• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Morris Commercial Vehicles

PA739 said:
Unfortunately, Longbridge turned out absolute rubbish in the late 1960's and 1970's.
The only thing important in British Leyland days, was meeting production schedules, even if cars were not selling, and ended up rotting away on fields.
"Quality" was not in their dictionary!
PA739
Click to expand...
SOME rubbish - it wasn't all! For example, the Austin 1100 and 1300 were great little cars. The Maxi was very ugly but otherwise it was a good car. The Marina and Allegro have acquired very very bad reputations - yes, they were not good when you compare them to - e.g. - the Escort and Cavalier, but they weren't actually as bad as they've been painted (oh wait, let's not talk about paintwork... :D).

However, the faults with British Leyland weren't confined to Longbridge - the appalling short-sighted decisions in relation to the Triumph Stag engine, turned what should have been one of the all-time classic cars into something of a nightmare for owners.
 
Tidd said:
SOME rubbish - it wasn't all! For example, the Austin 1100 and 1300 were great little cars. The Maxi was very ugly but otherwise it was a good car. The Marina and Allegro have acquired very very bad reputations - yes, they were not good when you compare them to - e.g. - the Escort and Cavalier, but they weren't actually as bad as they've been painted (oh wait, let's not talk about paintwork... :D).

However, the faults with British Leyland weren't confined to Longbridge - the appalling short-sighted decisions in relation to the Triumph Stag engine, turned what should have been one of the all-time classic cars into something of a nightmare for owners.
Click to expand...
I spent about 30 years working for BMC / British Leyland, but the build quality of cars built at Cowley was far better than those built at Longbridge.
When Leyland merged with BMC the new ADO 19 "Ant" 4x4, was scrapped because Land Rover objected to it, even though the pre-production prototypes had bodies coming off press-tools. This would have been a fantastic little car, better than some of the Japanese products.
PA739
 

Concepts and prototypes : BMC 9X (1968-87)​

the aborted BMC 9X programme – the ill-fated Mini replacement, engineered by the man who created the original.

Was it the world’s first supermini?

Sheer Genius – 9X: the Mini that never was​

Here we can compare the original mock-up of the 9X design, as built by Pininfarina (top), with the resulting fully-engineered prototype (above).
 

Attachments

  • 1669377479940.png
    1669377479940.png
    363.3 KB · Views: 7
mw0njm. said:
the stag engine was terrable, allegro body was terrable it flexed and the windows shattered when you jacked it up. the rest of the cars i found ok.
never saw a ANT 4X4 but they looked smart
View attachment 175427View attachment 175428View attachment 175429
Click to expand...
mw0njm. said:
the stag engine was terrable, allegro body was terrable it flexed and the windows shattered when you jacked it up. the rest of the cars i found ok.
never saw a ANT 4X4 but they looked smart
View attachment 175427View attachment 175428View attachment 175429
Click to expand...
Forgot to mention.
There is a connection here with Morris Commercial, because that is where the pre-production prototypes were built, and plans to put it into production at Adderley Park were already advanced.
PA739
 
PA739 said:
Forgot to mention.
There is a connection here with Morris Commercial, because that is where the pre-production prototypes were built, and plans to put it into production at Adderley Park were already advanced.
PA739
Click to expand...
i transported a prototype back to the works every time it broke down on test it had to be covered in a tarp:grinning:
 
Tidd said:
SOME rubbish - it wasn't all! For example, the Austin 1100 and 1300 were great little cars. The Maxi was very ugly but otherwise it was a good car. The Marina and Allegro have acquired very very bad reputations - yes, they were not good when you compare them to - e.g. - the Escort and Cavalier, but they weren't actually as bad as they've been painted (oh wait, let's not talk about paintwork... :D).

However, the faults with British Leyland weren't confined to Longbridge - the appalling short-sighted decisions in relation to the Triumph Stag engine, turned what should have been one of the all-time classic cars into something of a nightmare for owners.
Click to expand...
I had an Austin 1100 which was about as far as you could get from a great little car! Then I bought a Triumph TR 4 brand new, my dream car! When I got the car home from the dealer, the handbrake came off in my hand! Went down hill from there. A close friend bought a Triumph Stag, that thing was trouble looking for someplace to happen! My next car was a BMW 2002 ti it just ran and ran and ran. After 200,000 miles a good friend purchased it and ran it for another 50,000.
 
