Morris 8 Series E

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The first small Morris arrived in 1928 in a bid to take a slice of the market for small cars which had exploded since the arrival of the Austin Seven.

The original, aptly named the Morris Minor, used a Wolseley inspired ohc 847cc engine. This gave way to a larger, simpler side-valve affair in the early 1930s, which broadly coincided with the change of name to the Morris Eight, the car getting heavier and more sophisticated as the decade wore on.

By 1938, the Morris Eight Series III was relaunched as the Series E, now with radically altered front end styling more in tune with the glamorous Art Deco mood of the time. Gone was the rather staid and frumpy upright grille to be replaced by a swoopy chrome 'waterfall' instead, flanked by Lucas 'bug-eye' headlamps that gave the car a cheeky and appealing face. Gone too were the old-fashioned running boards and there was a proper opening boot to the rear.

It still had the same separate chassis underneath, but the 918cc engine received a revised cylinder head that pushed power up to 29bhp and the crankshaft was counterbalanced and fitted with shell type bearings. The gearbox also gained another cog to allow a comfortable 50mph cruise in fourth.

Production continued throughout the war for military, essential civilian use and some export markets and didn't finally come to an end until 1948 when the all new Issigonis designed Minor made its debut.

This example was first registered in April 1946 and was purchased by the vendor in 1969 from his local garage who had recently rebuilt the engine. His intention was to use the power unit to run his circular saw, although thankfully he never got round to stripping the car, choosing an engine from something else to cut the fire wood.

The car was put into a dry shed not long after acquisition and there it has remained until exhumed in the last few weeks to prepare it for the sale. The vendor found that the engine was free and regained compression after some oil was poured down the bores. He cleaned the points and fitted a temporary coil and battery, the car firing up and showing 45psi oil pressure, an operation that was repeated when we arrived to take the catalogue photographs.

The interior is original and in restorable condition as is the majority of the bodywork, the areas most needing attention being the rain channel above the driver’s door and the scuttle below the windscreen. Not a project for the faint hearted, this characterful little Morris retains sufficient patination and originality to be restored to the increasingly popular  'oily rag' condition should its new owner choose to do so.

Bidders are adivsed that the car is recognised on the DVLA database, although the vendor has been unable to find the V5 document so its new owner will need to apply for a duplicate in the normal way.