Morris Minor History

     He was born In Smyrna, Turkey, in 1906.  His father, a naturalized British subject of Greek descent who had married the daughter of a wealthy Bavarian brewer with a branch brewery in Smyrna, ran a marine engineering business with his brother and Alec soon developed a talent for this subject.

     At the end of World War I, the British community in Turkey, which had been on the side of Germany in the war, was evacuated by the Royal Navy.   Alec's father died en route in Malta, and the family arrived in England almost penniless in 1922.  Alec's mother wanted to send him to art school but he preferred engineering.   He completed a three year course at Battersea Polytechnic and by 1928 was working as a draughtsman/salesman in London with an engineering consultant, who was developing a type of semiautomatic transmission.
He frequently visited the Midlands and was offered a job in the Humber Drawing Office at Coventry.
During this time he lived at a house in Kenilworth with his mother.  After two years he met Robert Boyle, Chief Engineer at Morris, who offered him a job at Cowley, where he developed an independent suspension.

     In the early 1940s, Issigonis began to work on the design of the car, which was to become the
Morris Minor.   The entire design team consisted of Alec and two draughtsmen who interpreted his freehand drawings.   By 1942, he had completed a scale model.   He was going through an American phase at the time and the design reflected the Packard Clippers of 1941.    The first car ran in 1947 and when Lord Nuffield (William Morris) saw his Morris Minor for the first time he was furious, calling it 'a poached egg'.
The public, however, took to the design because within 12 years, one million Morris Minors had been made.
 

    After Morris's 1952 merger with Austin, Issigonis resigned, as he always hated mergers, and went to work for Alvis, but the projected car he was to build was not put into production.   In 1955 Issigonis returned to Austin, now part of the Rover Group, as Technical Director.   He went on to design the world famous, Birmingham- made 'Mini', which is still in production today, after more than 30 years.

There were three main model periods spanning nearly 25 years.

     The Series MM, produced between 1948 and 1952, was powered by the same sidevalve engine as seen in the pre-war Morris Eight.   The Series II gained the overhead valve engine of the Austin A30 in 1953 after the merger with Morris creating the British Motor Corporation, but still retained the flat-glass split windscreen of the previous model.

     The Minor came of age in with the 1000 when the new 948cc was fitted and eventually ending up with the 1098cc engine in 1962.   This was the last significant upgrade to the Minor until it ceased production in 1972 (although in some countries it continued to be made until 1974 to use up stocks of parts)

Although all models have their enthusiasts, it would be reasonable to suggest that the Minor 1000s are the most popular, although the early sidevalve models have collector appeal.   The 803cc-engined vehicles are probably the least popular because the Austin engine was not exactly a ball of fire and the gearbox fitted to this model was a little fragile.   Many Series 2 cars have been fitted with transplanted 948cc engines and gearboxes over the years, to improve their performance and reliability.
    

At first glance, all Minors look much the same, the main differences being the position of the headlamps which were originally fitted low down in the radiator grille in the earliest 'low light' models. To comply with US regulations, headlamps were fitted in the guards from 1950 onwards (1949 for cars exported to USA). A curved one-piece windscreen replaced the two-piece flat version with the introduction of the 1000 in 1956, the rear edge of the bonnet changed as a result. At about this time, the mesh-type grille was replaced by a slatted type, the rear window was made larger and the instrument panel was redesigned.
   

The passenger models were two- and four-door saloons, a convertible and an estate called the Traveller, often referred to affectionately as the 'Woody'. Commercials included 5cwt vans (popular with the British GPO) and utility versions, as well as many specially bodied vehicles built by after-market body builders.
   

Today, the most sought after models are the Traveller and the Van which offer great practicality combined with unique styling, closely followed by the cute wind-in-your-hair Convertible.