending how much you wish to know, in the absence of any other source of a Series II Service Parts List, you might consider this website....
https://store.otpubs.com/service-parts- ... 2-mmparts/

It's the only MM/SII Parts List I've ever been able to find, including searching boxes of manuals at auto jumbles....

Rimmer Bros seem to have a version covering all Minors for over £40...: https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-HTP2007

If the chassis plate lists the engine number as begining aphm it's a series 2 and should have the pointed badge and handle type m. If not it's an mm with the smaller badge and flat emblem.