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12th May: The Discussion Forum is now back on stream.

11th May: The website's Discussion Forum has been unavailable since 1400 BST today. Apparently a server issue in California is the cause of its unavailability. If the Forum IS viewable elsewhere please contact the PWMN to let us know.

2nd May: A second LAT Archive page is launched today displaying another 46 period images of Minors, Midgets and Hornets, some of which have never before been published. These galleries will increase in size over time and if you like what you see why not order a print of your favourite image to display on your office wall.

27th April: The third PWMN Spring Pub Meet takes place this Sunday at the Hoxne Swan Inn, Hoxne, Suffolk. We are intending to take a short 15 mile spin around the surrounding lanes starting from the pub car park at 11:00 AM and returning around noon. This event was cancelled.

The Hornet specials page has been updated with a number of new ads scanned from period magazines plus an article on the 1932 Abbey Trophy Hornet Special which can also be found here.

23rd April: Reports from those that took part in the annual old car motoring 'fest' which is Drive It Day tell of having a good time despite the seasonal April showers. Stuart Clarke attended the The Dodford Inn 'twixt Bromsgrove and Kidderminster where the local Morris dance troup posed with Morris Minor and delighted owner. Elsewhere Minorists attending the Alice Lisle pub in the New Forest were greeted by sixty other pre-war cars and crews who muscled in on the PWMN meet, while in rural Cambs The Poacher Inn played host to a group of Minorists who could almost match the Morris dancers in the sartorial stakes!

20th April:It's Drive It Day on Sunday and the PWMN are running 'pub meets' to mark the occasion at The Alice Lisle in the New Forest and at The Poacher at Elsworth, Cambs. Get that Minor or M Type out of the garage and go for a spin on Sunday. You'll definitely blow away some winter cobwebs!

16th April: Member Mike Rose is a former Oxford resident as well as a long-term owner of his 1931 Minor 'Moonlight Frolic'. He recently found some Minor related cuttings in a sixties scrapbook concerning the pre-war Minor that were written as a result of a Harry Edward's appeal to the Oxford Mail newspaper for information on these cars. Harry at that time was involved with the Morris Eight Tourer Club and was seeking information on the Minor Fire Tender. Read the subsequent newspaper articles here, which will also interest those of you concerned with longevity of Minor ownership!

14th April: C.R. Lucato wrote many technical items for the Morris Owner. In February 1932 the M.O. published his detailed article on the care and maintenance of shock absorbers, including the early friction types from Smiths and Armstrong, as fitted to all Minors before the introduction of the hydraulic type in 1934. Find it here.

13th April:The header photo montage pays some unashamed homage to the skills of Cumbrian restorer, Garry Waiting. (He certainly wouldn't approve of the use of the term 'Coachbuilder'). The images above represent part of his output over the last three years - an amazing achievement.

10th April: After a three day break in service the website re-surfaced at 1300 BST today.

3rd April: Five Minors took to the Welsh Hills last weekend of which four were Saloons, the fifth being the Clive Hamilton-Gould Tourer, DG 325. This represented the best Minor turnout at this event for three years. A very high percentage of the 105 car field was made up of Austin Sevens although many other interesting pre-1931 models also participated, as can be seen by visiting the Peter McFadyen website www.petermcfadyen.co.uk The McFadyen Gallery page on this website has also been updated with further images from the weekend's event.

31st Mar: The 'M.G. M Type Art' page has been totally updated and can now be found here.

30th Mar: Welcome to new member, Gerhard Kerscher.

25th Mar: Welcome to new member, Joe Forrest.

23rd Mar: The first 'sampler' LAT Gallery page is launched today marking the commencement of what is hoped will be a long and fruitful collaboration between the PWMN and LAT Photographic. A further, more comprehensive page, is in the planning stage where images will be organised by model type. It's hoped to launch this page sometime in early April. In the meantime if you see an image you wish to order please mention the PWMN in any communication with them.

20th Mar: The story of one mans passion for his Morris Minor is related in A Minor Tale, John Nagle's inspirational account of his two periods of ownership of OW 4224, a 1934 Minor Two-seater. This 28 page illustrated document is published on the website today and is well worth printing off and reading at your leisure. Find it here.

15th Mar: The PWMN has recently reached agreement with LAT Photographic for the display of historic Minor, M Type and Hornet images on a soon to be launched webpage. LAT Photographic are the custodians of a huge archive of motoring images dating back to 1895, many of which have been published in The Autocar and The Motor, while many others have never before been seen in print or on digital media. All LAT images displayed on the website will be available to purchase as superb quality high resolution photographic prints, with an 'on page' ordering facility.

13th Mar: In December 1930 Wolseley launched a De-Luxe version of their recently modified Coachbuilt Saloon body. The cars were sold through their specialist dealers Eustace Watkins in London and John Bryant & Sons in Birmingham at a price of £206. Read the Light Car launch article here.

12th Mar:There appear to be some Forum access issues today.

11th Mar: A quick reference tyre size and pressure chart for all Minor models, using scanned handbook images, has been added to the Technical Bits page today.

9th Mar: In June 1937 Barbara Bolster (nee Skinner) was still winning events in what the Light Car magazine describe, rather unflatteringly, as her "far-from-new blown Morris Minor". She won that event's coveted Ladies' Trophy in a time of 45.96 seconds beating amongst others, Kay Petre in her Austin. The full Light Car report for this event and further images have recently been added to the Red and White Minors page.

3rd Mar: News just in from the MG Workshop in Den Haag, Nederlands is that Minor Fabric Saloon, VG 2007's engine fired up today for the first time since its complete rebuild by owner Halbe Tjpekema. See the Forum to view a YouTube video of the event.

Welcome to new members Mark Thomas and Andrew Craven.

1st Mar: Welcome to new members, David Wylie and Tom Drewett.

