Nowadays, the term pick-up is more likely to conjure up images of muscular American versions, or purpose-built double-cab machines with room for all the family. Yet, it wasn’t so long ago that manufacturers routinely built pick-up versions of their most popular models, becoming street furniture during the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s.
To celebrate this phenomenon, we’re looking back at seven of the most memorable examples, and one you probably won’t recall. Which would you choose?
MORRIS MINOR (1953-1972)
Brilliantly served by clubs and specialists, instantly recognisable, plentiful in number and still affordable, the Morris Minor has long been a definitive classic. It first became available in 1948, but it wasn’t until the Minor had entered Series II guise that a van and a pick-up would be offered, going on sale in 1953 along with the wood-framed Traveller.
Remarkably, both the van and the pick-up differed from the monocoque construction of the saloon and Traveller variants by having a separate chassis. They also differed mechanically, with telescopic rear dampers, stiffer rear leaf springs and lower-ratio differentials. Externally, there was a plainer front end with no bonnet side strips, MM-style badging and an abbreviated front bumper in silver. Indicators were extra and the 803cc A-Series engines were in low-compression tune.
The passenger cars gained a new dash and slatted grille in 1954, with the commercials catching up in February 1955. The big news came in 1956 though, when the Minor 1000 was introduced with its far more useable 948cc engine and one-piece front screen rather than the previous split arrangement. These changes would also apply to the commercials, still with a low-compression engine as standard, but with high-compression optional.
