Thanks to the engineering skills of Hayden Edwards and Peter Brock‘s graphics expertise a new ‘How to’ pdf has been uploaded to the Technical Bits section under Instruments & controls within the Member’s Area. While the pdf entitled ‘The Slow Running Control‘ specifically relates to the 1934 season models much of the information is common across all Minor model years.
A new 2024 Event Galleries page was launched today. It can be found under ‘Events’ on the website’s main menu or view it via this link.
On 12th May 1934 a new weekly motoring magazine, the Practical Motorist, was launched with little fanfare. It was aimed at the do-it-yourself owner driver and was continuously in print until 1997 seeing off more illustrious rivals in the shape of The Motor and Light Car along the way. During the early months of its publication it ran a sequence of articles entitled ‘Get-you-home dodges’ which provided practical advice on overcoming roadside problems. In most cases these tips are just as relevant today for those running pre-war cars and could save a call to your favoured recovery service. The first five of a fifteen part sequence of articles can now be found on a single PDF in the Member’s Area Technical Bits section under ‘Everything Else’.
More images have been added to the 2023 Event Galleries page with photos taken at Far Eastern pub Meet and the VSCC’s Welsh Trial. the latters courtesy of Ali Bond. Find them at the foot of this page.
A further 40 images from recent events have been added to the foot of the 2023 Event Galleries page here. The first of these galleries feature images taken by noted car photographer Peter McFadyen at the recent Pre-war Prescott event, while the second gallery displays photos taken at the Morris Register’s National Rally at Thoresby, Notts.
A page commemorating the £100 Morris Minor prototype (JO 764) has now been added to the website. It is located in the Member’s Area and contains 70+ images and 10 PDF articles (both pre and post-war) recording the car’s early period as a press demonstrator, along with images of its stay in a North Devon children’s theme park and its recent resurrection by Mick Roberts.
Eleven images from the recent Grimsthorpe Speed Trial have been added to the foot of the 2023 Events Galleries page. Find it here.
A November 1930 four-page dealer document with details for the ‘about to be launched’ Wolseley Hornet Sports Two-seater has been added to the Member’s Area of the website today. It can be found under ‘Wolseley Hornet Sports and Specials’ and resides in the document repository at the foot of the page. When launched, Wolseley changed the car’s model name to Wolseley Hornet Semi-Sports.
Photos of the recent VSCC Light Car & Edwardian Section’s Welsh Weekend can now be found at the foot of the 2023 Event Galleries page here. (All photos Copyright Phil Jones)
Thanks to Ken Martin, a new document detailing the individual Morris Minor model colours of both paintwork and upholstery has been added to the site today. In addition, Ken has included the weight of each model in the same table. The document can be found in the Member’s Area, Technical Bits section under ‘Everything Else’.
The new 2023 Event Galleries page has been launched today. It currently displays over 30 images taken either on New Year’s Day or at the recent VSCC Brooklands New Year driving tests. If during the course of the year, you attend a motoring event at which pre-war Morris Minors, Wolseley Hornets or MG M Type Midgets take part, then please take an image or two to forward to the website (info@prewarminor.com). The photo or photos are likely to appear in a gallery on this page, properly attributed to the photographer.
A 32 page booklet, one of the ‘Running Instructions‘ series and produced by Rotax, part of the Lucas-CAV-Rotax group in 1934, has been added to the site. It includes descriptions of the lighting and starting equipment covered, along with maintenance instructions and trouble shooting tips. It neatly compliments an earlier (1932) Lucas produced ‘Running Instructions’ booklet covering their ignition related parts, which was added last month. Find the new booklet in the Member’s Area Technical Bits section, under Electrical & Wiring.
The 2022 Photograph of the Year Competition (POTY) page was launched today 31st October. Entries to the competition can now be submitted with adjudication taking place at the end of November, with the competition results being announced on 2nd December. The top twelve entries will appear in the Network’s 2023 calendar, while the entrant submitting the winning entry will receive a £100 Amazon gift voucher and an A3 print of any image held in the Motorsport Images archive. (There are only 26 million images from which to make your choice!) The page can be viewed here.
More images from two recent events have been added to the 2022 Events Galleries page here. Scroll to the foot of the page to view the most recent photos.
Thank to Toby Sears a three page leaflet on the Armstrong hydraulic shock-absorber, of the type fitted to the 1934 season Minors, is now available to view in the website’s Member’s Area, Technical Bits section. It can be found under the ‘Axles, wheels, steering & suspension’ sub-menu. Although rather dog eared, the ducument is a particularly useful addition to the archive.
Over 70 images taken at the recent 2022 Pre-war Minor Network Rally in Suffolk can now be found either via the ‘Events’ tab or through this link
The 8th May 1931 edition of the Auto Motor Journal provided a pre-race build-up for it’s readers of the 1931 JCC Double-Twelve Race, despite the fact that the race had already started that very morning. None-the-less it lists all the ‘runners and riders’ while also providing much background information. The article can now be found in the document archive at the foot of the Auto Motor Journal page within the Member’s Area.
The Autocar ran a sequence of articles entitled “The care & maintenance of ……”. Two of these currently reside in the Member’s Area under ‘Everything else’ (MG Midget, Wolseley Hornet) and these have been joined by two further PDFs covering both the OHC & S.V. Morris Minors. This completes the series for our cars.
Although far from unique, the pre-war Morris Minor was designed with a central throttle pedal and was one of the latest vehicles to feature this arrangement prior to the universal switch to the righthand side of the footwell. Peter Brock has prepared detailed drawings of this arrangement on his 1934 Morris Minor Four-door Saloon, along with photographs. These now appear in PDF form in the Member’s Technical Bits section, under Instruments & Controls.
There are plenty of articles in the website’s archive covering the maintenance of the SU carburettor, but few as easy to read and understand as this 1934 Light Car item entitled, “The controllable-jet SU”. The article can be found in the Member’s Area, Technical Bits section, under ‘Carburation & Fuel’.
Images from the recent VSCC LC&ES section’s annual Welsh Weekend have been added to the foot of the 2022 Event Galleries page here. With thanks to Mike Tebbett for the photography.
A copy of the 1934 edition of the Morris Salesman’s Reference booklet has been added to the Member’s Area Technical Bits section under ‘Everything Else’. First published on 1st January 1934 it contains the technical and general specifications for the (then) current Morris models, including of course the ‘Minor’.
The vast majority of items added to the website are useful to most of us at some time or another. The 1929 Morris Minor Spare Parts Price List (published 1st January 1929) does not currently fall into that category, and as it stands fulfills no function other than satisfying our quest for completeness. The document provides a price per item against a product code as opposed to a literal product description, which effectively means that until we can translate the codes into descriptions it is of little practicle use. So if anyone possesses such a list, please forward a copy which will then be quickly added to the site. Find it in the Member’s Area Technical Bits section under ‘Everything Else’. (Scanned list provided by Toby Sears with thanks)
At some point in an OHC engine’s life it will leak oil from the camshaft drive housing, which is located above the rotating dynamo coupling, resulting in oil being liberally sprayed around the engine bay. An alternative cure to the widely adopted ‘lip seal’ technique is detailed in a short Technical Bits article (to be found in the Member’s Area under the ‘Engine‘ sub-menu) in which Ken Martin describes the official Morris Motors cure to the problem.