PA739 said:
I spent about 30 years working for BMC / British Leyland, but the build quality of cars built at Cowley was far better than those built at Longbridge.
When Leyland merged with BMC the new ADO 19 "Ant" 4x4, was scrapped because Land Rover objected to it, even though the pre-production prototypes had bodies coming off press-tools. This would have been a fantastic little car, better than some of the Japanese products.
PA739
Click to expand...
Ah, Land Rover! About three years ago my wife was sitting in traffic in her Acura when a lady in a LR hit her in the back. The lady apologized profusely that she was late to pick up her daughter. There were no marks on the Acura but the front bumper on the LR fell off! I’m sure that Tatta Motors was not pleased!
 
the first morris commercial van i had was like this one a 1944 Morris Z Series G.P.O. telephone lineman’s van with rubber wings
 

Attachments

  • Morris_Z_series_GPO_van_reg.jpg
    Morris_Z_series_GPO_van_reg.jpg
    23.6 KB · Views: 16
Richard Dye said:
I had an Austin 1100 which was about as far as you could get from a great little car! Then I bought a Triumph TR 4 brand new, my dream car! When I got the car home from the dealer, the handbrake came off in my hand! Went down hill from there. A close friend bought a Triumph Stag, that thing was trouble looking for someplace to happen! My next car was a BMW 2002 ti it just ran and ran and ran. After 200,000 miles a good friend purchased it and ran it for another 50,000.
Click to expand...
Yes, my 1100 was already about 10 years old when I bought it after passing my test in 1976. The knocking sound I heard after a while turned out to be the "big ends", but the partner of a work colleague agreed to regrind the crankshaft "as a foreigner" (first time I'd ever heard that expression - it needed explaining!). After that the car drove very nicely until it finally reached 'end of life'.
I always wished I could have afforded the TR6.
 
Tidd said:
Yes, my 1100 was already about 10 years old when I bought it after passing my test in 1976. The knocking sound I heard after a while turned out to be the "big ends", but the partner of a work colleague agreed to regrind the crankshaft "as a foreigner" (first time I'd ever heard that expression - it needed explaining!). After that the car drove very nicely until it finally reached 'end of life'.
I always wished I could have afforded the TR6.
Click to expand...
We had about the same vintage, we were married in 1969 and had the Austin most likely (a forgettable experience) then the Triumph and BMW right before we got married!
 
Tidd said:
Yes, my 1100 was already about 10 years old when I bought it after passing my test in 1976. The knocking sound I heard after a while turned out to be the "big ends", but the partner of a work colleague agreed to regrind the crankshaft "as a foreigner" (first time I'd ever heard that expression - it needed explaining!). After that the car drove very nicely until it finally reached 'end of life'.
I always wished I could have afforded the TR6.
Click to expand...
In those days the BMW was priced at less than $100 more than the Triumph with little more than routine maintenance which I did myself. Cost of ownership on the BMW was very low and I drove it quite hard!
 
mw0njm. said:
History of Morris Commercial Cars


E.G. Wrigley & Co supplied axles and steering sets to W.R.M. Motors Ltd., (the forerunner of Morris Motors Ltd), between 1913 and 1917 for the 10hp, ‘White & Poppe’ engined Morris Oxford.
Morris Commercial Cars Ltd. registered February 1924, registered office Foundry Lane, Soho, Birmingham. William Morris acquired factory/site from receivers of E. G. Wrigley & Co Ltd., (which had occupied site since 1902).
1924 – 1 ton truck production commenced. Within 8 years, 15 different types of vehicles were in production at Foundry Lane, ranging from 10cwts to 50cwts, many of which were powered by the company’s own engines.
1932 Morris Commercial Cars Ltd. moved to former Wolseley works at Adderley Park. First double-deck bus – the Imperial was produced here. ‘C’ type range of commercial vehicles announced in 1933. Was very successful, but by 1937 has become a little dated. Pressed steel bodied advances lead to the Equi-load range going into production.
War years – Adderley Park factory worked supporting war effort, producing military vehicles, tanks, gun platforms, and transmission units for torpedoes and anti-submarine weapons. They also made components for Rolls-Royce Merlin and Griffin aero engines.
Post-war – 1949: MCC introduced FV type and J-type van – a type much favoured by the GPO.
1952 Morris Motors merged with Austin Motor Co., and for a short period there was no outward change. Then equi-load range discontinued, and replaced in updated in the form by LC5 and NV types. LD range of vans and ambulances, using the well-known (ex-Austin) BMC 2.2 litre 4cylinder petrol engine, produced extensively.
1954 – 1963: MCC-designed OE diesel engines were made at Adderley Park These successfully powered many Austin/Morris trucks and Nuffield tractors.
1968 – Distinction between Morris and Austin commercial vehicles ceased, production now being labelled BMC. Thus ended the era of Morris Commercial vehicles. Total number of vehicle types produced was an incredible eighty-five.
1974 – Adderley Park factory closed, and remnant production facilities were moved to former Tractors & Transmissions (Wolseley works) at Drews Lane. This site eventually became LDV vans. (And we all know what happened to them!!)
1963 – 1986: Larger truck and diesel engine production was re-located to recently-opened plant, near Bathgate, Scotland.
Click to expand...
2024 is the Centenary year of the founding of the company Morris Commercial Cars Ltd, when it opened its first factory in Foundry Lane, Soho, and became one of the biggest producers of commercial vehicles in Europe.
PA739
 
PA739 said:
2024 is the Centenary year of the founding of the company Morris Commercial Cars Ltd, when it opened its first factory in Foundry Lane, Soho, and became one of the biggest producers of commercial vehicles in Europe.
PA739
Click to expand...
Going off topic: it breaks my heart that all of these great car/ vehicle companies that were pathfinders are no longer around or viable!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top