Interesting Facts About Morris You Probably Don’t Know – Common Problems – and PDF Manuals for Download…
A private British motor vehicle manufacturing firm that was found in 1919 with the objective of taking over WRM Motors Limited’s assets, Morris Motors Limited continued producing the same vehicles.
It reached its major milestone in 1926 when almost 42% of the overall British vehicle manufacturing was attributed to the firm.
William Morris relied on self-financing for years with his gigantic profit stream until 1926 after which he began sharing the ownership with the public.
Some parts of its manufacturing plant in Oxford is owned by BMW, which is the headquarters for the Mini Marque.
Currently, the trademark of Morris is owned by SAIC, which is a Chinese automotive company.
Reading through a little history of WRM Motors, we learn that William Morris moved from being a bicycle manufacturer to repair, hire and sale of cars and their manufacturing.
This happened in 1912 when he began assembling a light car from components of different component bought in from other cars.
This is the reason he kept the ownership of it because he was using his own capital resources.
After doing this for a year, he assembled his first ever 2-seat car Bullnose in 1913 that was assembled using bought in parts.
Later on, he moved on to making 4-seat vehicles that includes coupe and van but since the engine had a 1018 cc support, it was not sufficient for bigger vehicles.
Then, from Detroit, Michigan he successfully got hold of a 1548 engine for his bigger vehicles.
So, in 1915 the Morris Cowley two and four-seats were flourishing in the market.
After the First World War, Morris retained the reputation of being a high-quality manufacturer and producer with great competitive pricing strategy because of which its business continued to grow and reach its optimum.
In 1924, it took over Ford and became the biggest car manufacturer in the UK by acquiring 51 percent of the auto market.
Majority of the success was also because of Morris’s ability to buy in the businesses of the suppliers and own them to have consistent ownership and control over quality.
This facilitated the business to produce more units in a week without investing much on space and labor.
W.R. Morris appointed a new Managing Director Leonard Lord to Morris Motors.
He made massive changes to the plant by updating processes and production methodology as well as improving on the assembly lines.
This eventually led to creating the largest integrated car plant in Europe.
However, in 1936 a major personal clash happened between Lord and Morris and they drifted part promising serious repercussions for each other.
After the Second World War, they continued to design and manufacture the Eight and Ten nevertheless, in 1948, Morris Minor replaced the Eight, which was designed by Alec Issigonis who was also the designer of Mini.
While, the Ten was replaced by Morris Oxford MO, it was designed to look like a bigger version of Minor.
Common Morris Problems
Within the Morris umbrella, the Minors might require a little more vigilance than other variations.
This is true for the early editions of Minors that are pretty slow if you are frequent and fast traveler because going above 45mph becomes like a painful driving. The later versions are better when speed is considered. It also has good and comfortable steering.
One of the major issues might happen with the cart spring rear axle because it might get unsteady in case you have a habit of cornering very hard.
Braking again is another section where Minor hasn’t really performed very well.
Let’s see what exactly you should look for in different components of the car so that you know your car is healthy and doing well.
In Chassis and Bodywork
The two major problems that you should look for in the front suspension are rust as well as poor plating. Be notified that corrosion and rust is a bigger issue than you think.
The good news here is that the front valance includes rods for securing the suspension and it is the best the manufacturers could have done.
However, when the headlamps were raised and they worked on improving the lightings in 1951, these improvements made a bad impact on corrosion because additional rusting areas were formed.
Moreover, it is always better to keep a check on the floors to see if there is any car leak that might occur. Moreover, the sill should also be checked frequently.
Apart from that, when the suspension spring hangers are inspected, it is better to make a check on the leaf springs because that might get broken.
Also, the rotting of boot floor is frequent in Morris Minors.
Inside Engine
In the earlier versions of Minor, the side valve engine that had a 918cc engine support was used from the Morris Eight.
If you have the earlier versions, you should be vigilant about nay noise coming from bearing and you should also watch out for blue smoke.
However, later in 1952 when Austin and Morris merged, the Austin’s power was used for Morris. However, even that engine might not prove to be really good for long journeys.
Thus, deep knocks may be expected so you should be careful about it. The latest editions that had 948cc as well as 1098cc engines were better and stronger.
Nevertheless, there could be an excessive noise from the transmission in the later editions so you should to careful about it and should visit your car specialist if that occurs.
Issues with Interiors
If you find dark patches inside the car, it indeed means that the moisture is there. You can also be watchful about any soft areas because that could mean the same.
This might lead to replacement of the affected parts so, it is advisable to be very vigilant about it.
Overall, it is a very simple vehicle and doesn’t require much work on it. Also, the Morris Minor Owners’ Club is quite exciting and effective for members when it comes to taking care of their cars.
Conclusion
Nevertheless, facing mechanical issues is common for any car owner. For minor issues, a car repair manual should help you find out the solutions. For major issues you must consult a certified mechanic, or the manuals below…
Purpose of this is to catalog and include one of most comprehensive, useful and accessible “automotive repair manual” database on the web for all Morris models.
It’s your go-to source for learning all about Morris – when you can’t find it elsewhere.
To get started, select the intended car model below…