For 2022 the VSCC’s Brooklands Driving Tests returned to its traditional spot early in the year. The weather was very kind, with sunshine throughout the morning of Sunday 30th January attracting the largest attendance for many years. An image gallery containing 20 photos of the occasion can now be found here.
Although the S.U. Fuel Pump was only ever fitted to the 1934 season Morris Minors, many owners of the later 1932 and 1933 (non-gravity fed) models have replaced the original Petrolift units with an S.U. Pressure Pump. A single page ‘hints and tips’ document issued by S.U. in November 1935 is aimed at helping owners trouble-shoot any difficulties they may encounter with these pumps has now been uploaded to the Member’s Area Technical Bits section under ‘Carburation and Fuel’.
Images from some of the New Years Day gatherings have been assembled for display on the new 2022 Event Galleries page which can be found here.
Thanks to member Jonathan Barwick, images from the recent VSCC Cotswold Trial can now be found at the foot of the 2021 Event Galleries page here.
Sixteen photos from the recent VSCC Halloween Driving Tests have been added to the 2021 Event Galleries page here.
A new page has been added to the Member’s Area of the website covering MG’s first notable racing success at the JCC Double-Twelve race held at Brooklands in May 1930. It was here that a team of specially prepared MG Midgets took the team prize beating strong Austin opposition. The page contains 39 images and 7 contemporary reports along with other relevant material.
The contact surfaces between an SU carburettor and its manifold mounting can be easily damaged as a recent Discussion Forum topic identified. Following on from this, Joe Rayner has written a short, well illustrated article which provides a clear pathway to resolving such an issue. Entitled SU Flange Repair, it can be found in the Member’s ‘Technical Bits’ area of the site under the sub-menu ‘Carburettors & Fuel’.
Grateful thanks to Mike Tebbett, Ali Bond & Jonathan Barwick for the images that can now be found in a new gallery at the foot of the 2021 Event Galleries page , all of which were taken at the recent VSCC Driving Tests held at Madresfield, Worcs
Not all car enthusiasts are ex-engineers or even familiar with some of the technical terminology in use. The Morris Owner magazine recognised this fact and in March 1933 published an article entitled ‘What they mean’, in which the author explains in layman’s language some of the technical features and the terminology associated with them. This article can now be found in the Member’s Area Technical Bits section under ‘Everything Else’.
The term “amateur repair work” today implies that the work in question has not been carried out to a professional standard. However, in March 1936 the Light Car magazine published an informative ten page article bearing that title to assist car owners carry out their own repairs, saving money in the process. The article consists of handy hints, tips and ‘how to’ guides that are as useful today as they were when the article was first published. Did you know that an application of a vinegar solution on a rusted-on nut will help free it? Who needs WD40? The article can now be found in the Member’s Area Technical Bits section under ‘Everything Else’.
Photographs from two of the weekend’s events have been added to the 2021 Event Galleries page here. Scroll to the foot of the page to find the latest images.
Images from the VSCC’s Suffolk Tour have been added to the 2021 Events Galleries here. Scroll to the foot of the page to view them.
Thanks to photographer Adrian Tyldesley and Martin Gregory images from the recent Morris Register Jubilee Rally are now available to view in the 2021 Events Galleries here.
A further selection of rally images taken by Ken and Kate Martin have been added to the rally gallery page here.
The initial images from the rally weekend have been added to the website and can be found here.
Morris Motors produced extremely detailed, well illustrated and model specific ‘Salesman’s’ manuals for their dealer chain sales force. Apart from a full technical specification as would be expected, they even included a segment on how the car was put together. Such a document for the 1932 Morris Family Eight model has now been added to the ‘Everything Else‘ segment in the Member’s Area ‘Technical Bits‘ section.
The 2021 Event Gallery page has been updated following the weekends spring pub meets. Follow this link to view the image gallery.
All Minors have two-bearing crankshafts, the vast majority of which are now almost 90 years old. As a result of this vulnerbility they require careful nurturing to safeguard their continued serviceability. One cheap strategy is to fit a digital tachometer to monitor and record engine revolutions as an aid to ensuring that these potentially fragile parts are not overstressed. Joe Rayner has contributed an article informing how to source and fit such an item. Find it in the Member’s Area Technical Bits section, under ‘Everything Else’. It’s entitled ‘Counting the revs on a 6-volt Minor‘.
Replacement parts for the early Lucas distributors fitted to the Minor, Midget and Hornet are difficult to source and costly when found. When a member (senior in years) could not get his Minor to start after a long period in storage, Joe Rayner undertook the task of assisting him, albeit from 400 kilometres away. It was soon established that the car’s Lucas D4-1 distributor was at the root of the problem and Joe’s article (Repairing a Lucas D4 distributor using non-standard parts) details the actions taken to successfully repair the unit. The article can be found in the Members Area, Technical Bits section, under ‘Electrical & Wiring.’
With lockdown restrictions easing across the U.K., vintage motoring events are once again appearing on club schedules and bulletin boards. It’s hoped that after a barren 2020 plenty of events will take place in 2021. In anticipation of this, a 2021 Events Galleries page has been launched, the first event featured being the recent VSCC Herefordshire Trial, with images from Phil Jones. Find the page here.
A reproduction of the 1932 MG 8/33 MG Foursome brochure has been added to the MG Midget page in the open area of the website. Subsequently known as the MG D Type, this lwb version of the original MG Midget has an excellent survival rate, with Ted Hack’s MG D Group providing a focal point for enthusiasts and owners.
Ewan Lambess has kindly forwarded an article which first appeared in a recent edition of Beaded Wheels, the magazine of the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand. Written by John Loudon the article recalls his exploits while owning an already fairly ancient 1929 OHC Morris Minor. The article is reproduced with the generous permission of the VCC of New Zealand http://vcc.org.nz/ and the magazine editor of Beaded Wheels to which grateful thanks are extended. It can be found in the Post-war Minor articles archive here.
The Morris Mirror was the house magazine for the Morris Motors group of companies. Inside the September 1937 edition was Part Two of a three part series of articles entitled ‘The History of the M.G.’ This article is dedicated to the record breaking attempts undertaken by Eyston and Denly in December 1932 and February 1933 in EX127. It can be found under a blue button at the foot of the ‘Competition Midgets’ page within the Member’s Area of the website.