25th Feb:The fourth and final part of The Autocar's Care and Maintenance of the Minor S.V. Car has been uploaded today and can be found here.

24th Feb:The Rivals page has been updated today with the inclusion of articles about a car that brought about the Minors demise. This of course was the September 1934 launch of the new Morris Eight. Read the Light Car's launch article here.

23rd Feb: The third part of The Autocar article on the care and maintenance of the Minor side valve models is re-published here today.

Welcome to new members Carl Talbot, Nick Craddock and Alan Roberts.

21st Feb: Part Two of The Autocar's 'Care & Maintenance of the Side Valve Morris Minor' is re-published today and can be found here as well as on the Technical Bits page where it now has a permanent home.

Exploded views of the two four speed gearboxes fitted to the S.V. cars have also been added to the Technical Bits page today.

18th Feb: Welcome to new member Rob Thomas from Cardiff who has recently acquired a 1932 Minor Special.

The PWMN Rally has been listed in the 'Events Calendar' of the March edition of The Automobile.

In April 1932 The Autocar launched the first of a series of four articles entitled the 'Care & Maintenance of the Side Valve Morris Minor'. Along with the respective handbooks, these articles represented the best guide for the do-it-yourself owner who couldn't afford Morris main dealer prices. Part one of this series has now been re-published on the website and will be followed by the remaining three installments over the coming days.

16th Feb:Yet another Minor has been discovered, this time in Sri-Lanka. Unsurprisingly former British colonies appear to be Minor hot-spots although not exclusively so. Excluding those cars to be found in Western Europe, non-colonial Minors are known to be active in many other corners of the world. Thanks is due once again to Kartik Lunia for spotting the existence of this car.

A Mr H. A. Taylor wrote an article for the Autocar in February 1932 concerning his (late) 1931 Coventry registered £100 Minor KV 302. By the time the article was published he had already covered some 8,000 miles and his words make for a resounding endorsement of the car's reliability and performance. Read the article here.

11th Feb: The Auto Jumble page will be cleansed shortly. Will those who have placed ads over the last six months please advise if your 'Want' or 'Sale' has been fulfilled.

8th Feb: The Minor Ads and Cover Shots page (within the Members area) was updated today and now contains over 150 period images. Many pages on the website are regularly updated as new material surfaces without mention here.

4th Feb: In September 1967 John McLellan wrote a two part article for the BMC in-house magazine Motoring. His articles describe the emergence of the Wolseley Hornet as a sports car despite its tendancy to gain weight at each new incarnation. Read Part One here. A special thanks goes to Ken Martin for scanning and supplying the article, which of course now has a permanent home on the Wolseley Hornet page.

1st Feb: Provisional bookings for our annual rally are close to the maximum number our venue will permit. Therefore if you are intending to join us in June and want to avoid disappointment, now is a very good time to book!

29th Jan: A new 2012 Event Gallery page has been launched and includes 21 images from today's VSCC's Brookland Driving Tests.

28th Jan: The VSCC New Year Driving Tests take place on the 29th January at what remains of the Brooklands circuit in Surrey, U.K. The entry list is 'interesting' and the PWMN will be there to record the happenings!

26th Jan: Dane Hawley in Victoria, Australia continues to unearth some excellent period images of Minors, including a second image of the Brisbane racer this time showing the car's cut-away tail, with its owner Mrs Grace Taylor standing by in her Women's Land Army uniform.

That the introduction of the six cylinder Wolseley Hornet created a huge stir in the motoring world is well documented. Read about the first impressions made upon a potential customer here.

21st Jan: A.P. Compton produced a number of special bodies for the Morris Minor (& Hornet) some of which were named Arrow while others confusingly were named Dart and Spear although also retaining the Arrow epithet. The Dart model was launched in the summer of 1930 and was available on both Minor and Austin Seven chassis. It looked very similar to the £100 Minor which was to be launched by Morris Motors just a few months later but was priced at £142-10s-0d, so stood little chance in the market place. Read about it in a short Light Car announcement from August 1930 here.

17th Jan: Morris Motors produced five versions of their Sports Coupe models for the 1932 season. Included was a lwb Minor version which can be seen here alongside its more illustrious bretheren.

15th Jan: Summer Rally bookings have been brisk with 14 crews to date expressing their intent to be in the New Forest next June. Please contact the PWMN soon if you are planning to attend, to avoid potential disappointment!

6th Jan: The Jenson coachbuilding firm produced arguably the most distinctive looking Hornet Special to date when they launched their Coupe version in February 1932. Read the Light Car launch article here.

5th Jan: Welcome to new member Chris Melrach.

4th Jan: Full 2012 Rally details are now available. Although the location has been known for some months, Toby and Linda Sears have been working hard to squeeze into the Saturday and Sunday tours as many places of interest as possible. To judge how successful they have been, visit the new rally page here.

31st Dec: Best wishes for 2012 and a Happy New Year!

 The final revealing installment of Biggles Goes Solo is published today. Find it here.

29th Dec: Auto Jumble 'ads' work! Mike Houston's saloon body has sold to a buyer in Norfolk who saw his 'ad' here on the Auto Jumble page.
Co-incidently Mike's recently acquired 'new' saloon body originally resided just a few short miles away from his buyers home address.

26th Dec: The second part of Clive Hall's Xmas Biggles story is published today.

24th Dec: In May 1930 a coachbuilding magazine produced a detailed dimensional drawing of the 29-31 Minor rolling chassis. This diagram now has a permanent home on the Technical Bits page and can also be found here.

23rd Dec: Unlike his great rival Herbert Austin, Sir William Morris was dismissive of the benefits to be gained from factory involvement in motor sport. He gives his reasons in a comprehensive June 1931 Motor article to which Earl Howe vigorously responds a few weeks later. Read both articles here.

