The History of Morris Mini Minor

Alec Issigonis joined Morris Motors in 1936 as a designer. During the war, he had worked on a new small car, the Morris Minor which was launched in 1948. However, after Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation (owner of Morris Motors)

merged in 1952, Issigonis left the newly formed British Motor Corporation for Alvis.

In the early Fifties, Europe was still recovering from the economic and structural devastation of the Second World War. People had very little money and many  goods including food and petrol were widely rationed. This was the age of the economical car such as the Heinkel, Isetta and Messerschmitt “bubble” cars. Then, just as the Europe’s car industry started to recover, President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt nationalised the Suez Canal on July 26^th 1956 to provide funds for the construction of the Aswan High Dam. The ensuing crisis and shortage of oil had a significant impact on the European motor industry.

In 1956, Leonard Lord had asked Issigonis to return to BMC to take charge of new projects. Following the Suez Crisis, Lord was convinced that the future lay in a small, cheap car but with the comfort and space of a four-seater saloon. He asked Issigonis to start work on what would become the Mini, the key design elements of which would be front-wheel drive, a transverse engine mounted over the gearbox with a common oil sump, 10 inch wheels to save interior space, rubber suspension and the battery mounted in the boot to improve weight distribution. The prototypes were tested in November 1957, the first pre-production models were assembled over Easter weekend in 1959 and the car was launched in August 1959.

Features :

•  Super-detailed 1:12 scale
•  Over 370 parts
•  Tilting front seats
•  Opening front side windows
•  Removable spare wheel
•  Removable tool kit
•  Independent suspension
•  Functioning door handles and boot handle
•  Detailed engine with separate HT leads fan belt, 
   alternator, starter motor etc.
•  Removable hub cabs
•  All four wheels can be changed by unscrewing the 4 nuts.
•  Positional windscreen wipers.
•  Movable sun visors.
•  Working steering.

5301 : Morris Mini Minor – Old English White  621 AOK.

621 AOK was the first Mini to be manufactured. The production register shows that Chassis No. MA2S4-101 was a De Luxe Morris assembled over Easter weekend in 1959. Because full production had not started, all components were not yet available from stock which explains why it did not have the correct wheels and other De Luxe features such as chromed trim on the surround of the windscreen and rear window, or on the wheel arches and sills. The model authentically replicates the original 1959 Morris-style seats and interior,“frying-pan” air filter, and chassis with no drain-holes and large floorpans.

5302 : 1960 Austin Se7en De Luxe – Tartan Red
Limited Edition 1800pcs

The key external features of this model are the chromed inserts in the surrounds of the windscreen and rear window, and chromed trim to the rear side windows, sills and wheel arches. It also has the original 1960 “snoop-nosed” air filter, the later chassis with smaller floor pans and drain holes, and the original Austin De Luxe interior, seats and wheel trims.

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	1961 Austin Se7en Cooper Item: 5303 Color: Smoke Grey/ Old English White Limited Edition 999pcs
John Cooper, manufacturer of the Cooper Climax Formula 1 racing car, which, driven by Jack Brabham, had won both the 1959 and 1960 World Championships, was immediately impressed by the prototype Mini and convinced that it had great potential as a competition car. He eventually succeeded in convincing Sir George Harriman, head of BMC, to let him develop a high-performance version, the Cooper. This became an immediate commercial success, representing 20% of all Mini sales within a year but also as the Cooper S would go on to achieve outstanding success as a rally car.  Launched in September 1961, the Mini-Cooper was easily distinguishable by its two-tone paint scheme, red and white cars had a black roof, blue, green, grey and yellow cars had a white white roof. Other external features included unique chromed radiator grilles,bumpers with overriders and nudge bars and, of course, the addition of the Cooper name to the badge. Under the bonnet, the 848cc engine had been enlarged to 997cc, twin SU carburettors were fitted and a 16-blade fan replaced the earlier 4-blade fan. Internally, the top-of-the-range features included a vinyl-covered dashboard with an oval instrument panel comprising three gauges (a central speedometer with a water temperature gauge to the left and an oil pressure gauge to the right), two-tone upholstery, fully-carpeted floor and a remote gear change. In the boot, a carpeted wooden platform on metal supports replaced the rubberised mat to cover the spare wheel and battery.
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	1960 Morris Mini Traveller Item: 5311 Color: Clipper Blue Limited Edition 999pcs
In September 1960, BMC launched the Austin and Morris estate car versions of the Mini saloons, based on the floorpan of the Mini van. However, like the saloon, the fuel tank was situated on the near-side of the boot behind a trim panel and the spare wheel and battery were placed under a hinged floor panel. (Later, the tank would be put under the floor like the van, and the spare and battery would be re-positioned.) Because of the popularity of the Morris Minor Traveller, both versions were offered with a wooden frame glued to the rear section and the Morris was also given the name 'Traveller', the Austin Se7en was called 'Countryman'. Unlike on the Morris Minor, this wooden frame was purely decorative and had no structural purpose, which was shown by the all-metal versions which were launched in the UK in October 1962. All estates had a trim level equivalent to a De Luxe saloon, with the addition of wing-mounted mirrors and sliding rear side windows as standard.
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	1960 Morris Mini van – Royal Mail Item: 5316 Color: Red  Limited Edition 999pcs
Just five months after the launch of the Mini saloons, BMC launched a van version under both the Austin and Morris brands in January 1960. Based on the saloon floorpan, the lengthening of the wheelbase by 4 inches plus the increased overhang at the rear resulted in an overall length of 129.875 inches, an increase of 9.5 inches. In front of the B-pillar, the only significant change was the replacement of the separate radiator grille by one stamped out from the body shell. Behind the B-pillar, a full van compartment was added, extending the roof-line of the saloon. The addition of two side-mounted doors at the rear reduced the rigidity of the body shell, so for extra strength, a new, flat, swaged load-platform was added, which also facilitated the re-positioning of the fuel tank, spare wheel and battery which were all in the boot of the saloon. The fuel tank was placed under the floor, behind the rear axle with the filler cap and pipe moved from the near-side to the off-side. The battery and spare wheel were re-sited under the floor at the front, behind the seats, on the off-side and near-side respectively. To keep costs down, the interior finish was very basic and the van section was just painted metal. The first 50 Morris Mini vans were delivered to the Post Office in 1960 and 1963. However, because they were much lower than the Morris Minor van, getting in and out was much more difficult which made them unpopular with postmen. So, it was only after production of the Morris Minor had ended in 1971 that large quantities of Mini vans were bought. All Royal Mail vans were fitted with a locking bar on the rear door together with an extra lock, for improved security.