The 1932-1934 long wheel base Morris ‘Sports’ and ‘Special’ Coupes were members of an automotive fashion fad that was shortlived and all but exstinct by the end of 1935. Fashionable they may have been, but these models sold in small numbers. A Classic & Sportscar article from October 1995 tells the story and this can now be found under the Post-War Minor Articles sub menu in the open area of the website here.
Although not the earliest business to market special bodied versions of the Hornet, Eustace Watkins, the Wolseley London based main dealer for the brand were the first to list a four-door saloon type. The body was built for them by coachbuilders, Mulliner and a short introductory article appeared in a November 1930 edition of The Motor magazine. The article, along with a corresponding Eustace Watkins coloured advertisement have been uploaded to the Hornet Specials page in the Member’s Area and can be found at the foot of the page in the model’s article archive.
The Wolseley Hornet was launched in April 1930, well into the 1930 model season. It’s first appearance in a Wolseley range brochure was to be in September 1930, detailing models for the 1931 season. Ten pages scanned from that catalogue can now be found in PDF format on the Wolseley Hornet page under The Cars sub-menu on the website’s homepage.
A new PDF has been added to the Minor van page which recounts the story behind the resurrection of a former 1932 Saloon and its re-emergence as a Minor 5cwt van special. The PDF can be viewed here.
The S.V. Morris Minor engine from 1931 was later adapted for marine applications. A new ‘Cog Cruncher’ article highlighting the differences between the standard car engine and the marine unit can now be found in the Member’s Area Technical section located within the ‘Everything Else’ article library.
Today sees the launch of ‘The Snippets Page’ which, as its name suggests, is a compendium of concise items scanned from period motoring magazines. The page is a work-in-progress in that there are many more items to be found and eventually included. If any members have items that they would like to see added to the page then please forward them to info@prewarminor.com The page can be found within the Member’s Area of the website.
The S.V. Minor engine water outlet is prone to corrosion and damage. Thankfully, a repair kit originally designed for the Austin Seven also fits the Morris engine. An article prepared by Tony Kimber and Chris Healey takes you through the fitting process and this can now be found in the Member’s Area Technical Section.
Leaking fuel taps are a perennial discussion point on this website’s Discussion Forum. The leaks are primarilly caused by the tap’s cork washers either perishing or disintegrating after drying out. Ian Judd has provided drawings for the fabrication of the fuel tap as fitted to his 1930 MG Midget. This type has the distinct advantage of not requiring a cork washer. The PDF containing his drawings can be found in the technical section within the Member’s Area under ‘Carburation & Fuel’.
The Hobdays Motor Catalogue was the chosen source of generic and specialist car parts for countless garages and motor factors throughout the first fifty years of the last century. This is what auction site Worthpoint had to say about their business:
Hobday Brothers Ltd. were wholesalers of bicycle, motorcycle and motor car accessories, established in Shoreditch, London in 1905. By the start of the 1930’s they also had branches in Wolverhampton and Manchester and offered delivery across the country. The company’s product range had expanded over the years to include electrical equipment, domestic appliances, clocks, and lighting – and even Perambulators and Pedal Cars!
A first PDF extract from their 1934 catalogue has been added to the ‘Everything else’ section (within Technical Bits), featuring five pages of horns!
The 1932 Eastbourne Concours d’Elegance event was dominated by the presence of Wolseley Hornets, MG Midgets and to a lesser degree, Morris Minor specials. The Hornets and Midgets featured heavily in the awards and a PDF pulling together a full Light Car magazine event report, news snippets and LAT photos taken that day can now be found in the document box at the foot of the ‘Minor in competition’ page within the Member’s Area.
A photo gallery and PDF have been added to the foot of the Minor Specials page (in the Member’s Area) entitled ‘The art of what might have been…’ The item shows 24 illustrations submitted by members’ David Gardiner, Martin Gregory, Ian Judd and Peter Brock depicting Morris Minor Specials that should have made it into production. The PDF is a compilation of the three (June, July & August 2020) Morris Monthly articles on the topic.
During April, Networker Joe Rayner (aka ‘oilyrag’), created much interest on the website’s forum with his design for an air filter to fit the Minor’s SU carburettor. Subsequently, Joe set out with a budget of just £10 and access to materials on hand in his garage to design and build another such filter. While going through this process Joe took photos and wrote an interesting and informative ‘How to…’ article, which can now be found in the Member’s Area Technical Section under Carburation & Fuel.
This internet sourced document is a September 1930 mail-shot to the Morris Motors dealership chain. The mailing consists of a letter signed by the General Sales Manager, Miles Thomas along with a mini-range brochure featuring a Minor Coachbuilt Saloon. The leaflet is illustrated by the noted graphic artist – Harold Connolly. The documents is now resident on the Minor Story page in the open area of the website and can be viewed here.
In almost 20 years of searching a copy of the 1931 S.V. Morris Minor range brochure had proven to be an extremely elusive document. Recenly a copy appeared for auction on eBay, the winning bid not coming from the Network. The low resolution scans from the eBay listing were however saved and now appear in PDF form under The Cars and the sub-menu Vintage Minor Story. The document itself can be seen here with apologies for the poor quality.
A series of four SU advertisements from 1937, detailing how to trace and correct faults on their carburetters have been compiled into a single PDF and added to the members area technical section. In addition, the Competition Minors page now contains an eight page, fully illustrated Light Car report of the 1931 MCC London-Land’s End Trial, with an entry list that was dominated by Midgets, Minors and Hornets.
Those who own the 1932 and 1933 Minor models will appreciate the latest addittion to the Members Technical Area, a ‘Running Hints & Tips’ item from the October 1932 edition of the Morris Owner, concerning the maintenance of the SU Petrolift device. Thanks goes to Joe Rayner for sourcing the document.
A scan of a five page article written by Jonathan Wood has been been added to the Post-war Minor articles archive here
Belfast born Billy Sullivan raced Minor Specials that bore his name. His exploits in the thirties went largely unnoticed and unrecorded until an Automobile magazine article published in April 1994 (written by John S. Moore) aroused interest in the pre-war Minor world. Harry Edwards, the former Morris Register historian, followed this up in 2007 with another well researched piece and both articles appear in a short tribute entitled Billy Sullivan and his Minor Specials which can be found at the foot of The Minor in competition page within the Member’s Area.
Fitting new flexible couplings to a Minor should be a straightforward task. Plenty of forum posts over the last decade have indicated that is not always the case. An official Morris guide entitled ‘Running hints in pictures no.41’, first published in July 1934 has now been added in PDF form to the Technical section of the Member’s Area under ‘Gearbox, clutch & differential’.
There has been plenty of speculation and discussion concerning the purpose and necessity of the Bellville washer in the Minor engine. Chris Healey provides some insight in his technical article ‘ The mysterious Bellville washer’, which can now be found under ‘Engines’ in the website’s Technical area.
Each year a new Event Galleries page is launched and 2020 is not to be an exception. The new page now contains 14 images, all taken at the recent VSCC Driving Tests held at the Brooklands Museum, Weybridge. Find it here.
