1960 Morris Minor 1000

This Minor has been fully prepared as an Historic Touring Race Car, with a fully tuned 1293cc Hepworth race engine, prepared to full HRDC Speedwell spec. The owner is closely associated with and a regular visitor to Goodwood, a previous invitee to the 73rd Members’ Meeting.

The car has also raced in and is eligible for the HRDC Jack Sears Trophy and HRDC Dunlop Allstars, the BRSCC Touring Greats, the HSCC Walter Hayes Trophy and is further eligible for CTCRC and all other Classic Saloon and Touring Car Race Events, Sprints or Hill Climbs.

This car started life as a 1960 two door Morris Minor 1000 and its first job was as a Police Panda car. It’s been resprayed (exterior and engine bay) in Snowberry White and has a black interior. It is fitted with a Rollcentre six point bolt in roll cage, with additional door side impact bars, and the rear wing wheel arches have had the returns rolled for additional wheel clearance.

It has a heated front windscreen and all door, side and rear windows have been replaced with lightweight Macrolon Polycarbonate.

As you can see from the pics, the Minor has obviously avoided any race track coming-togethers, and is in fine shape. The bodywork gleams and the wheels and tyres are all excellent too (remember there are three sets of wheels and tyres in all).

The interior features a Cobra Evolution Pro-fit seat (in date), a Sparco six-point harness, HANS compliant (in date), and a handheld Lifeline fire extinguisher.

Climbing in is made more tricky than it would have been for the coppers who drove this as a road car, thanks to the side protection bar of the roll over protection cage. And once in don’t go hunting for cup holders or Bluetooth enabled stereo systems – this is a race car.

Having said that, the original passenger seat and rear seats are also present, alongside the certified and in date race seat, should you fancy taking the family along to the track in it.

The impressive mechanical specification is detailed below:

• Engine: Full race 1293cc Hepworth MG Midget engine, all steel MED Engineering internals, baffled sump, Swiftune camshaft and lightweight flywheel, custom made inlet manifold with twin HS4 1.5in SU carbs, Maniflow custom made full race exhaust manifold, RCM custom exhaust, race specification engine steady bar, 16 row 235mm oil cooler and an aluminium competition radiator with electric fan. Recent dyno tests suggest upwards of 125bhp and 102ft-lb of torque.
• Transmission: MED Engineering straight cut close ratio MG Midget gearbox, AP Racing 7.25in single plate F3 clutch with hydraulic conversion, Peter May Engineering roller bearing and gearbox front cover. Propshaft balanced by FIROW, Rae Davis Racing Trans-X LSD with 4.55 diff. ratio, Peter May Engineering competition half shafts and rear hubs.
• Fuel System: Alloy foam filled tank with sumped pick up and competition regulator.
• Brakes: Custom fitted Tilton 74 Series master cylinder, MG Midget front discs and race calipers with custom mounts. At the rear there are lightweight race drums and the system incorporates a Tilton brake bias valve.
• Front suspension: Morris Minor torsion bar/lever arm dampers, full race torsion bars, fully poly-bushed, negative camber, lowered wishbone and eyebolt spacing, ARB custom mounted Koni progressive bump stops, Rae Davis Racing uprated shock absorbers, JLH lightweight alloy front hubs.
• Rear suspension: Leaf spring/lever arm, four leaf spring de-cambered, lowering blocks, polybushed, JLH triangulated radius/anti-tramp bars, Rae Davis uprated shock absorbers with removable arms for central setting when lowered, custom mounted Koni progressive bump stops.
• Wheels & Tyres: one set of MG Midget steel rims with new road tyres – for manoeuvrability and light testing. One set of Rae Davis Racing 13in Weller steel rims with scrubbed Dunlop CR65 regulation race tyres. One set of Moto-build Racing 13in Minilite rims with new, unused Dunlop CR65 regulation race tyres.

The owner says:

‘Goodwood Motor Circuit is no stranger to me as I have been a member of the Goodwood Road Racing Club since its inception 25 years ago and prior to that, even though the circuit was closed to racing, I used the facility many times to test my Classic F3 Lola and other race cars. I am a regular visitor and participant at the circuit.

‘I saw that this Minor was up for sale and on closer inspection, as well as having participated in a couple of classic events, the fact that it had been previously invited to join the ranks of classic race cars on the grid of the 73rd Members’ Meeting was an added incentive.

‘A major part of the restoration was undertaken at Valley Motorsport, specialists in restoring, rebuilding and the race preparation of classic and historic road and race cars… many of which are seen annually at Goodwood.

‘It is known car in all the right places, so from that point of view, it has good provenance. Also, in my ownership, further works have been carried out by Paul Inch Engine Services and PGS Plymouth, Whiteman Motorsport, TGB Automotive and Charles Ware Classic Restoration.

‘It's road legal and has a valid V5 (currently SORNed) although whilst out on the King’s Highway, it might attract the attention of the local constabulary, if not for its crisp, throaty exhaust note, then only out of pure curiosity.

‘I would describe its condition as very good. It’s clean, very tidy and the shell shows little or no collateral damage for a car of its age, it’s previous life as a police car or indeed for all of its on-track activities.

‘I would also describe it as ‘on the button’, regularly maintained and ready to run, however it goes without saying that any prospective buyer should re-commission the car to their own specification and intended use.

‘The final bit… why am I selling? COVID, basically, and its aftermath. I bought it, prepped it and raced it prior to the pandemic, and when darkness fell on the land, circuits closed their doors and disrupted all forms of motorsports.

‘When the sun shone again, together with ill health and my agedness (75 – my race number is the year of my birth) I wasn’t able to give the car the full commitment it deserves.

‘Whatever the future use, in the right hands and with a little encouragement, this car would certainly be a bonus on any classic grid.

‘Although probably not a race winner, unless the Lotus Cortinas, Ford Galaxies and Capris all decided to self-destruct or leave the track at the same time, it’s definitely a front running, class winner.

‘Together with the car, I have a current V5 (on SORN) and the car is of course tax exempt. There is a bible of invoices, data and dyno sheets, the Goodwood invitation, and the car is offered with a limited amount of spares.’

What better way to get into classic racing than a car as well prepped, well known and widely regarded as this one? It’s a little beauty, and a fantastic opportunity to live the classic racing dream. For our estimate of £15,000-£25,000, historic motorsport doesn't come much more affordable and accessible than this.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.