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The Morris Eight
The Minor’s successor on the Cowley production lines was the Morris Eight. Surprisingly it wasn’t packed with new technology and even reverted to a three speed gearbox but it was a completely new car from the wheels up with a brand new three bearing crank, 918 cc engine. Its up to date styling mimicked that of the February 1932 launched Ford Eight Y Type Saloon and the outgoing Minor’s appearance looked dated alongside the thoroughly modern Eight. The car was a big hit with customers who seemed to far prefer the Morris version over competing models from Ford, Standard and Singer. The Morris Eight quickly became Morris Motors best-ever selling car with the Series E Eight continuing in production after WWII, with the last versions leaving Cowley in 1948. The car seen here is a 1936 Sliding-head two-door Saloon, this image first appearing in a June 1936 edition of The Autocar. (This is an Autocar photo-scan appearing here courtesy of LAT Images)