Each September, for the start of the new model season, Morris Motors produced a truncated illustrated range leaflet, launched simultaneously with the fully detailed range brochure. A PDF of the Minor section of the 1933 leaflet has just been added to the open area of the website under ‘Cars’/The Minor/Brochure entries. Alternatively use this link and look for 1933 Morris Range Leaflet – Minor Models https://www.prewarminor.com/brochure-entries#elf_l1_Lw
Thanks to Chris Healey scans of the Minor related pages from an early thirties Brown Brothers catalogue are now available to view in the Member’s Area. The 10 page PDF can be found in the Technical Section, filed under the sub-heading ‘Everything Else’. The image quality is far from perfect but significantly adds to the useful available data, despite these shortcomings.
A new page celebrating the last active years of the Brooklands complex has been launched within the Member’s Area of the website. Four individual galleries containing over sixty images in total, the majority being taken during the thirties decade, include shots of Brooklands personalities, vistas of the track and of course, cars competing on the banked circuit.
Please note that some members are currently unable to login to the the forum, receiving a message that their login details are incorrect. This issue is of a universal nature and is affecting hundreds of Tapatalk forums across the globe. The issue is known to Tapatalk and their technical people are working on the problem. If this affects you please notify the webmaster at chris@prewarminor.com
It’s rare to find a latter half of the 20th century article concerning the pre-war Morris Minor in which errors can’t be found. An October 1982 Autocar article by Andrew Whyte is a notable exception. Perhaps it was because Andrew was a Minor owner himself or that his prolific motoring output required detailed research, whatever the reason, his ‘The £100 car’ is an excellent read. This article and ‘Wheel to wheel’ a cbrief comparison of the Minor with the Ford Eight ‘Y’ Type can be found in ‘The Minor Story’ filed under Post-war articles.
Over the months of November and December 1954 the Practical Motorist and Motor Cyclist published a four-page article in two installment entitled ‘Overhauling the Morris Minor & Eight‘. It was directed squarely at the do-it-yourself pre-war Minor & Eight motorists of the time although it remains equally relevant for today’s owners of the model. The article covers both the Minor OHC and SV versions of the car and is easy to read and informative. The article can now be found in the Member’s Area, Technical Bits section under ‘Everything Else’.
An appeal. To date we have entries from just 10 individuals to our annual POTY competition. I’m of course aware that it’s early days and that there is plenty of time remaining before entry closes. I’m also aware that some are ‘keeping their powder dry’ while others have yet to find the time to interrogate their photo files before submitting their entry or entries – for which I thank you in advance. But…
Well over 300 of you view this website every week. All Minor/Midget/Hornet owners who visit here will have a favourite image of their car and even those not fortunate enough to currently own an eligible example will still have seen a car or a photo which was enough to fire their enthusiasm for the model(s). Last year there were entries from 24 individuals which generated 61 images for the judges to pore over. Surely, we can better that in 2019? While there exists an upper limit of 3 entries per member, the lower limit is just one solitary photo – which can’t be that difficult to find. All I need is a digital file of your photo to be emailed to me chris@prewarminor.com , the larger the file size the better and I will do the rest. While the prize for the winning entry is not going to change your life, it’s certainly worth having and even if you don’t win, there is a respectable chance that your image might make it into the 2020 Network calendar. Websites survive and thrive because of the inputs of members and photo competitions are made all-the-more interesting by a wide-ranging variety of entries from photographers across all skill levels. So please take 5 minutes out of your day before Monday 18th November (when entry closes) to select and send your favourite shot.
Chris Lambert – webmaster
A final reminder: Entry opens to the 2019 POTY competition on Monday 4th November. A photo of your car, or your favourite image of someone else’s Minor, Midget or Hornet could be adorning a page or pages of the forthcoming 2020 Pre-war Minor Network calendar. Entry is ‘free’ and don’t forget that you can enter up to three images. Full details can be found here.
The 2019 POTY page is now live and can be viewed here: https://www.prewarminor.com/2019-poty-competition
Thanks to Philip Butland for providing a short sequence of images taken at the recent Firle Hill Revival Meeting. They can all be found at the foot of the 2019 Events Galleries page here.
A PDF has been added to the miscellaneous section within the Technical area entitled Tuning & Maintenance of the Wolseley Hornet, which specifically looks at the 12 HP Hornet Special engine “with particular reference to an E.W. model.” The article was first published in a March 1936 edition of the Light Car magazine.
Images from the Two Breweries Run, held on 1st September can now be viewed at the foot of the 2019 Event Galleries page here.
Thanks to Martin Gregory and Chris Healy for supplying the images now showing at the foot of the 2019 Event Galleries page here.
A new sequence of photos from the recent Prewar Prescott event have been added to the 2019 Event Galleries page here. Always scroll to the foot of the page to see the latest event images.
Network member Keith Durston attended Peter Green‘s annual Triple M Register Garden Party on 7th July. The event marked the 90th anniversary of the commencement of production of the MG ‘M’ Type Midget, this model being very well represented, as can be seen in a series of images now uploaded to the the foot of the 2019 Event Galleries page here.
Joe Rayner has written another ‘easy to read’ technical item, this one on the topic of how to quieten Minor brakes, an issue that can cause some consternation to the driver of the car in question, but far more to pedestrians and other road users. The item can be found as a downloadle PDF in the Brakes section of the Member’s Technical area.
Many Network members swear by the Lodge C3 spark or sparking plug as their plug of preference for use in their Minors, as do many other owners of a wide variety of thirties cars. As a result prices for this version of Lodge plug has risen significantly in recent years. What makes these plugs so special? Discover their secret by reading a November 1932 Motor Sport article in which they visit the the Lodge plant to see these iconic plugs being manufactured and tested. (The article can be found in the Technical section of the Member’s Area under ‘Electrical’.)
Images from the VSCC’s Suffolk Tour have been added to the foot of the 2019 Event Galleries page here.
A dozen images from across the country, all taken on Drive-it-Day, have been added to the 2019 Events Gallery here.
The 2019 Event Gallery has been updated with a sequence of photos taken at the Network’s Spring pub-meet in Redgrave, Suffolk. Find the images here.
A December 1950 André leaflet has been added today detailing how to install and set-up shock absorber types 502/2, 506/2, 502M/2 & 506M/2. Many Minors have been retro fitted with this type of shock absorber while the first MG Midgets were equipped with them from the outset. The PDF can be found in the Member’s Area Technical section, under ‘axles’.
In the days when almost all owners kept a log of the cost of running their vehicles, comparing your motoring costs with that of another with an identical car was sure to be a tempting proposition. Morris Motors capitalised on this phenomenon in 1933 by publishing a booklet entitled Other Owners’ Running Costs where extracts from these logs were published in order to favourably illustrate the economy of their products. The booklet is well illustrated with tables, diagrams and photographs, many of which show the Minor. Can you get 50 mpg from your 1932 Two-seater? Huge thanks to Ken Martin for making the booklet available for scanning which can now be found on The Useful Page within the Member’s Area of the website.
