1966 Morris Minor 1000

This relatively late Morris Minor 1000 – made just four years from the end of saloon production in 1970 – has a lot of things going for it. It’s a more practical four-door model and has the ‘best’ engine fitted. We say best in inverted commas as many prefer the less powerful 948cc A Series – said to be a sweater and smoother engine. Though the 1098cc version, as fitted here, does come with a 20 per cent hike in torque.

According to the vendor, the car was restored by the keeper before last (one of only four) who was apparently an enthusiast engineer. There’s nothing in the paperwork to show the expense that this entailed, but the vendor was told that it took place over a nine-year period and the quality of the work seems top drawer. We were in fact surprised not to see any professional restorer’s invoices in the paperwork, as it certainly seems to be up to professional standard. The cabin is clean and tidy and benefits from the retrofitting of a pair of inertia reel seatbelts up front.

Coated in a well-applied shade of Almond Green, this Minor seems to retain a very good finish. The paint gleams with a uniform colour throughout and the chromework appears to also be excellent, including what appear to be unmarked hubcaps and grille slats – both oft-damaged items look great. The tyres surrounding those hubcaps are a matching set of Bridgestone B381s with plenty of tread and there’s even a brand new, unused spare in the boot. The only deviations from standard on the whole car appear to be those chrome headlamp brows and the aforementioned front seatbelts.

Again, according to the vendor, the owner before last also fitted the detachable (via two bolts) tow bar to carry his bike rack. Just as well, as any more weight would likely have tested that old 1098cc engine past its limits. There’s a nice white pinstripe running down both flanks that’s a little wobbly at its extremis but hardly an eyesore. There is a little rust damage to the nearside front wing that does need addressing before it gets much worse. These spots of corrosion consist of bubbling under the paint beneath the nearside front headlight and also under the indicator flasher.

There are a few other minor (excuse the pun) spots of surface corrosion, namely from a stone chip to the nearside top corner of the grille surround and another to the nearside top corner of the rear bumper. The good news is that these rust areas appear to merely be skin deep and the panel fit all around the car appears to be excellent. Especially the vital door-to-front wing and bonnet gaps.

Minors were never overly luxurious places to be but their interiors ooze a delightfully utilitarian charm. There’s that iconic large central dial taking care of instrumentation, with the enclosed odometer here reading just 57,460 miles. Judging by the copious number of MoT sheets in the history folder, that appears to be genuine. Supplementary evidence comes from the seat fabric, pedals, steering wheel and gear knob, all of which show minimal wear. That body-coloured vinyl on the seats and door cards appears in great shape, with just a tiny hole to the shoulder area of the driver’s seat the only cause for complaint. The same can be said of the headlining and the carpets – though the latter does have a few marks in the front passenger footwell.

We did notice a tilt function on the driver’s seat, which seems odd in a four-door example. It’s likely just a good secondhand replacement that happen to have been sourced from a two-door Minor. While we’re on that seat, its base has been fitted with a plank of wood to prevent its base from marking the carpet. It’s easy to remove though, only being held in with a few cable ties. The glue for the carpet has likely lost its tackiness as we saw a few wrinkles around the handbrake area. Oh, and the ‘M’ in the central boss of the steering wheel is cracked, though we’ve seen a lot worse. All things considered, this cabin still looks great.

That little A Series in a comparatively large engine bay always makes us smile. Though Issigonis never got his bespoke boxer engine, the A Series, especially in 1098cc tune, was hardly a bad plan B. This one is reported (by the vendor) to run and drive well and he’s keen to point out that he’s covered several hundred miles in this car without fault and in surprising comfort. Though he does admit its sweet spot is 60mph, rather than the 70+ it’s capable of. The belts, plugs and leads in the engine bay all appear to have been swapped recently, with the motor’s ancillaries, wiring and coolant hoses all seemingly in similarly good shape.

Scoot down underneath proper and you’ll see that there’s plenty of stone-chip protection visible underneath the paint. The exposed suspension and driveline components have all been given an additional covering in black enamel and look good as a result. At first glance the underside of this Minor appears in rude health, which it largely is, though look a little closer and there are a few areas that need some attention… The fuel tank looks great with only a tiny amount of surface corrosion to its base and the same can be said for the majority of the floors and sills. Though the nearside sill is beginning to show some rust. It still seems to be limited to the surface at this stage, but halting its progress now is advised.

It’s a similar story with a couple of small sections of the central chassis member, where the transmission cross member bolts on. The corrosion here is lifting the paint and there’s also a few patches where the paint is no longer present at all, which is obviously best dealt with soon too. This Minor is by no means rotten, in fact the majority of the corrosion wouldn’t even worry a MoT tester, but it’s worth noting, as the rest of the car still appears so good.

Having had just four registered keepers, this Morris benefits from a wealth of history documents. The mileage is backed up by loads of MoTs – the first we could see was in 1972, when the car had only covered 25k miles. The final physical MoT certificate we could find was from 2015 when this Minor still only showed 56,638 miles. There’s a near complete record of the intervening tests too and a quick look online also reveals that it was last tested in 2017 – now exempt, of course.

Astonishingly, we still have the original purchase invoice for this Minor. It comes from Anglian Autos in Colchester for the princely sum of £616, 4shillings & 2pence. A previous owner even decided to frame this vital document for posterity. We even know that the first owner traded in his/her 1960 Singer Gazelle, which was probably the right decision…

As the majority of the work on this car has apparently been done by that clearly talented former owner, there’s not a lot in the way of big bills. Though we did find an invoice from 2014 for some new brake and clutch lines, both of which were fitted by Pilgrim’s Garage in Suffolk – at a cost of £278.64. There’s another fairly large bill for some welding from 1993 (likely before its restoration), which came to another £1342 from Morris Services in Colchester. There’s also a huge stack of old tax discs, which is always nice, though the majority of the history is for little things like bulbs, batteries and other wear & tear items.

The vendor tells us that recent owners have kept the car dry stored and part of that were those nine years spent under restoration. They were clearly years well spent as it’s brought this Minor back to its former glory. That enthusiastic former owner seems to have been the type who had to do things the right way as the car still presents very well, even today. We’re not sure when this restoration took place, but the last V5C was issued in 2015, so it’s likely a few years before that.

The condition speaks for itself and the car’s apparent reliability and lack of any known quirks seems to all add up to a good example. With the few slight cosmetic issues addressed, this could be a very good Minor indeed. Or you could just enjoy it as it is and revel in these most useable of classics. Either way, we think its next owner will need to find between £7000 and £11,000 for the privilege. 

Viewing is always encouraged. This particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays between 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’.