The Rarest Minors?

[Toby]

I am currently skimming through 40 years of morris register journals and havn't kept an eye out for any particular minor (i intend to go through them again, noting "minor" details, in the future) so havn't kept a special eye open for 34 4str tourers. Last night I did, however, notice an article on a special bodied 6 that at one time belonged to W.R.Morris. It is bodied in copper, aluminium and mahogany, by Holick and Pratt. Bought for £75 in the early sixties by J.H.Humphries, it was restored at a cost of £2500.00 and spent some of the sixties in the Birmingham Science Museum. Maurice Chadwick paid £17,000 for it in 1977. Rare enough? Anyone know where it is now? I will keep an eye open for rarities in the rest of the mags but sometimes it only says minor, year and sometimes reg No. There has of course been a Gordon England body plus the McEvoys etc but no cms yet!!! Ken Martin appears regularly in most issues!

[DF9053]

Harry Edwards describes this car in his book on Morris cars.

The body was orriginally fitted to a Silent Six. The upper panels are polished aluminium and the side panels polished copper. The body used extensive amounts of mahogany. There is a picture in the book page 75. Harry goes on to say that the body was orginally fitted to the thrid Silent Six chassis registered BW6477 and was made by Hollick and Pratt for one of the Pratt family members who was a close fried of William Morris himself. Pratt dies in 1924 and the car returned to Morris. In 1928 the body was transfered to a Morris Six chassis and registered UD2133.

The car was on loan to the Birmingham Museum of Science and Industry registered H84 but was auctioned for £17,000 in July 1977.

There is no sign of the car in the Morris Register list for 2005, does anyone know where it is?

[Toby]

As for a '34, 4str, tourer, I have found references from the late '70s of a 34 4str owned by Les Leach, it doesn't state what body but from other references and pictures I believe it is a tourer. Unconfirmed but does anyone remember? Is it still around.

[Ian Grace]

I used to own a 1934 season 4-seater tourer back in the seventies. The back end is more like a Morris 8 than the 'bath tub' back of all earlier Minor tourers. I believe that there are two or three still extant.

[prharris25]

Purely out of interest Jeremy, you may like to know that in the picture of the Silent-Six on page 75 of Harry's book, I am the young (!) guy on the left and the older gent was Bill Barkus....the picture was taken at the 1969 Morris Register Cowley Rally and Bill (who did much of the mechanical work on on DF) drove DF 9053 there ..she won 2nd prize in the Concours. The others in the picture are Val and Mike, Bill's daughter and son. Presume it's the owner doing the polishing.
Bill was Welsh and a talented engineer; he had the most glorious accent and was one of those people who made you feel better for just meeting him. Smoked about 40 a day !
His family had owned a couple of scrapyards in the Reading / Wokingham area and he could source almost anything. Without him, my 10/4 would not have survived and DF most certainly would never have been completed.

Paul.

[DF9053]

Paul,
Gosh thats amazing it must be an impressive car, and to think that DF was there as well and connected with you all in the picture. I hope the Six survives.

Talking of 4 seater tourers I belive David Brown has one amongst his collection I think its called Mable, Chris can you confirm?

Cheers
Jeremy

[chris lambert]

Jeremy,
I thought Mable was a the car that he took around the UK mainland coastline and that it was a two seater - I may be wrong and frequently am according to 'er indoors!
Chris

[DF9053]

Chris,
Mac is the 1930 sv two seater - and before any one says no side valves in 1930 then this car is very very early.
Bertie - the baby Bentley (ohc)
Mable - the four seater (sv)

DF9053 was and still is Daphne!

Cheers
Jeremy

Gosh just realised how sad this post must look!!!!

[Ian Grace]

This is David with both his cars. The SV 2-seater is 1931, not 1930. Although the prototype JO 764 was paraded before the New Year, the Gaydon Progress Books show that production didn't get under way until February 1931. I know that David claims otherwise, but that was more to do with getting at the VSCC than anything based on the record. UF 7767 is a late 1931 Brighton registration.

[Ken Martin]

This is an interesting topic. The 1934 model MM Four Seat Tourer is certainly one of the rarest Minors as far as I am concerned. However I have tracked down a picture of one that I took at the Morris Ragister Throseby Park rally in August 1997. I am almost certain that it belongs to David Brown's daughter Cheryl Brown who is sitting in the car. Harry tells me that the car was first registered in October 1933 and has chassis number 34202. It was evidently featured in a film on ITV called 'Back Home' in recent years. If we stray into the subject of specials these sometimes have a survival rate out of all proprotion to the production quantity - eg the two genuine surviving CMS Minors. Stewart & Arden produced a special bodied open car on the Family Eight chassis. Two are known by Harry to have survived - one has lain unrestored in Cambridge for 40 odd years and the other one is in Manchester.

[chris lambert]

Ken,
My original post really concerned the rarity of the Morris produced cars and it is good to see such a recent picture of the '34 four seater tourer - thanks for posting it to the forum. Have you ever seen either a s/v or ohv 31 Fabric Saloon?
Chris
PS How did you post your picture as an attachment - we are all uploading images through Photobucket?

[Ken Martin]

Chris
I seem to have posted the image differently to everyone else using the attachment facility within the Forum template.
I don't recall ever seeing a sv fabric saloon.

[chris lambert]

To summarise what we have here, from our miniscule (but highly knowledgeable) contributors:

* There exists at least one '34 Four seat tourer.
* Similarly there are at least two Special Coupe remaining.
* No one knows of any surviving 31 S/V Fabric saloons.
* Family Eights almost certainly remain in both OHV and S/V configuration, but forum users will only own up to knowing about one. (ex Hamish Orr Ewing's car - now in Japan)

A debating point seems to be "Were there any Side Valve Fabric saloons produced?" Neither Ken nor Ian have ever seen any. If they were made they are like 'hens teeth' and if they weren't, could it be that the S/V LWB Family Eight is the rarest MInor!
Chris
PS See my post re uploading attachments elsewhere.

[Ian Grace]

Chris,

There are at least 2 '31 season fabric saloons extant - see my post on page 1.

Ian

[chris lambert]

Ian,
Apologies - post amended. I must be more attentive!
Chris