40 Years Since The Last Morris Car

Nuffield and BMC cars that put the UK on wheels

MWHAOT MRAKRES IITS E1CIA8L?/ 22 (1975) SP

Surely one of BL’s glory moments – the Morris joined Austin and Wolseley variants in the 18/22 range of 1975.

They were advertised as ‘the car that’s got it all together’ and indeed they didn’t, because no-one had thought about including a hatchback in the range, and reliability rather took a back seat, too.

The 18/22 range was initially well rMeevoceetonivred by the press, suggesting that it was a ‘Leyland saviour’. A lot of care had gone in to the car’s design, too, not least the safety aspect.

All three marque variants would be dropped after six months, after which the car would merely be referred to as the BL Princess – or in common parlance, the ‘Wedge’, after the car’s unique appearance. This makes the Morris variants particularly rare, giving only the lucky few a chance to own one today.

Any Wedge is worth getting hold of, and in my time I’ve saved both the fi rst Wedge – a Morris, with which I was reunited after it was beautifully restored, and the oldest production example – both from the same scrapyard. Not that I’m biased, or anything.

WHAT IT’S LIKE TO DRIVE?

The Morris was the ‘base’ 18/22 variant, meaning that you can loll around magnifi cently on black vinyl seats and spot various blanking plates on the dash for things you might have had on other, more luxurious models.

You could have been Morris-’Wedged’ with two engines – the 1800cc B-series and the glorious 2227cc straight six, the

latter engine truly making a wonderful noise and giving a uniquely enjoyable motorway driving experience when growling past more modern Audis and other such lesser vehicles.

The cars feel wonderfully roomy and the steering is really precise. Handling

certainly isn’t bad; there’s some predictable understeer but a feeling of surprisingly good road-holding nevertheless. The clutch is light, and although the gearchange may feel a little squishy and doesn’t like to be manhandled, you soon get used to it.