Thanks to photographs supplied by Mike Tebbett and Alistair Bond, a sequence of images taken at the VSCC Light Car & Edwardian Section‘s recent Welsh Weekend are now available to view in the 2019 Events Gallery here.
A PDF containing a two page extract from the 1932 Wolseley range brochure, providing full specifications for both the factory bodied Hornets and the Hornet Special rolling chassis, has been added to the Wolseley Hornet Specials page in the Member’s Area of the site. Similarly, a scan of 4.75 X 2.25 inch salesman’s pocket rate card, detailing model prices across the 1933 Morris range is now available to view under ‘Everything else’, also in the Member’s Area.
The third in a short series of well illustrated ‘how-to’ articles has been uploaded to the Technical section of the website. Written by Minor owner Joe Rayner, this one covers the replacement of core plugs, the principles being the same for both types of Minor engine. Find it under the ‘Engine’ tab.
If you can find a specialist to refurbish the steering wheel of your Minor be prepared for a shock when it comes to opening their quote. Alternatively, why not do the job yourself? Joe Rayner (the Forum’s ‘oilyrag’) has done just that and recorded the steps taken for his latest technical article, now available to view in the Technical Section, Member’s Area of the website under Axles, wheels, steering…
Minor Maintenance – Bleeding the brakes
Joe Rayner has written a series of informative and entertaining articles on a wide range of Minor maintenance topics. The first of these on ‘bleeding the brakes’ is now available to view in the Member’s Area Technical Section, unsurprisingly to be found under the heading ‘Brakes’!
Thanks to Guy Harris, an original set of membership documents to the Morris Eight Tourer Club are available to download from the ‘The useful page’ in the Member’s Area of the website. The club’s annual membership fee is just One Guinea and the much sought-after M8TC badge can be had for just twelve shillings and sixpence! All of this is assuming that the membership secretary, Mr. G. Miller, is still a resident at that North London address almost 60 years after this document was first typed.
A further three items have been added to the site in recent days. The first of these is a Minor Musings article by Ken Martin in which he covers the career of F.W. Bolton and his Page Minor Special. A gallery of images showing Bolton at the wheel can also be found at the foot of the Competition Minors page within the Member’s Area. The second item is a snippet from a 1931 Motor Show edition of The Motor magazine, in which evidence is provided of the existence of a SV Two-seater Arrow Special, a matter of some earlier controversy. A PDF can be found on the Minor Specials page beneath a blue button. Finally a single page document listing all electrical equipment supplied by Lucas for the 29-31 season OHC models can be found in the Technical Section under ‘Electrical’.
John Wrigley, the 50’s and 60’s Hounslow based pre-war Minor spares specialist also provided plenty of good free advice to owners of the model. Much of this was committed to paper and his homily on Bowden cable brakes is well worth reading. Thanks to Guy Harris, this discourse is now available to view in the Member’s Area, unsurprisingly under ‘Brakes’.
Roy Chasmar and Bev Hicks formed the Morris Eight Tourer Club in the summer of 1960. This was the club that later in that decade was to become the Morris Register, the club to which the Pre-war Minor Network is affiliated today. The M8TC’s first ever publication was a five page newsletter entitled The Journal which was posted to the club’s 25 members. Thanks to the generosity of Guy Harris a PDF of this publication now resides in the Member’s Area of the website, at the top of the new Post War Minoring page and can be found under a red button.
A Member’s Area page dedicated to recording the changes in usage of the Morris Minor, Wolseley Hornet and MG M Type Midget following the end of the Second World War is launched today. It’s interesting to note how these vehicles were used both in the 15 year period prior to the introduction in the UK of the MOT or Ten Year Test in 1960 and how that changed in the subsequent 40 years prior to the start of the new millenium. Currently 21 images reside in the page’s dedicated image gallery, while more will be added as and when they are submitted by the membership.
The first gallery to be added to the new 2019 Event Galleries page was uploaded to the site earlier today (28th January) and displays images taken at the VSCC’s New Year Driving Tests, which were held recently at Brooklands.
Following the recent publication of a Motor Sport sourced image of a 1932 Abbey Trophy Hornet on the Wolseley Hornet Specials (No.37) home-page spot, a scan of the original July 1932 Motor Sport article (in which this photo first appeared), has now been added to the website. It can be found in the Member’s Area of the website in the file drawer entitled ‘Wolseley Hornet Specials Articles’ at the foot of the Wolseley Hornet Specials page.
Open-air motoring during a northern hemisphere winter can be a ‘brass monkeys’ experience unless suitably attired. Network member Joe Rayner uses his 1932 Minor Two-seater all-year-round and concluded that it was time his car was provided with some built-in warmth for the occupants. With this in mind he set about designing and installing a heating system for his seats. His east to follow ‘How to’ article can now be found in the Member’s Area of the website filed under ‘Everything else’.
An insightful article written by Terry Webster and Henry Burrell, two former doyens of the Wolseley Hornet Special Club, has now been uploaded to the Hornet Specials page in the Member’s Area of the website. The article first appeared in the Thoroughbred & Classic Cars magazine in the September 1975 edition.
A PDF containing a sequence of images taken for The Autocar at the time of the model’s launch in April 1930 has been added to the Wolseley Hornet page in the open part of the website under ‘The cars’. The PDF is entitled ‘April 1930 launch images….’
Alternatively, view the PDF here
The Light Car & Cyclecar published a short article reviewing the revised Hornet Special chassis for 1934, in their October 6th 1933 ‘First Show Number’ edition; the updated chassis making its debut at the Olympia, London Motor Show. This article now resides in the Hornet Specials section of the website’s Member’s Area. In addition, an extract from the 1934 Wolseley range brochure has also been uploaded detailing the Hornet Special’s full specification.
A further 17 images taken at the autumn’s pub-meets have been added to the 2018 Event Galleries page and can be viewed at the foot of this page.
Just six Minors made it to Thoresby for the annual Morris Register Rally held over the weekend of 11th & 12th August. Three further cars were scheduled to attend but failed to attend. Of the six attendeecars, three picked up awards from the judges, so congratulations to messrs, Robinson, Hills & Paternoster. A small gallery of images taken at the event by Tony Gamble and Martin Gregory has been added to the foot of this page.
Throughout the early thirties the coachbuilding trade produced a plethora of bodies for the very popular Wolseley Hornet chassis. In order to keep the buying public abreast of the range of bodies available the predominant motoring magazines of the period regularly produced articles on the topic. The latest of these has been added to the Wolseley Hornet ‘Sports’ & ‘Specials’ page in the Member’s Area of the site. This one is dated April 1932 and appeared in The Motor magazine and can be found under a blue button towards the top of the page.