Ouija Johns has been at it again, bringing us another Biggles tale from the 'other side', which along with Christmas Pudding and mince pies has become a seasonal tradition! Read how Biggles copes with an affair of the heart here in Biggles Goes Solo Part One. Parts two and three will follow over the Christmas holiday

21st Dec: Dane Hawley from Victoria Australia has unearthed details of a world record making Morris Minor and driver. The Morris Owner magazine in the U.K. did publish sparse details in its June 1930 edition together with a small image. The record was adjudicated over and verified by the Auckland Automobile Association (AAA) but Morris Motors ignored the opportunity to publicise the achievement. Read about it here.

19th Dec: Welcome to new members Tony Nel and C.M. Bellamy.

John Dixon has owned his 1932 Minor Special since 1959. During the intervening years he has travelled exstensively in VT 7709 including trips to the former Soviet Union and to very edge of Asia. Two articles describing his adventures are published here today.

18th Dec: After failing to finish at Le Mans, Samuelson drove to Spa where he took part in the July 1930 Belgium 24 Hour Grand Prix in his modified 12/12 Midget. Read the Light Car report of the race here.

The Missing Morris Minors page has an interactive facility where members can leave their comments. One of the missing cars has been found - but which one?

17th Dec: Look out for Part One of a triple helping of 'Biggles' which will appear here over the Christmas holiday period, courtesy of the amazing 'pen' of ghost writer Capt.Ouija Johns.

Welcome to new member Michael Norrey who owns a 1930 Stewart & Ardern supplied Minor Coachbuilt Saloon MU 2165.

15th Dec: A 1933 colour Motor cover featuring Minor Saloons is the latest example of the many updates that take place to the website each month, all of which occur without announcement. If you haven't examined the website's inside pages for a while take some time out to do so. You will find plenty of items that weren't there when you last looked.

13th Dec: Dirty Tricks at Le Mans? In June 1930 Samuelson and Murton Neale
competed in the Le Mans 24 hour endurance race in modified Double Twelve Midgets. Neither car finished the race, but had commercial espionage taken place to ensure that this was the case? Read the Light Car report here.

10th Dec: Three contemporary articles on the Arrow Hornet models have been added to the Hornet Specials page today.

9th Dec: Trader Gideon Booth is disposing of all of his Minor spare parts. He has recently sold 13 Minor chassis frames to an Israeli business man and now wants to sell the remainder of his Minor stock, which is extensive. An ad and contact details for these items can be found on the Auto Jumble page which also includes some brief details of two complete Minors, also for sale.

Another Harry Edward's article has been added to the site today, this one providing much background information concerning the £100 Minor prototype JO 764  and originally published in a 2007 edition of the M.R. Journal. (N.B. These articles appear here with the kind permission of Harry's widow Barbara, through the good offices of Harry's long term friend Ken Martin.)

Sibling rivalry may well have inspired Barbara Skinner on 9th June 1934 when she broke the women's ascent record at Shelsley Walsh by a full second in her White Minor Skinner special. Her brother Peter had made an impressive run earlier in the Red Minor, only for his sister to come within a fifth of a second of that time. Read the Light Car magazine's effusive coverage here.

4th Dec:Harry Edwards wrote an excellent short article on the pre-war GPO 5- cwt vans for the Summer 1999 edition of The Journal, which now has a permanent home on the Vans page of this website.

2nd Dec: The Wolseley Hornet open two-seater specials captured many headlines in 1931 and 1932. While this publicity hullabaloo was going on a number of coachbuilders were quietly placing handsome coupe bodies on the Hornet chassis with some pleasing results. See the fruits of their efforts here in this May 1931 Motor article.

30th Nov: For those of you who own or drive 1934 season cars, a cut-away drawing of the Bishop's Steering gear fitted to these models has been added to the site today and now has a permanent home on the Technical Bits page within the Member's Area.

29th Nov: The scanned Morris Minor element from an A1 size fold-out 1934 Morris range leaflet was posted to the Minor Story home page yesterday and can be found here.

28th Nov: Welcome to new member Lee Robertson who has purchased the ex Orchid Cars and Nigel Hawkins hybrid 1929 Minor Saloon.

A new website page has been launched today, showing period postcards images, and featuring cars on the roads of Britain in the thirties. Entitled Thirties Postcard Britain it provides a flavour of what it must have been like to drive our cars when they were new.

25th Nov: Following on from the access issues to the website earlier this week, it is now the turn of the Forum to experience difficulties. Most of you who use the Forum will have seen the rogue notice informing you that you are 'Forbidden' to access a particular thread or the Board Index. This has been reported to the board hosts who are now working on a fix. If you encounter this problem, please persist in trying, as access is eventually gained. Apologies!

24th Nov: Welcome to new members Dave Lawton and Ian Moodie.

Mike Houston has been in the unusual position of having two stripped down early Coachbuilt Saloon bodies in his custody. He noted some very interesting differences between the two and recorded his findings in a fascining report which is now available to read here and will also have a permanent home on the Technical Bits page.

23rd Nov: Apologies to those of you who have not been able to access the site over the last 36 hours or so. This was due to a 'bug' in the web host's server which thankfully was fixed around 1900 hours GMT Wednesday.

22nd Nov: John Thornley and Harold Hasting jointly wrote an article in the April 1937 edition of the Sports Car magazine telling of the formation of the MGCC. Sam Christie has kindly provided a scanned copy which can be found here.

The 1932 season Wolseley Hornet was an entirely new model and incorporated the new 6 cylinder engine, now with a chain driven overhead camshaft. Much heavier than the outgoing model it (unusually for the time) received some criticism in the motoring press. Read the Light Car's first test of the car here.

21st Nov: There were a number of quirks about the Minor Specials produced by Coventry Motor Sundries or CMS. Find out about them here.

