MORRIS CARS 1948 TO 1984: A PICTORIAL HISTORY

Ray Newell. Published 2021 by Veloce who provided the review copy. ISBN 978-1-787110-55-7.

Iwas keen to read this book — I owned a 1098cc Minor for a while, and my father’s first ever new cars were a ’61 Mini Minor, followed by a Morris 1300.

It didn’t disappoint. What you have here is a compact but very complete photographic journey through all the Morris models — from the low-light Minor Series MM to the last of the Itals — and I did not know they lived on in China as the Huandu until 1999! The cars in between are all here, and every model gets a brief description of its development and model changes, as well as basic specs, available colours, and so forth.

Within its 144 pages, there must be at least 300 photos of the cars, interiors, instrument layouts, engine bays, etc. Some models like the Minor and Mini were very long-lived and are often touted as a success, although other commentators have said BL actually ‘failed’ with the Mini, as it could and should have been a true ‘world’ car. But other less successful models like the very upright Morris Six are also covered. The many variants of Oxfords are here, together with Isis, Marinas, Mini-mokes, 1100s and 1800s, and every other Morris model you can think of. In a separate chapter, the car-based commercials are featured, from the Post Office Engineers’ Minor vans with their bizarre rubber front wings to a Sun-tor camping conversion on an A55based Morris half-ton van. Interesting stuff. This volume certainly deserves a place on any Morris enthusiast’s shelves.