Early Hornet Specials
By March 1931 over a dozen coachbuilders were producing an extensive range of bodies for the Hornet chassis – a car that had been launched just eleven months previously. The Motor magazine’s three page article can now be found under a red button on The Hornet Specials page within the Member’s Area of the site.
1932 5cwt van data
A 1932 leaflet entitled Morris Light Transport has been added to the Minor Vans page here. The leaflet can be found under the red button.
The 2018 Event Galleries page has been updated with a sequence of 50+ images taken at the weekend Pre-war Prescott event.
A series of six technical articles written by Peter Hills are all now resident in the Technical section within the Member’s Area of the website. Peter is best known in Minor circles for his heroic restoration of a 1929 Minor Tourer that had been long abandoned in the African bush. The articles, which were first published in the Vintage Minor Register magazine, cover the following topics: Returning brake drums to standard, Upgrading the clutch thrust race, Refurbishing the 29-31 Smiths speedometer, LED replacement lighting, Reconditioning the OHC Minor dynamo and Vintage car hibernation. Grateful thanks goes to Peter for permitting their availability to Network members.
There was a small Minor contingent at the 2018 LC&ES Summer Rally based upon Church Stretton in Shropshire. Peter Stubberfield‘s beautiful 1929 Tourer (VF 6700) was present as was Clive Hamilton-Gould‘s 1930 version (DG 325). Ben Maeers was also present in Minor Tourer PG 5664. The three images of VF 6700 appear courtesy of Mike Tebbett. Find them here.
Images from those taking part in this year’s Drive-it-Day event can now be found at the foot of the 2018 Event Galleries page here
Ten images taken at the LC&ES’s Welsh Weekend have been added to the foot of the 2018 Events page. Many thanks to Janie Maeers and Geof Wilson for providing the photos which can be found here.
Thanks to members Steven Kent and Geof Wilson for providing the latest photos for the website’s 2018 Event Galleries. Both were in attendance at the VSCC’s Herefordshire Trial held over the weekend of 17th & 18th March. See there contributionsat the foot of this page.
Joe Rayner (Aka Oilyrag) has submitted three fully illustrated technical articles which have been published in the Member’s Area today. The first of these is a thorough guide to rebuilding the the three-speed Minor gearbox. In his second article he covers the tricky matter of clutch adjustment bringing some innovative thinking to the topic and comes up with a novel (and practical) solution. Finally, he tackles the replacement of the main copper oil line on the 31-34 SV Minor with a flexible hose solution. The first two articles can now be found in the ‘Gearbox’ section while the third is resident under ‘Engine’.
The second of a short series of hints and tips from The SU Co. has now been posted to the carburation section of the Technical Bits pages. It’s accompanied by a ‘Running hints in pictures’ article scanned from the June 1934 edition of The Morris Owner entitled ‘Clearing and re-centring the jet of the SU carburetter’.
Advertisements can be informative. In 1933 the SU Company commissioned a short series, of what today would be called advertorials, in which they provided maintenance tips for users of their products. One such advertisement from the July 1933 edition of Morris Owner magazine now appears under ‘Carburation and fuel’ in the Technical Bits section of the website.
The Technical Bits section within the Member’s Area has been updated with two new items. The first of these relates to the fitting of headlining to saloons and coupes (How to ‘do’ headlining) – a skill which is a black art to many while the second PDF displays more ‘Originality’ (Originality 2) images, this time relating to the 1934 Two-door Saloon model. Both items were submitted by Guy Harris, to whom grateful thanks.
Restorers – take note!
Thanks goes to Toby Sears for photographing the interior of an unmolested 1934 Minor Four-door Family Eight Saloon. The car had been laid-up since the sixties and has remained untouched since then. Six images can now be seen on a PDF to be found under the ‘Body’ section of the Technical Bits page, entitled Originality – 1934 Minor four-door saloon.
2018 Jaipur Rally
A small gallery of images taken at the Jaipur Classic Car Rally over the weekend of 3rd and 4th February can now be seen on the 2018 Event Galleries page.
Event images
The new 2018 Event Galleries page has been launched and opens with a selection of images from the recent VSCC Brooklands Driving Tests event.
Following-on from what has already been a momentous day for the pre-war Morris Minor I can now also announce that the 2017 POTY Competition is open for entries. The competition runs until 24th December, upon which day the winner will be announced although the entry list closes at midnight on December 20th. As in previous years LAT Images will contribute an A3 sized print selected from any of the images to be found on their website or from LAT images to be found in this website’s galleries, while Stewart Miller & Peter James Insurance will contribute a £50 voucher. It should be noted that the voucher can now be spent on any of the insurance services the group provides and not just on vehicle insurance. The winner of course is also awarded the LAT Plate which is usually presented at our rally dinner each June. LAT have also agreed to continue as competition adjudicators and a panel of three judges will sit to select the winning image.
While the prizes may attract some to enter, the real purpose of the competition is to provide a little light relief in the run-up to the festive season. Not all of us are expert photographers but we do all share a passion for the pre-war Minor, ‘M’ Type Midget or Wolseley Hornet and no doubt have a photo or two of our cars that we particularly like. If that is the case, then submit them for entry (up to a maximum of three per individual) and they will be included in the POTY gallery. You can email them to me at chris@prewarminor.com or post a hard copy print (address supplied on request). If you haven’t entered in previous years but have enjoyed viewing the entries please take the time to participate this time around. I for one am looking forward to viewing your images. The webpage with rules can be found here. http://www.prewarminor.com/2017-poty-competition
Morris Group heiroglyphics
Some of the major components on Morris, MG and Wolseley cars were stamped with a series of numeric codes, which until recently were all something of a mystery. Sam Christie has carried out an extensive study of these codes and wrote a fascinating article for the Triple M Register’s 2016 Year Book in which he details his findings. He has permitted the article to be seen on this website where it can be found in PDF form in the Member’s Area, under Technical Bits/Miscellaneous. Many thanks Sam.
White Minor in post-war competition
Thanks to former White Minor owner Robert Potter and current custodian David Baldock there now exists conclusive evidence that the White Minor took part in competitive events in the post-war era. Up until recently it was believed that the car’s competitive activity ceased in 1937, but that was not the case. Three important images have been added to the galleries along with a March 2017 Morris Monthly article which provides the background detail.
Hornet four-speed box
‘Thanks’ go to Hugh Barnes for providing a 1951 ‘Motoring’ magazine article which details the steps required in order to dismantle a Hornet four-speed gearbox. The article can be found in the Member’s Area, Technical Bits section of the website under the ‘Gearbox, clutch & differential’ sub-heading.
The 2018 rally page has been updated with further venue details here. Just 48 hours after the entry list opened 14 of the 25 available 25 slots have been booked.
Forum update
The site’s discussion forum has been updated by Tapatalk and has moved to new servers. Familarisation with the new layout may take a little time but patience will be rewarded as there are many subtle improvements. Should you have difficulty logging-in to the revised forum then please email the administrator here
A small collection of images taken at the recent Morris Register Rally at Thoresby can be viewed at the foot of the 2017 Events page here.