19th Nov: The Wolseley Hornet now has two pages devoted to both the early factory cars and a new page to cover the plethora of coachbuilt specials that rapidly emerged during 1930 and 1931. Much new material has been added as a result of this increased space availablability. These new pages can be found either via the 'menu' strip along the top of this page or by opening the Site Contents page.

16th Nov: A very warm welcome to four new Network members, Terry Lloyd, Pat Love, Ian Higgins and Christophe Lack.

15th Nov: 'Mileator' wrote for the Morris Owner magazine throughout the period that the Minor remained in production. His latest article to be uploaded to the site was first published in March 1929 and concerns a hastily planned trip across France in December 1928. This article, written in the style of the period, was the forerunner of many more published in the Morris Owner, that describe epic trips across Europe taken by the Minor and their intrepid crews

Welcome to new member Terry Lloyd who has acquired the 1934 Minor 5 cwt van very recently auctioned in Kings Lynn.

14th Nov: In 1929 Morris Motors had plans in place to produce over 1000 Minors a week at Cowley. As a result of the worst economic crisis to hit the civilised world up to that time, Minor production never did reach that figure, averaging under 300 cars a week during the course of its six year production run. The Automobile Engineer magazine ran a three page article in June 1929 entitled 'Building the Morris Minor' which provides an amazing insight into how the car was put together and the working conditions at the Morris works in Cowley. Find it here.

13th Nov: Welcome to new member Alan Taylor from Gore, Southland, New Zealand. He owns a 1934 Minor Two-seater which must qualify as being our southernmost member's car, as the next stop is Antarctica and the South Pole.

11/11/11: Minor related items from a 1930 Morris brochure for the Dutch market have been added to the site today. Interestingly, while the Fabric and Coachbuilt Saloons were available to buy in the Nederlands, along with the 5 cwt van, the Minor Tourer was not listed. Find it here.

8th Nov: The Morris Owner published a series of articles in the early thirties detailing the intrepid exploits of Minor drivers with vivid descriptions of their journeys across Europe and beyond. The latest such adventure to be archived here has been scanned from the March 1933 edition of the magazine and tells the tale of such a trip, on this occasion from Reading to Malta!

7th Nov: Welcome to new member Jerry Moody who owns and is restoring a 1931 Eustace Watkins bodied 2+2 Hornet.

Although new Minors finds keep turning up at the rate of more than one a month, the numbers returning to the road doesn't bare comparison with that figure. In view of that sad fact we should welcome back Kartik Lunia's 1930 Minor Tourer to the road with at least a fanfare of trumpets! Congratulations Kartik and watch out motorists of Jaipur.

A new series of short articles and features entitled Minor Musings makes its debut on the site today. The first such feature touches upon artist Harold Connolly's relationship with the Minor and can be found here.

5th Nov: A letter from a Minor driver appeared in the December 1932 edition of the Morris Owner in which he detailed the running costs of 15702 miles of Minor motoring. The article now has a permanent home on The Minor Story home page.

Two more Minors have surfaced for sale today, full details are available on the Forum.

 A warm welcome to new member John Denton.

2nd Nov: A new Autumn Pub Meet gallery has been added to the 2011 Event Gallery page.

Welcome to new member Ian Boyd from Australia, who owns a rare (for Oz) 1932 S.V. Tourer project.

29th Oct: Yet another Minor has surfaced in India thanks to the efforts of member Kartik Lunia. The remains of this car, a 1930 Minor Tourer, was discovered under a tarpaulin in a Bombay flea market. The car, which was built at Cowley around the tail end of September or very early October 1930, carries chassis number M 29804. Its rescue is already the subject of discussion.

28th Oct: Member Mark Morris is actively seeking to purchase an OHC Minor Saloon with a preference for a nickel radiator model. He has been advised of the two Fabric Saloon models currently known to be for sale but would also consider a Coachbuilt Saloon. Full contact details on the Auto Jumble page.

A complete Minor related extract from the 1934 Morris Range Brochure now resides on the Minor Story home page and can also be accessed here.

Welcome to new member Tim Ovendon.

22nd Oct: Welcome to new members Vincent Wragg and David Taylor.

18th Oct: Please note that the dates for the 2012 PWMN Rally have been unavoidably altered to the 15th-17th June, as the venue selected was fully booked as a result of the granting, the preceding weekend, of a further days public holiday in celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Full venue details will be published shortly on a new 2012 Rally page. Sincere apologies if this causes any major changes in plans.

17th Oct: The Image of the week feature displays its 100th period shot this week. These photographs have been collected over the past three years via eBay purchases, internet searches and from items sent in by members. If you have a period photo of a Minor, M Type or Hornet and would like to see it published here, please forward a scan to the PWMN. Thanks to all those of you who have contributed in the past.

16th Oct: Welcome to new members Timothy Noble and Bob Grunau.

14th Oct: A further John Nagle sourced PDF has been added to the Technical Bits page today and shows a revised 1934 Minor wiring diagram for those wishing to fit double filament bulbs to the lighting system.

12th Oct: Four new PDFs are now available to view on the Technical Bits page within the Member's Area. They are numberered 44.0 - 47.0 respectively and contain both drawings and photos of the items in question. (Courtesy John Nagle)

11th Oct: John Nagle, former Membership Secretary of the Morris Register and owner and restorer of 1934 Minor Two-seater OW 4224 has kindly provided the PWMN with a series of technical papers and drawings. These (in the form of PDFs) will be posted to the Technical Bits page of the website over the course of the next few days. Many thanks John.

7th Oct: A very warm welcome to new members Michael and Wilma Watts.

6th Oct: Available to download today is a PDF of the Instruction Manual for the 31-32 'short' MG Midget. This is another large file which may take some time to open and can be found at the foot of the Technical Bits page in the Member's Area.

