Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi Morris Minor folks...

I am really really late to the Morris world as I did get my first one until I was over 60 years old....I sold it before I drove it...fast forward 4 years and I have dropped in my lap a Morris Minor project...(ratty project)

So in my lifetime I have had 2 Morris Minors...how many have you folks had over the years??

I am in the USA so I never saw a Morris Minor until maybe 6 years ago when I saw pictures on the HAMB of gasser Morris Minors...

Thanks for any replies...

MikeC

I am on my first, but my dad had about 8 or 10 when I was a kid,

My wife might read this......

Owned six over about 45 years. Used and/or worked on a great deal more. Currently own three, all of which are protracted ownership, one for nearly forty years.

I have owned 2. A 1965 4-door saloon and a 1969 convertible. The 4-door saloon was a foolish teenage purchase. It ran well enough but when it failed its MoT test it was discovered that it was seriously structurally unsound through rust and it was given to the owner of the garage allegedly for restoration but most likely raided for parts. I recall driving around Hyde Park Corner in London, which was scary enough, with the added distraction of my passenger messing about trying to find his lighter which he'd dropped on the floor. It had of course fallen onto the road through a hole in the floor. Then whilst still 17 my mother took pity on my poor decision making and bought me my current convertible Minor, "Xavier" which I have had for 37 years. Xavier came from ESM, was expensive but was in very good order and after the first disaster I became somewhat neurotic about looking after the car. Xavier lived in his comfortable garage and even when I went to university I rented a garage for him which I could scarcely afford and was very inconvenient being quite some distance from where I lived. I lived in a run down part of Edinburgh but Xavier lived in Morningside, a well-to-do district. Home was 500 miles away from university but Xavier didn't strain himself with such long journeys. He went by Motor-rail. Only now at the age of 57 is Xavier finally having his bodywork repainted which has never been done before. Ready to outlast me by a large margin I hope!

Stephen

Bought my one and only minor 4 years ago aged 69 as no longer able to ride motorcycles,so wanted a classic car for fun days out. Decided on a moggy as one of the few BMC/BL I had never owned and liked the look and great availability of parts. Really enjoying the car, very different than in my youth when the cars were bought as cheap transport and only car.
Mk1 mini, Austin 1100, Marina, Allegro, Maestro, Rover SD1.
Many Rover 400 and later 600 company cars whilst BL employee.

A great aunt had two, one of those became my parent's car, so I have always been familiar with Minors.
I have owned four - a two-door SII in the 80's which was sold, a G-reg traveller which basically fell to bits, a very early 4-door 1000 which got smashed up by a white van man in 1999, and a four-door SII which replaced it. So the four-door SII is the one I have owned the longest......26 years now.

svenedin wrote: ↑Sat Apr 11, 2026 10:00 am but Xavier lived in Morningside, a well-to-do district.

That's funny because my Mothers' Minor was originally a Morningside car, from this garage:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... 692&type=3
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=26 ... 9890311574


As to how many I've owned, the answer is 1.
I was told to find a car for my 18th birthday and as my sister had a 2-door Minor and I'd quite liked it the one time I rode in it, I looked on eBay at Minors and had my heart stolen by one, which by good fortune kept being relisted so I ended up as the owner.

Like Stephen it was also discovered to be seriously structurally unsound through rust (to the point we were told it should never have managed to have a valid MOT like it had) but unlike Stephens' it had the full restoration done (Charles Ware) to bring it back to roadworthy condition, that is until the sea air rusted it again so it went for more restoration, this time at Ian Allens' in Ely (Minor Services).