Contemporaries…
Various versions of the DeHavilland Moth were built at the company’s Stag Lane, Edgeware facility throughout the whole of the Minor’s production life. Old Warden Airfield in Bedfordshire played host to the DeHavilland Moth Club’s annual ‘Gathering of Moths’ on Sunday 31st July and members of the vintage motoring community were invited to join them. Four Minors and a number of Midgets attended while member Martin Gregory took some interesting images which are now resident at the foot of 2017 Events Gallery
M.R. spares…
A new, easy to read, Morris Register spares catalogue and price list is now available to view on this website. While many of the items are for other pre-war Morris models there is also an excellent selection of Minor spares from which to choose. It should be noted that this service is only available to Morris Register members.
2017 Pre-war Prescott
A new gallery has been added here with shots taken at the recent Pre-war Prescott event. (Scroll to the foot of the page)
Temporary forum outage.
For a short period the forum will only be accessible via this link
A rally report ‘for the record’ has been added to the rally gallery page and can be viewed here.
More rally images from noted photographers Ken & Kate Martin have been added to the Rally Gallery Page today. Find their contributions towards the foot of this page.
Drive-it Day images
The 2017 Events Gallery page now includes more images from Sunday’s Drive-it-Day gatherings. Scroll to the foot of this page.
Biggles & co. return
It was extremely unlikely that Biggles and his cohorts would reach old-age as the odds against survival were stacked against them on countless occassions throughout their illustrious service and civilian careers. That they did is something of a miracle and this latest tale from the pen of Clive Hall explains how in old age ‘Biggles lands on his feet’.
Scroll to the foot of the page and click upon the blue title button.
Images taken at the recent pub-meet have now been added to the 2017 Events Galleries page here.
Sanction numbers & data sheets
Nine official Morris Motors data sheets have been added to the website’s technical area today thanks to the generosity of Dick Weeks who supplied the PDFs.The data sheet topics range from among others, CWP meshing, anti-squeal brakes and special service tools through to the care of the synchromesh gearbox.
In addition Sam Christie has compiled a spreadsheet of Wolseley sanction numbers cross referencing them to to the make and model of the vehicles to which they were originally fitted. This item can be found in the Technical bits Miscellaneous section. Thanks goes to both Dick and Sam for these contributions.
Keep shooting…
Photographs of our Minors, Midgets and Hornets will always find a home somewhere on the website. Today we have added a new 2017 Events Gallery page where images can be grouped together. To date the new page has shots from two VSCC events with more to be added as our spring pub meets occur. The new page can be found under the appropriate drop-down menu of simply by clicking here.
Rally latest
With just three months remaining before our rally over the weekend of 23rd-25th June it really is time to book! Find the entry form on our fully updated rally webpage and email it to info@prewarminor.com today.
Hornet page updated.
A number of new items have been added to the Hornet Articles archive including Motor Sport articles and tests on the new Hornet Special chassis, Abbey Hornet tests on the Trophy and AS3 models, Hornet special coachwork as available in 1932 and Hornet Special ads as scanned from late 1931 and 1932 editions of Motor Sport.
The Hornet – saviour of the coachbuilding industry?
The Wolseley Hornet chassis was a firm favourite with coachbuilding firms during the decline of that trade throughout the thirties decade. In many cases it probably kept them in business and the some of the results of their skills can be seen and read about in a 1965 ‘Old Motor’ article which (thanks to Ken Martin) is to be found in the Articles library on the Wolseley Hornet page here.
More electric’ery
Having found the time to revise and fully update his very successful book ‘The Complete Morris Minor‘ (for a now available second edition), author and Minorist John Nagle set about writing an article for the benefit of the member’s of the Pre-war Minor Network. Entitled ‘Sat navs, flashing indicators and twelve volts’ it covers in detail how to set about these mods on the pre-war Morris Minor. The article is now available to view and download in the Member’s section of the website and can be found in the Technical Bits area under the ‘Electrical & wiring’ tab. Thank you John.
Barbara’s steed
It was 80 years ago next June that Barbara Skinner last drove her White Minor in a competitive event. Her tragic early death aged just 30 in a wartime road traffic accident ended the possibility of further competition success once the war had ended. Thanks to David Baldock’s efforts the car is now close to its mid-thirties specification once again and a new web-page celebrating the car’s history and restoration can be found via the drop-down menu under the Member’s tab at the top of this page.
Adam Brown from Craftmaster Paints has written an interesting and informative article on vintage car painting and the paints to use. The article, which was written for the Bullnose Morris Club, is reproduced (with the kind permission of the author) in the Technical section of the Member’s Area and can be found under the ‘Body’ sub-heading.
Coil ignition
A new 34 page PDF has been added to the technical pages in the Electrical & Wiring section. The document comprehensively covers all aspects of coil ignition and was originally intended as an aide memoir for a Lucas correspondence course. Many thanks to Roger Lucke who scanned and submitted the document for publication on the site.
Technical area updates
A further five Morris General Service Sheets have been added to the Technical pages. Some of these are generic and not model specific such as the sheets on ‘wheel-wobble’, the synchromesh gearbox, the SU Carburetter and anti-squeak brake remedies, while the General Data Sheet provides very useful, model specific data.
Latest page updates
Both the Competition Midgets and the 2016 Event Gallery pages have been updated with further images.
Book now for 2017 rally!
The 2017 Rutland Rally entry list is now open. Just 25 entries are available and will be allocated on a ‘first come’ basis. The Entry Form can be downloaded from here
Multum in Parvo !
The 2017 Rutland Rally page has been launched today. For those anxious to book accommodation scroll to the bottom of the page to find the listing. The rally booking form will be available to download within a day or so as soon as final details are confirmed. Find the rally page here: http://www.prewarminor.com/2017-pwmn-rally
New PDFs
Thanks to Peter Brock for compiling two new schematic PDFs showing the component parts of the combined Lucas horn/dip switch while the second illustrates the Lucas SD84 indicator switch. While the indicator switch was never an original Minor fitment many owners have used this component when fitting indicators to our cars.
2016 Events Gallery updated…
Grateful thanks to Philip Butland for providing a series of interesting images taken at the Pre-war Precott event held on 16th July. The images can be found at the foot of this page here
Jurassic Rally Report
A full report from the recent rally can now be found on the rally gallery page or by clicking here.
Jurassic Rally Gallery
No dinosaurs or fossils to be seen on the newly launched rally gallery page (…on second thoughts…) but plenty of 85 year old ironmongery. View the page here.
2016 Awards
The winners of the two club awards were announced at the rally dinner held at The Crown Inn, Marnhull, Dorset on Saturday 4th June.
The Brian Maeers Jug was awarded to Arthur Bell for his enthusiastic and ‘all year round’ usage of his 1933 Saloon and for quality of the images taken on these expeditions and which subsequently appear on the forum.