5th Oct: The official handbook for the 1930 Morris Minor has been uploaded to the Technical Bits page today and is now available to view and download as a PDF. This file is very large and may take some time to open and is only accessible by PWMN members.

4th Oct: Welcome to new member Michael Keith. Also a very warm 'welcome back' to Brian Maeers, owner of four Minors, two of each camshaft variety!

1st Oct:The J2 Midget replaced the 'M' Type in the MG range at the beginning of August 1932. The launch article from the August 5th edition of Light Car magazine now has a permanent home at the foot of 'The First MG Midget' page and can also be found here.

30th Sept: The last of the autumn pub 'meets' takes place this Sunday (2nd) at the Royal Oak, Barrington, Cambs. Kick off is around noon and all are welcome. The weather forecast for this weekend is currently excellent, so dust down your Minor, take down the hood (or if in a Minor Saloon, open Kopalapso or Pytchley sliding roof) and get some fresh air into your lungs! (Best avoid the A14 then)

27th Sept: The COTW Article Archive page is launched today, where the 25 surviving COTW articles from the 66 weekly instalments originally written, can now be found. All 25 have been updated and are available to download as PDF's.

25th Sept: A warm welcome to new member Graham Seeley. (PWMN membership number 400)

23rd Sept: Member and former Minor Saloon and MG Midget owner Jeremy Evans wrote a scholarly article on the SunRayn Minor Special for the VMR magazine in the spring of 2007. With Jeremy's kind permission the article has been added to the Pre-war Minor Specials page and can also be found here.

Welcome to new member Michael Summers from Suffolk.

22nd Sept: Welcome to new member Richard Thom.

Our Autumn Pub Meets kick off this weekend with gatherings in the New Forest and East Anglia. Full details can be found on the Events Page.

19th Sept: A short illustrated report on last weeks proceedings in East Suffolk now has a permanent home, along with a small image gallery, at the foot of the 2011 Events Page and can also be found here.

17th Sept: Welcome to new members Rex Webb and Bijan Hatam.

16th Sept: More images and a report (in due course) will follow after the completion of another successful 'Anglians' foray, this time into the wilds of darkest Suffolk. Well over a combined total of 1000 miles were covered by the three Minors involved during the course of the last week, almost without mishap!
 
7th Sept: In July 1932 the Morris Owner magazine published a short article detailing a Himalayan holiday in a brand new OHC Minor Tourer. Perhaps this could be the very car currently undergoing restoration at the hands of Kartik Lunia in Jaipur? Read the article here.

Minors represent superb value for money! Two Minors, both appearing to be in very good condition, sold yesterday at a Bristol Auction for under £10,000 for the pair. There are mid thirties Austin Seven Saloons fetching more than this for just a single car. One of the Minors, a rare 1933 Special Coupe sold for £4,600 - an absolute steal. (Thanks to Trevor Wilkinson for spotting them)

5th Sept: The big September Beaulieu Autojumble is being held this coming weekend 9th - 11th. Eleven members are planning to attend and will be using the Sears Stalls (R327 & R328) in the Red Field as their meeting point. You are assured of a warm welcome from Toby, Andy & Jim.

1st Sept: Welcome to Keith Barnett who joins the PWMN today together with his 1930 MG M Type.

Also a warm welcome to new member Mark Morris - Rothley, who will shortly be seeking to purchase an OHC Minor Saloon. Mark possesses an appropriate set of initials for a prospective Morris Minor owner!

31st August: By the autumn of 1932 few Minor Specials were being manufactured. There were of course exceptions with McEvoy, Maddox and King Brothers bucking the trend. However, for 1933 the majority of coachbuilders had turned their attentions to the Wolseley Hornet chassis upon which to build their new offerings. The Light Car magazine ran an article in October of 1932 which illustrates perfectly this dramatic development in the Specials market place. This article now has a permanent home on the Wolseley Hornet page and can also be found here.

 Dates and venues for all three autumn pub meets have been set and can be found on the Events page as well as the appropriate Forum thread.

29th August: It's a bank holiday here in the U.K. which means another tale from the 'pen' or keyboard of author Clive Hall. Clive's story this August is entitled 'The Legacy'. For those expecting an item relating to Morris Minors or vintage cars in general don't look here.

26th August: Harold Hastings was a noted staff journalist for the Light Car magazine in the thirties and wrote an insightful article on the attributes and otherwise of the MG Midget in November 1932. He had used the car extensively for two years and his Light Car piece reflects his affection for the model after travelling some 30,000 miles during that time.
A second Light Car article on the running costs of the Midget over an extended period has also been added to the site today. Written by 'The Gypsy' in October 1932 it provides evidence of the economic sense of buying and running a Midget in the 1930s. Find it here.
The Minor Specials page has been updated today but remains a work in progress!

23rd August: Welcome to new member Doug Groves.

20th August: The late Harry Edwards compiled a mountain of historical data on the Minor and all of its variants. Included amongst this information are the specifications of all Minor 5 cwt van types from 1930 until 1953. This data now has a permanent home on the Minor 5 cwt Vans page and can be viewed here.

19th August: A warm welcome to Michael Ovenden, shortly to become the new owner of 1931 Minor two-seater KJ 4483, the ex Steve Lewsley car.

An interesting article on Morris Light Vans was published in the July 1930 edition of the Morris Owner magazine. The article now has a permanent home on the Minor 5 cwt Vans page and can be found here.

16th August: Welcome to new member Chris Hatton from Dorking U.K.

13th August: This weekend the annual Morris Register 'bash' takes place at Thoresby Park in Nottinghamshire. If you are planning to attend please remember to take your camera and any Minor images forwarded to the PWMN will be published here.

