Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Post-War (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/post-war/)

-   -   Restoration: 1950 Morris Minor Convertible (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/post-war/64391-restoration-1950-morris-minor-convertible-2.html)

Did the head come in red and the rest blue ? I remember these Morris cars had an all grey engine

Over my recent search results on the WWW, i have always found custom designed engine room.

Hence the scope of following something to the factory spec original has been too limited,

But with my mechanics Dad being a Golden Oldie( He has worked on Dharmasthala Cars of Sir. Virendra Heggade) , i came to believe Morris convertible's engine bay had these combiniations

1) Red - light Blue
2) Black - Grey
3) Red - Racing Green
4) Black - Dark Blue
5) Red - Dark Blue

Missing parts ordered:

1) New radiator
2) Hub caps
3) Airfilter flange
4) Bumper stone guards
5) New hinges
6) Exhaust
7) Fuel filler cap (rear)
8) Original dynamo and 2 blade fan
9) Original fuel pump
10)Suspension and brake parts
11) Cosmetics (all Monograms)
12) Original switches
13) Door Handles
14) Wipers

Going by present stages of restoration i would love if Morris experts could throw some genuine light in leading me to get this Fellow to atleast 90% originality.:)

Nice to see the way the Morris is getting restored.:)

This car especially has lot of market value in India unlike the morris minor's with hard-top.

What's the time frame you have in mind to finish this??

Though this is a later model Minor cabrio, I thought I should share here for aesthetic interests:)




Car is owned and lovingly maintainted by a close friend. He has done numerous Bombay-Poona trips in it, I've accompanied him on one of those trips, driving his Fiat.

Pavan, I don't think the Engine ought to be red. It came in a greenish grey colour. I have a lowlight saloon and a book named 'Original Morris', one of the famous 'Original' series of books, which gives the correct combinations. I'll locate it and send you tips on originality.
Karlos, thats a magnificient car! I particularly like the white coachline along the waist, which is original. I also believe that the wheels were painted body colour and had a white coachline on it, skirting the hubcap at about a distance of an inch. Whatever that might be, the car looks lovely.

A nice clean n neat car...wish the bumperguards/outriders are removed.

Beautiful example! I love the colour scheme. A welcome change from the black minors we see all the time. Do you have any interior pix?

I distinctly recall (and loved) the body coloured wheels with coachline, though I'm not sure whether this combination was offered in these later highlight cars, that too in India. For some reason so many Indian cars of the era sported wheels in 'shell white' (for Morris) and 'royal ivory' (for Fiat), as opposed to different combinations in the home market.

Can you confirm whether convertible Minors were available as easily as their hardtop counterparts? Were they ever assembled here?

I would assume the bumper guards are original - am I right?

This car gives company to 3 more Morris - a lowlight 2-door, a highlight 4 door, and a 47 Morris 8 2-door - all hardtop, all in long term ownership (each over 40 years!).

I would assume the bumper guards are original - am I right



I think the convertibles came w/out the bumper guards.this example seems very complete,its suggested to check n confrim the same

PAVAN, you are an inspiration to all of us out there. I am fond of your threads; not to sound too homophobic here .. absolutely love your passion and admire your hard work that goes into the minor details of all these restorations .. hopefully one day I can get a Morris and gift it to my mamaji .. he use to own one back in the days .. If you do come across a good deal, please shoot me a message .. Thanks.

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team : Please take the time to use proper punctuation as per Team-BHP rules. Avoid...typing...like...this. Thanks.

I was going through the book 'Original Morris Minor', by Ray Newell, published by Bay View Books. This book gives photos and originality tips regarding Morris Minors from the early low lights to the Morris 1000 and their variants. This is what it has to say on the engine colour of series MM cars:
"The cast iron block and cylinder head along with the alloy sump were painted grey on the majority of cars. Howver, some cars were originally supplied with engines painted in light blue, others were finished in red and towards the end of production, green was introduced. Lack of adhesion of the paint applied to the alloy sump has resulted in some restorers leaving the sump unpainted. Evidence from early photographs and workshop manuals suports the view that this item was originally painted."
There are several other details regarding originality in the book that Pavan would find most useful.
Regarding Karlos's point on the colour of the wheels, from this book it seems that series MM cars had wheels that were painted body colour. The early lowlight cars carried the white coachline on the wheel disc, but plain chromed hubcaps. Later series MM cars dispensed with the coachline, but had the familiar Morris hubcaps with the 'M' embossed. The cream wheels came in with the introduction of the Morris Minor 1000 in 1956. These wheels were also of a different design - the indentations on the wheel for securing the hubcap were now embossed as part of the pressing. The earlier wheels had three conical studs that were riveted to the wheel for this purpose.
On Karlos's question whether convertibles were manufactured in India, my guess is there were not - at least I have not seen one yet.
However, very early Morris Minors, the lowlight ones, were indeed assembled in India by Addisons and co in Madras from CKD kits. With the assembly of about 3000 such cars, they hoped to earn the credentials to secure a licence for manufacture of the car. However, it was Hindusthan Motors that prevailed and they manufactured the later version as the Baby Hindusthan.

Sorry, I posted this by mistake in the Morris Minor restoration thread in the pre-1950 forum!

Pavan, the restoration is darn quick, can't able to imagine the work which was completed within few comments, not crossing 2 pages.:uncontrol

Kar:The shade of that morris is superb and very well maintained.

Sir its still under restoration.

Waiting for some steering and suspension parts.

Hopefully by mid of Dec 2009 the car will roll off the Assembly line.:)

Some updates

Pavan
your love for VW is really appreciated..
I love these buggy rides from childhood.
Waiting for the beauty to finish the bathe ;)

:Shockked: Thanks

I thought i was restoring a 1950 Morris Tourer all these days.