The Harry Edwards Trophy went to Peter Brock from Newcastle for his many contributions to the Around the Edge Challenge which took place during the course of the spring and early summer of 2015. One such contribution involved driving solo from Newcastle to the south coast in order to complete specific sections during the course of which Peter covered 800 miles and slept in his car Minor four-door Saloon. Those taking part in The Around the Edge Challenge, of which Peter was one, helped raise in excess of £7000 for the Macmillan cancer charity.
The LAT Plate which goes to the winner of the club’s annual photographic competition was presented in the absence of 2015 winner Kartik Lunia (from Jaipur, India) to Norma Lambert who accepted it on his behalf.
A contemporary tale by Ouija Johns
Ouija Johns receives far too few ‘visitations’ these days but a potential national crisis prompted him to pass on this fascinating tale to Clive Hall recently. http://prewarminor.webeden.co.uk/#/minor-magazine-2/4534285304 To read this scroll to the bottom r/h corner of this page and open the blue button entitled Biggles saves the day!
DID photos
Although Sunday 24th April was cold across the United Kingdom a number of Minors were out and about taking part in the national ‘Drive-it Day’. The Events Gallery has been updated.
OU 7875 (SV 252)
This 1931 Hampshire registered SV Minor Saloon was subject to a four year restoration program that commenced in 1979 and culminated in the publication of an article in the July 1983 edition of The Automobile. This Minor is yet another example of a car that is not listed by either of the main registers yet is recorded as extant on the DVLA database. How many more Minors remain unrecorded? Find the article here.
Late saloon toolbox details
Thanks to Peter Brock for providing drawings and photographs of the 1933 and 1934 saloon model toolbox. A PDF can now be found in the Technical Bits section under the Chassis heading here.
Flixton photos posted
Photos from the MG Era Day at Brooklands on 10th Apriland the spring Far Eastern pub meet have been published on the Event Galleries page here.
An accidental purchase?
Member Mike Norrey has written an interesting article concerning the Minor Saloon he is currently restoring, a car he had no intention of buying! Find the article here.
More shots for the Event Gallery page.
Images from the first of the season’s spring pub meets, held near Reigate, Surrey have been added along with further shots from last weekend’s LC&ES Welsh Tour and Trial. View them here.
LC&ES Welsh Weekend
The VSCC’s Light Car and Edwardian Society held their annual Welsh Weekend event over 2nd & 3rd of April. Mike Tebbett editor of the Society’s magazine ‘Light Car’ kindly submitted some Minor images taken at the event which can be found here.
Interactive posts and blogs
An element of interaction has been introduced to the website today as a trial, this being the ability of those viewing the site to leave a comment on some of the ‘posts’ or stories that appear on the home page. The trial has initially been restricted to the Triple M Corner section but should anyone wish to leave a comment about the image displayed they can now do so. Because this is on an open or public part of the website (and not the Member’s Area) these comments will initially be moderated before they appear – so if your comment doesn’t appear straight away it will be because they are waiting in a moderation queue.
More Newnes articles
Newnes were prolific publishers of technical books on motoring and electronics throughout the thirties and beyond and their publications have provided a large proportion of the data held in the technical area of the site. Two more items have recently been uploaded by courtesy of Chris Healey who has contributed an item entitled ‘Morris Minor Care & Maintenance‘ to be found in the ‘Everything Else’ section of the Technical Bits page along with ‘b’ which can be found at the foot of the Minor Story page under a red button entitled ‘The Minor within the Morris Range’.
1933 technical articles
Two more useful items have been added to the Technical Bits pages today. Both have been taken from the 1933 edition of Modern Motor Repair, published by Newnes (publishers of Practical Motorist) and appear under ‘Everything Else’ in the technical area of the site. The first of these is entitled Repair Shop Notes, while the second by R.F. Hanks is a treatise on Tuning Morris Cars. Both of these items appear on the website courtesy of Peter Brock, for which many thanks.
New feature launched and archive expanded
More updates were launched today. The site now has a rolling archive where all previous posts are stored. Previously just the last five posts were available to view. This amendment is effective retrospectively – so all posts in each of the different categories (IOTW, Snippets etc) are now available to view back to the new site’s launch in early December. In addition a new home page feature entitled From The Vault will showcase an article taken from some of the hidden away places on the old website. The first in this series is an Autocar article from October 1931 detailing and comparing the Minor’s rivals, all cars being priced at £150 or under. This feature has been introduced as a result of feedback received from a member, in this case Sam Christie, and if there is something that you would particularly like to see on the site then please send an email to chris@prewarminor.com and your request will be considered. To access the archive posts go to the footer at the bottom of the homepage and click upon any one of the four ‘archive’ menu items.
New additions to the site
Two further pages have been added to the site and can be found on the menu bar seen at the top of each site page.
In addition member Chris Healy has written and contributed an article on the refurbishment and maintenance of the Lucas C45E dynamo which can be found within the Member’s Area Technical Bits section under ‘Electrical & wiring’.
Capturing the moment
It’s fair to say that journeys in 85 year old motor cars are significantly more memorable than those taken in the ‘modern’, most of which are forgotten within seconds of leaving the vehicle. A gathering of two or more of Minors, Midgets or Hornets is an even more significant event in the second decade of the 21st century, so capture these moments on your camera and submit them for potential inclusion in our new 2016 Events Gallery.
Rule changes required?
Although entries were slightly up for the 2015 competition fewer members took part in the voting process than in the previous two competitions, this despite forum membership growing by a third in that time. How can the competition be improved? Have your say via the sites Discussion Forum. www.prewarminorforum.com
The website returns
After being unavailable for a week the site is now fully functional once again. The long period ‘off-air’ was due to the site being transferred from its old host (Easily) to its new home at 1 & 1. Unfortunately the New Year Bank Holiday conspired to hinder the move. Thanks for your patience.
Use your vote!
Voting has commenced to find the winner in our third annual Photograph of the Year Competition. In order to cast a vote you must first be a member of our Discussion Forum. It’s a simple task to join, if you are not already a member, by clicking on the ‘Forum’ tab on the website header above. A short registration process will then follow, after which access to the forum and voting is immediate. If you have a favourite image from the POTY gallery use your vote now.
A new Member’s Gallery along with LAT inspired galleries of pre-war competition Minors and Midgets can now be found on the site. A similar Hornet gallery will follow shortly. Further pages will incorporate a true interactive facility to enable members to post comments directly and permanently to the respective pages.
2016 PWMN Calendar now available…
The 2016 edition of the Pre-war Minor Network calendar is now available to purchase. This version features images from all six PWMN rallies held to date all of the images being taken by club members. The calendar is spiral bound and printed on 235 gsm card – price is £12.00 including postage and packing costs to UK addresses. To order or to establish an overseas postage price please email chris@prewarminor.com