Still running after 60 years
Morris Minor has been in thesame family since 1957 –andit starts every time
As family cars go it was never a top-of-the-range model.
But while more stylish vehicles were eventually shipped off to the scrapyard Phyllis Nicol’s trusty 60-year-old Morris Minor has kept rolling on.
The loyal family car has been in grandmum Phyllis’s family since it was bought new in 1957.
It was purchased by her motherin-law Muriel from an Edinburgh showroom for £625.
And, incredibly, it has hardly ever broken down since it was driven to Muriel’s home in Dingwall.
Speaking from her home in Thurso, Caithness, Phyllis, 84, said: “As cars go our Morris Minor has to be among the most reliable.
“It was bought shortly before my late husband John and I married. “We seem to have had it forever.” When Muriel died in 1966, Phyllis and John inherited the Morris.
Phyllis added: “From then it took the family on holidays, school runs, trips to the shops and even family weddings.
“Yet it never gave us a moment’s trouble and started every time.
“It has served us so well we would never consider selling it, not for any price.”
While the two-door saloon remains firmly in Phyllis’s name, her son Ken has taken over the care and maintenance. It is regularly polished to perfection and looks as good as the day it was bought.
Ken, a nuclear power worker at Dounreay, said: “It’s a family heirloom and a joy to look after. I learned to drive in our Morris during 1978 and 79, on roads throughout the north of Scotland.
“I can’t see a time when we won’t own it.
“Like any treasured legacy, we take good care of our little car.
“It is only driven in summer for a spin along our beautiful country roads. I am not keen on taking it out in the rain.
“I have childhood memories of being driven to school and the mum going to the shops in the car. “It has been there all my life. “We don’t have a mileage for it because the clock stopped working at 36,000 miles.
“I can honestly say that it will never be sold, not after all those years of service to the family.”
By Janet Boyle
jboyle@sundaypost.com