.gif)
Morris Minor (1928)
Encyclopedia
Morris Minor
The Morris Minor was a British economy car that debuted at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, on 20 September 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.3 million were manufactured between 1948 and 1971...
.
The Morris Minor was produced by the Morris Motor Company
Morris Motor Company
The Morris Motor Company was a British car manufacturing company. After the incorporation of the company into larger corporations, the Morris name remained in use as a marque until 1984 when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group decided to concentrate on the more popular Austin marque...
in two versions. From 1928 to 1932 the cars had an 847 cc overhead-camshaft
Overhead camshaft
Overhead cam valvetrain configurations place the engine camshaft within the cylinder heads, above the combustion chambers, and drive the valves or lifters in a more direct manner compared to overhead valves and pushrods...
engine. This was replaced by a more conventional side-valve unit of the same capacity until production ended in 1934. 39,087 of the overhead-camshaft type and 47,231 of the side-valve version were made.
The success of the Austin 7
Austin 7
The Austin 7 was a car produced from 1922 through to 1939 in the United Kingdom by the Austin Motor Company. Nicknamed the "Baby Austin", it was one of the most popular cars ever produced for the British market, and sold well abroad...
, launched in 1922, stimulated Austin's competitors to come up with rival designs. The Minor was Morris's attack on the small-car market that had really been created by the Seven. Although the company's main assembly plant was at Cowley, outside Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, the chassis and running gear were designed at one of the company's subsidiaries, EG Wrigley
EG Wrigley and Company
EG Wrigley and Company Ltd. was a British car, car component, and mechanical parts manufacturer, located at Foundry Lane, Soho, Birmingham.Edward Greenwood Wrigley established a tool making business at 232 Aston Road, Birmingham in 1898. EG Wrigley and Company moved to Foundry lane, Soho,...
, a Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
-based gearbox maker who had been bought out of receivership and renamed Morris Commercial Cars
Morris Commercial Cars
Morris Commercial Cars Limited was a British manufacturer of commercial vehicles founded by William Morris, who was also the founder of the Morris Motor Company.-History:...
. The engine was based on one designed by Wolseley
Wolseley Motor Company
The Wolseley Motor Company was a British automobile manufacturer founded in 1901. After 1935 it was incorporated into larger companies but the Wolseley name remained as an upmarket marque until 1975.-History:...
who were by then owned by William Morris personally. It was largely a new design, much smaller than any existing Wolseley unit, with the overhead camshaft driven by a geared shaft that passed through the dynamo carrying the armature
Armature (electrical engineering)
In electrical engineering, an armature generally refers to one of the two principal electrical components of an electromechanical machine–generally in a motor or generator, but it may also mean the pole piece of a permanent magnet or electromagnet, or the moving iron part of a solenoid or relay....
. A single SU carburettor was fitted and coil ignition used. The engine produced 20 bhp at 4000 rpm allowing a top speed of 55mph (88km/h). The electrical system was 6 volt.
The 78-inch (1981 mm) wheelbase chassis was built of channel-section steel and the suspension was by half-elliptical springs all round with rigid front and rear axles. Brakes were on all wheels and cable operated. Initially the only body types offered were a 2-door fabric-bodied saloon and a four-seat tourer but during production up to a dozen different body styles were used. At the launch at London's 1928 Motor Show, the saloon cost £135 and the tourer £125. Steel-bodied cars and a van were added for 1930.
The engine was proving to be expensive to make and suffered from oil getting into the dynamo, therefore in 1931 a simplified side-valve version was designed giving nearly the same power output, 19 bhp at 4000 rpm. For a while both version were produced with the overhead-camshaft unit surviving until 1932 in the four-door model, which also gained hydraulic brakes. The use of hydraulics distinguished the Minor from the competiting Austin 7
Austin 7
The Austin 7 was a car produced from 1922 through to 1939 in the United Kingdom by the Austin Motor Company. Nicknamed the "Baby Austin", it was one of the most popular cars ever produced for the British market, and sold well abroad...
with its less reliable cable brakes. The lower cost of the new engine allowed the Minor to be sold for the magic £100 as a stripped-down two-seater.
In 1932 the body was slightly restyled with a more rounded look and the fuel tank moved from the scuttle area below the windscreen to the rear of the car. An electric fuel pump was fitted. 1933 saw a four-speed gearbox replacing the three-speed unit on the more expensive models and in 1934 this was fitted with synchromesh on the top ratios. All models now had hydraulic brakes.
The Minor was replaced by the Morris Eight
Morris Eight
The Morris Eight was a small car inspired by the sales popularity of the similarly shaped Ford Model Y. The success of the car enabled Morris to regain its position as Britain's largest motor manufacturer.-Morris Eight Series I:...
in 1934, which continued as a sales success and the Morris Minor
Morris Minor
The Morris Minor was a British economy car that debuted at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, on 20 September 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.3 million were manufactured between 1948 and 1971...
name was revived in 1948 on the Issigonis
Alec Issigonis
Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS was a Greek-British designer of cars, now remembered chiefly for the groundbreaking and influential development of the Mini, launched by the British Motor Corporation in 1959.- Early life:Issigonis was born into the Greek community of Smyrna ...
-designed car.