5th August: This weekend sees the blue riband event of the vintage car sporting calendar take place when the V.S.C.C. host their annual Prescott Hill Climb in the Cotswolds. Almost as important as the sporting competition these days is the social 'whirl' generated by the thousands of aficianados from all over the country and beyond, much akin to horse racing's June Royal Ascot meeting or rowing's Henley Regatta. It's the place to be seen, with or without your Minor or Midget! (If you are attending please remember your camera!)

28th July: A short Morris Owner article from August 1930 on the Minor worm and wheel steering gearbox has been added to the Technical Bits page today and can be found here.

27th July: Tony Gamble has decided to part with the body of one of his 1930 Morris Minor Semi-Sports projects. He is asking a very reasonable £750 and full details can be found on the Auto Jumble page.

The 67th page has been added to the website today with the launch of Midgetry!, a glimse of the first MG Midget in competition mode via a gallery of 36 images extracted from the motoring magazines of the period.

24th July: Welcome to new members David Booth and Douglas Groves.

21st July: The M.G. M Type now has its own group of pages on this website, all of which are accessible via the Menu bar at the top of this page. This has been achieved by pulling together the pages that were previously located elsewhere and providing a new homepage.The M Type section will shortly be updated with a further batch of images showing the model in competition during the thirties. Site statistics provided by Google Analytics indicates that the pages featuring the M Type are amongst the most frequently visited by surfers.

20th July: Once again photographer Peter McFadyen has contributed some wonderful images from last weekend's Pre-war Prescott event which can now be viewed in a gallery on the McFadyen Gallery page here.

15th July: The Back Page is currently undergoing an update with 30 + images added of Minors in competition from the decade before WW2 together with a number from the post war period.

12th July:The PWMN Forum has a new domain name (or web address) as of today http://www.prewarminorforum.com/ which may mean that you are required to log-in to the Forum despite previously instructing your computer to save your log-in and password details. If you re-enter and save these details as before, future unfettered entry to the Forum should be assured.

11th July: Further updates to the site today include a new gallery showing images of some of the known early Wolseley Hornet survivors, and two technical items cobtributed by Peter Brock and Garry Waiting listed as items 42.0 and 43.0 on the Technical Bits page.

In October 1932 a young English lady journied from Bristol to Florence in a three year old Minor Fabric Saloon, a trip of over 1000 miles. Read how both she and the car coped in this June 1933 Morris Owner article.

8th July:In the summer 2008 edition of the Morris Register Journal is an article written by Harry Edwards in which six images of Minor based cars appear. Despite being official Morris Motors photographs the cars depicted were never marketed by the company. Harry's article attempts to unravel the mystery.

6th July: Have you skinned your knuckles while wrestling with your propshaft trying to fit new flexible couplings? Read how the job should be tackled via an illustrated guide which was first published in the July 1934 edition of the Morris Owner. This article now has a permanent home on the Technical Bits page within the Member's Area.

5th July: A small Shelsley Gallery has been added to the foot of the 2011 Events Gallery page.

3rd July: Welcome to new member Arie Roest from the Nederlands.

28th June: Triple M Historian Barry Foster has kindly agreed to the PWMN displaying a copy of his article on MMM gearboxes on the Technical Bits page of this website. His detailed and well illustrated article provides much data that will assist members to identify the differing gearbox variants available. Thanks goes to Sam Christie for finding the article.

26th June: Three 'new' items have been added to their respective pages today. The first of these appears on The Rivals page where a February 1934 Motor single page feature shows the main protaganists in the 7 to 9 HP tax bracket which includes the lwb Family Eight. The second such item is a PDF of collected drawings showing the general layout of the swb 34 Minor chassis, this item is now resident on the Technical Bits page. Finally a PDF of the Motor's June 1934 Shelsley report, during the course of which Barbara Skinner snatched the ladies record, appears on the Red and White Minors page.

21st June: Welcome to new member Garry Carter who is restoring a 1934 Minor 5 cwt. van. While a number of earlier vans are known to have survived, few if any 1934 'Eddyfree' versions have surfaced in recent years.

New Member Martin Hector's 1931 Midget 2M 2619 was first registered in Lindsey, Lincolnshire as FW 2015. Martin has also started the long process of restoration.

20th June:Further ads have been posted to the Minor Accessories page today.

An interesting March 1935 Morris Owner article on S.V. engine oil pressure issues has been posted to the Technical Bits page today and can be found here.

19th June: A new page has been launched today which aims to capture the range of accessories available for fitment to the pre-war Minor. From dash clocks and carburettor locks to steering column bracing brakets and door locks the list was a long and interesting one! See the new page in the Member's Area of the site.

17th June: A full Rally Report has been published today and can be found here. Thanks to Roger Lucke two video snippets have also been added to the 2011 Rally Page and can be seen here & here.

16th June: The dates have now been set for our Autumn Pub Meets which will be held this year on Sunday(s) 25th September and 2nd October. At least one of the planned meets will incorporate a short pre-lunch run following the succesful experiment in Suffolk earlier in the year.

13th June: The first images are now available to view on the newly created 2011 Rally Gallery page which can be found here.

The English countryside in June must rank alongside some of the most beautiful sights anyone can expect to encounter in a lifetime. Rural Bedfordshire last Saturday didn't disappoint with magnificent vistas around most corners and over the crests of the very few hills encountered.

The second annual PWMN Rally was blessed with magnificent weather for two of the three days while the 17 crews and cars that took part made the most of the opportunities to exercise their cars on quiet country roads.More news of the event over the course of the next few days with a Rally Report and Image Gallery to follow.

9th June: The 2011 PWMN Rally kicks of on Friday as the 16 cars and crews make their way to a beautiful corner of rural Bedfordshire where the activities commence with the White Horse Pub Meet at Southill. Entrants are coming from as far afield as the Hague to the east, the New Forest in the South, and Kendall to the North. After the driest spring in this part of the country for over a century, and an official drought being decared in East Anglia, s*d and his law have decided to play a part !!