My first, brought Summer 2017.
Wife came up with a suggestion one day that 'we' should have some sort of 'joint project/activity' in our retirement, whenever that might be; as I was then in my early 60s.
It rapidly became get a classic car....
To me a Classic is something older than I've ever owned, although something from the 1930s had real appeal, I decided they could be too much hassle and soon settles on a Minor as a good choice.
Having looked at about 5 or 6, I/we decided that a later SII was the ideal choice, coming from the mid 1950s.
This whole process had only taken a few weeks, so I had no real knowledge of the marque, just the basic timelines of MM/SII/1000, and their key points, such as engine changes and obviously conventional RWD layout.
Ended up buying the SII we had first looked at. It was solid, having been restored around 1999 and over the next couple of years I discovered all it's little foibles from that restoration.
Like buying him under the impression, from the documents, that the 803 engine had been replaced by a 948 and the restorer had had the original 803 gearbox rebuilt to suit the larger engine whilst retaining the long gearstick (one of the attributes that had attracted me).
After a couple of years, as my knowledge increased exponentially, I discovered the restorer/owner had been somewhat inept in 1999 and had fitted a 1098cc, apparently in error....
This explained why the clutch was not operating as it should, due to use of the incorrect mounting plated between gearbox and engine.
Something I eventually corrected in 2023.
He's solid, safe, and drives, but he's not a daily drive, just for my pleasure.
My wife subsequently claimed it was her idea to get me interested in something before my retirement, and not a joint endeavour
She likes going for a drive, but has no interest in driving him herself or attending endless events. Perhaps one or two 'events' a year is her limit.

My first Minor was (is!) an SII Convertible, owned by my uncle from new. He was born in the reign of Queen Victoria!
My mother bought if off him (for £20!) nearly 56 years ago as an early 20th birthday present for me. I've still got it; making this one of the longest continuous ownerships?
We bought a second one (a Traveller) a mere 14 years ago, and took it on on our first MOT to France in 2012. The Convertible was under restoration.
During a meal at that MOT we were discussing multiple Minor ownership. "I've got two" I said.
Another diner started counted on his fingers and (after perhaps taking his shoes and socks off?) eventually announced "About fourteen".
(It was my introduction to Sandy Hamilton!)

Starting in 1969 I've probably owned at least 10. I've owned all four engine sizes. The smoothest was my 1950 "lowlight" with its 1930's-designed flathead 918cc engine - I toured France in it in 1971 cruising in the high fifties. A year later it was stolen while I watched The Getaway movie(Steve McQueen) in a Swansea cinema.

Although having travelled many miles as a passenger in the moggies of better-heeled friends of mine in the 1960's (I had a Norton then a Velocette) I never much fancied one myself until, well into my dotage, I finally heeded Mrs M's distaste for motorbikes (I owned half a dozen at that stage) and oft-stated fondness for the Morris Minor. I freed the garage of the 'spare' bikes (I kept one, of course) and purchased the lately-departed (to a very appreciative new owner in Suffolk) Myrtle, whose Man I was for seven years. Myrtle was replaced by a 1972 Austin 1800 Landcrab called 'Muddy', the reason for that name becoming obvious from even the merest glance at the accompanying photo.

Currently 5, but have had 7 in total

I’m on my first! I’ve no immediate plans to get any more as Nellie is everything I could want and more… but who knows! If I win the lotto….

Three, and the current one is by far the worst and was the most expensive!

Four, a really scruffy black 2 door 10 years ago, a beautiful blue/gray one 3 years ago that was way too good for me. And two travellers, one I refreshed and sold to a pal on limited time, the current one is part way through the process.

I enjoy fiddling and making something better. Once ‘finished’ I enjoy driving them and then get itchy spanners and start looking for my next project. 131 cars over the years!

In my twenties I bought a garage lot of four. It was a divorce sale with the wife getting the house and garage, the guy getting the boot. One 2 door was only a parts car shell but had to be removed with the others. I got the convertible running and sold it. The 4 door was also sold and I kept the remaining 2 door later passing it on to my little sister. Years later a LBC mechanic friend found me another 2 door. It was a daily driver but driving it in miserable weather eventually got old and I sold it to a guy that wanted to hot rod it. Then in ‘94 the pickup. Assembly required, battery not included. It was killed in action 2019 when hit on. It’s replacement, Morris number seven should be arriving next week.