MORRIS MINOR (1948-1971)
Following the war, genuinely new models were few and far between. But when the affordable Morris Minor first arrived on the scene in 1948, it made a huge impact and arguably went on to define the British ‘people’s car’. It wasn’t quite as future gazing as designer Alec Issigonis had hoped, but it was still an impressively up-to-date offering with unibody construction, torsion bar independent front suspension and rack-and-pinion steering.
One thing that did hold it back was its engine, the sidevalve unit being something of a relic of old. From 1953 onwards that was rectified, with the merger of Morris with Austin making the use of the original 803cc A-Series engine possible. The addition of the overhead-valve engine, mated to a new Austin-sourced gearbox, driveshaft and