8th June: Did you know that the MG factory produced a 'customer' supercharged version of the M Type? Well they did and the Autocar magazine tested a production version which retailed for £250 in a February 1932 edition. Thanks to Sam Christie for sending the scanned test report to the PWMN.

6th June: With just five days to go to the commencement of the 2011 PWMN Rally which is to be based upon the historic airfield of Old Warden, Beds final arrangements are now well in hand. Will those with strong religious convictions please pray to their respective weather gods!

A 1971 Morris Register Journal article by the late Harry Edwards in which he examines the history of McEvoy Minor Specials is published here today and now has a permanent home on the Pre-war Minor Specials page.

4th June: Welcome to new member Kristian Lyngborg from Denmark.

2nd June: Welcome to new members Brian Gayther and Colin O'brien.

A Scottish holiday in a 1931 S.V. Minor Saloon may not be in the same league as the famous trans Sahara journeys of Gilg and Cooper but adventures there were aplenty on this trip. Read about the intrepid holidaymakers and their journey to the wilds of Aberdeenshire in an article first published in the December 1933 edition of the Morris Owner magazine.

1st June: May's website stats are published here today.

Full Circle: The new owners of the historic Red Minor which was campaigned in the thirties by Peter Skinner, are Burlen Fuel Systems Ltd., also current owners of the S.U. Carburetter brand. The story of this car and it's stablemate the White Minor, built for Peter's sister Barbara can be found here while the Burlen press release info can be found on their website here.

29th May: The year 1933 was a truly vintage one for the Minor. This was the year that Gilg and Kay journeyed from Liverpool to Cape Town in their Minor Tourer where amazingly they met up with Alan Cooper in his S.V. Minor Two-seater, who was returning home to England from Kenya. Their meeting place was the middle of the Sahara Desert! The Morris Owner published an article by Cooper in which he describes his journey in their July 1933 edition. It now has a permanent home on this website and this remarkable tale can be found here.

Talking of remarkable tales, Clive Hall has supplied another gem of a story from his 'Box in the loft' to provide some light entertainment this Bank Holiday Monday. A moral dilemma faces 'Barker' - how would you react under similiar circumstances?

27th May: Minor spares stockist Ian Harris has provided the PWMN with a comprehensive stock list which details many difficult to find Minor parts. This listing now has a permanent home on the Technical Bits page and will be updated from time to time. Find it here.

25th May: Further updates have been made to the 'Out of South Africa' page including images taken at Ron Mortlock's 94th birthday celebration and more recollections from May Mortlock's eldest Grandson, Anthony.

21st May: Welcome to new members Alec Elliot and Phil Thomas, who were allocated membership numbers 356 and 357 respectively.

18th May: The website 'hits' counter clicked past the 150,000 mark earlier today, just six months after the 100K mark was passed last November. Thanks for the continued support!

Welcome to new member Joris de Baat from the Nederlands.

16th May: An image gallery for the East Anglian Coastal Circumnavigation and a report on the proceedings written by Clive Hall have been added to the 2011 Events page. Find it here.

The great news that Nuffield Place has been saved for the nation is tempered by the need for the National Trust to raise £600,000 in a hurry. If you want to contribute to this very worthy cause then visit the National Trust website here and watch the short video.

12th May: The East Anglian coastal run concluded yesterday (Wednesday 11th) with four of the five participating cars and crews arriving safely at the planned destination. As a result the EACH charity will shortly be receiving a cheque via Steve Lewsley to help support the three childrens hospices concerned. Those involved report that while the 151 mile journey was a 'doddle' for the Minors there were those amongst the crews who felt a trifle weather beaten and 'careworn' whatever that may mean!

10th May: The East Anglian Coastal Run takes place tomorrow with five Minors and their crews participating. The run has been organised by Steve Lewsley from Gislingham, Suffolk and will take in as many coastal roads as possible. The 145 mile trip is aiming to raise money for EACH (East Anglian Children's Hospice). Hopefully local internet access will enable reports to be posted to this website.

The Spring Beaulieu Autojumble takes place this weekend in the New Forest. If you are planning to attend in order to try and find that elusive Minor spare, visit the PWMN stall R295 where you will be re-directed to proper Autojumblers!

9th May:The fascinating story of South African 1934 Family Eight (CEP 78 or CBV 312 EC) deserves much more space than a COTW feature can provide. (see below) Therefore the full story of this car's history will be covered in a new, shortly to be launched, website page to celebrate the car's rediscovery and its fascinating life. Thank you to Richard Edkins for providing the information and images.

4th May: Welcome to new member Chris Arnott.

Finding an unmolested pre-war Minor is very unusual - finding such a car that's been in the same family for nearly eighty years is a rare and exciting find indeed. The South African Family Eight in question will feature as this website's COTW next week.

1st May: In August 2008 the PWMN published a price guide to assist those thinking of purchasing a pre-war Morris Minor. In response to a recent request, this document has now been updated and reflects the changes that have taken place in the market since that time. Find the fully revised document here.
 
Welcome to new member Ed Zillman from Brisbane, Australia.
Ed owns a 1929 unrestored 'ute'.

With four public holidays within 10 days and warm spring weather for the most part here in the U.K., sitting in front of a computer screen is not to be recommended. However for those who enjoy a good read when the sun goes down, Clive Hall has had a rummage in his 'box in the loft' and found another short story for our edification, 'Time is money'. Read it here.

29th April: A warm welcome to new member Richard Edkins from South Africa.

28th April: A 1999 article on the role of the first MG Midget in the M.G. company's subsequent success can now be found on the MG M Type page and also here.

26th April: Welcome to new member Daryl Johnson from Christchurch, New Zealand who owns a 1929 Minor rolling chassis and is seeking plans for a two-seater body.

