A photo of my first car, purchased in 1965 on Long Island, is attached. I remember it as being the Morris Mini-Minor, but I'm not sure. I think the model year was 1961 or 1962. Can one of you confirm the model from the photo? I believe the displacement was about 850 or 900 cc. Horsepower? Enough to have fun, that's all I know. It was light blue with sliding side windows and pull-down cords to open the doors. If one of you can recognize the model and provide a few facts, I'd sure appreciate it. Thanks.

 

it looks like a Mk1 Morris mini minor. it most likely had a 850cc motor with the "magic wand" shifter. likely to have drum brakes all round. there was appox 510000 Morris Mini-Minors Basic and De-Luxe versions built world wide.
Compression Ratio 8.3:1


if you have the vin i could find out a little more.
hope this helps.
Tamer (joltfreak)

 

Thanks Tamer. The car is long gone so I don't have the VIN. Only had it two years. I went off to college and getting parts was too hard. Definitely had drums, though. Once drove it for two weeks with no brakes while waiting for parts. Downshift and hand brake. Only 35 hp? If by the "magic wand" shifter you mean a very long stick, that's the one. Thanks again.

 

The grille looks like the Austin "wavy" grille. The Morris had a more straight bar type.
http://www.minipassionmini.50megs.co...50exciting.jpg
http://www.philseed.com/images/mini64-jr.jpg

Just my 2 pence worth...

 

Yours looks very similiar to my first one. 850 cc, something like 34 horsepower. If it was '61 or '62, it had the "dry" suspension, rubber springs and 4 traditional shocks. Later had hydrolastic suspension, which connected front and back suspensions on each side in an attempt to make the ride less choppy. I thought my Austin had the straight grille, but I may be mistaken. I lost it fairly early to a Chrysler's back bumper.

 

Forgive my ignorance on the history of the Mini, but what exactly was the relationship between Austin and Morris with respect to the Mini?

 

Ya - I think it was Austin that used the wavy ....
From Mini Mania parts catalog:
"The first of the 'Austin' Minis were produced with this now famous 'wavy' grille. Only used for a few years, this is a real classic and these reproductions are up to the quality standards of the original!"

For OP

- the car was originally sold as the Austin Seven and the Morris Mini-Minor. The relationship was kind of a FireBird /Camaro thing. Almost identical cars. Later they were all called Mini's and Austin Morris eventually became one company/brand..... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini

Some tell tails on your car that point to a Mark I: sliding windows, exposed door hinges, the rounded grill (rather than the more angular of later versions), cord door pulls, 10" wheels ..... you can even tell the tail lites were the rounded MK1 style.

 

Thanks, all, for the info. When I owned the car (1965-1967) it was almost impossible to find parts, information, or anything else. New tires? Fuggedaboutit. All I knew was that Cooper versions ran rallys in Europe. Since the new MINI came out, family and friends from that time ask me about the car and whatever details I knew I had forgotten.

 

Mini 101 (Cliff Notes Version)

Herbert Austin (1866–1941), later Sir Herbert, the former manager of the Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company founded The Austin Motor Company in 1905, at Longbridge

The Morris Motor Company was started in 1910 when bicycle manufacturer William Morris turned his attention to car manufacturing. A factory was opened in 1913 in Cowley, Oxford, United Kingdom, and the company's first car, the 2-seat Morris Oxford "Bullnose" was introduced.

In 1924 the head of the Morris sales agency in Oxford, Cecil Kimber, started building sporting versions of Morris cars, called "MG" — after the agency, Morris Garages. The MG factory was in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

In 1952 Austin merged with the Nuffield Organisation (parent company of Morris) to form the British Motor Corporation (later British Leyland) with Leonard Lord in charge [therfore Austin & Morris were in the same company prior to the Mini. The Mini was badge-engineered as you say like Camaro/Firebird We have Austin, Morris, Riley, Wolsely makers names on Minis all being produced by BMC then BLMC then ROVER then BMW<- and yes the classic Mini was in production under BMW ownership of Rover from 1994 on]

With the threat to fuel supplies resulting from the 1956 Suez Crisis Lord asked Alec Issigonis to design a new small car and the result was the revolutionary Mini launched in 1959. The principle of a transverse engine with gearbox in the sump and driving the front wheels was carried on to larger cars with the 1100 of 1963, the 1800 of 1964 and the Maxi of 1969. This meant that Austin had spent 10 years developing a new range which entirely consisted of front-drive, transverse-engined models, while the vast majority of their competitors had only just started to make such changes. They were the first British manufacturer to make this transition.

PS: the Morris Mini Minor did not replace the Morris Minor. The Morris Minor was in production from 1955 to 1971. The Morris Mini Minor was in production from 1959 to 1969.

 

That's it!

 

Ahhh, I remember the shift fondly, but I don't recall there being a lot of magic in the 'magic wand', especially compared to the Hurst shifters my friends had in their rides.

 

It was "magic" if you hit the gear you intened.....[also known as the "pudding stirrer"]