25th April:Toby Sears has provided a copy of a 1990's newspaper cutting concerning Westover Hall, Milford-on-Sea, Hants, which for a short period in the early thirties was a holiday home for William Morris. The article revealingly tells why he didn't stay longer. Find it here.

23rd April: A third Event Gallery page has been added to the site today in which images from the three Spring 2011 pub meets now permanently reside. Find it here.

22nd April:It would appear that the pre-war Minor market place is picking up as another two cars and a highly desirable 'special' body are now available for purchase. Find them on the appropriate thread on the Discussion Forum.

As has become something of a welcome tradition on this website, Clive Hall has contributed another short story to be read and enjoyed over the holiday period. His latest offering, while having nothing what-so-ever to do with pre-war Morris Minors, is never the less a salutary tale about honesty and rough justice.

21st April: Minors continue to turn up all over the world. The most recent discovery is a fully operational 1933 Two-seater in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. It has been in the country (formerly Southern Rhodesia) since export from the UK in the year of its manufacture and is used regularly. Chassis no. 27671/Engine number 28036A

19th April: Yet another Minor, this time a saloon turns up in the USA. This new find is located at the Estrella Warbird Museum at Paso Robles, California and is the third such Minor to surface this year. Unlike the 1934 Maddox Minor Coupe discovered in January, this Minor is not for sale.

14th April: Sunday 17th April is 'Drive it Day' here in the U.K. This is now a regular annual event instigated by the FBHVC, a body representing over 500 Motor Clubs, the purpose of the day being to ensure our historic vehicles are used for the purpose for which they were designed. Two PWMN pub meets take place this Sunday, which along with the VMR/Morris Register joint Hatchgate, Hants meet will at least ensure that the pre-war Morris Minor is well represented amongst those participating. The PWMN meets are at The Eltisely, Eltisely village, near St. Neots, Cambs and High Corner Inn, Ringwood, Hants. Start times are all around noon and further details are available on the Discussion Forum.

12th April: Read the Morris Owner's take on the MG Midget in their March 1930 article 'With a Midget in the forest' written by C.R. Lucato.

9th April: The first of the new seasons pub meets will take place at The Bell Inn, Rickinghall, Suffolk on Sunday 10th April. A good turn out is expected and all pre-war cars and their crews will be made very welcome. The pub is famous for its real ales and hospitality. K.O. Noon.

The Rivals page has been further updated with a Light Car Road Test of the 1930 Jowett Seven HP model. Find it here.

Welcome to new member Anton Brouwers from the Nederlands.

8th April: Welcome to new members Chris Garner, Mike Woods and John Welsh.

6th April: Having to spend a night in a 1931 Minor Coachbuilt Saloon sounds like a particularly sadistic form of torture. However in the thirties there were those who did this for pleasure. An August 1932 Morris Owner article details how two can sleep comfortably inside the cabin. Read 'A nocturne in a Minor' to discover how.

5th Apr: Important announcement: Due to the sale of the pub this Sunday's (10th) pub meet, which was due to be held at the Crosskeys in Redgrave, has now been moved to the Bell Inn, Rickinghall, Suffolk. The Bell is just two miles distant from the original venue, has a large car park and serves excellent ales. All are welcome.

Welcome to new member Keith Montell from Victoria, Australia. Keith owns two 1929 coachbuilt open versions of the Minor.

3rd Apr: Member John Paternoster who has been racing against time to complete the restoration of his 1929 Minor Tourer (SV 9091) in order for it to be used as the carriage at his nieces wedding, succeeded! Pictures will follow later.

30th Mar: 'The Rivals' page has been updated with six additional period articles providing performance and specification details for a number of the Morris Minor's market place competitors.

29th Mar: Member Halbe Tjepkema in the Hague, Nederlands is urgently seeking a 1929 Minor block. If anyone can help please contact him via email here.

The Morris Owner magazine's 'Running Hints and Tips' provided common sense advice for the less technical owner. Number 28 in the series provides visual guidance on changing the oil in a Minor four speed gearbox. Find it here.

Welcome back to Bo Petersen from Denmark, and a warm welcome to recent new members Tom Taylor and Kevin Howells.

28th Mar: Peter McFadyen of The Automobile attended the VSCC Light Car Welsh weekend and captured the essence of the event through the lens of his camera. He has kindly permitted a number of these images to be displayed on this website , two of which will soon appear above, while others can be found now on the McFadyen Minor Gallery page.

27th Mar: Adjusting your electric hooter may not be rocket science but it does require a little knowledge. This is provided by the latest 1934 Practical Motorist article unsurprisingly titled 'Adjusting Electric Horns'.
Learn how to correctly set up a Sparton Horn here.

25th Mar: Many pre-war Minors suffer with a common affliction, that of squealing brakes. The Minor wasn't the only model in the thirties to announce their arrival at a junction in this manner, and the October 1934 edition of Practical Motorist carried an interesting article entitled 'Silencing the brakes'. This informative piece now has a permanent home on the Technical Bits page and can also be found here.

21st Mar: The Minor was fitted with at least three different types of shock absorber during its six year production life while many owners at the time (and since) fitted a fourth type, namely the Hartford. The Practical Motorist magazine examines all of these options and comments on their upkeep and adjustment in the latest article to be uploaded to the Technical Bits page. Find it here.

18th Mar: All pre-war Morris Minors were originally supplied with a Lucas vacuum windscreen wiper before electrically operated types were introduced for the car's successor, the Morris Eight. These wipers provided a reliable but annoying service, slowing down at speed and speeding up when decelerating or stationary. They require little maintenance but the newly launched Practical Motorist magazine ran an interesting article on their care in the July 1934 edition.

17th Mar: C.J. Linzell was an engineer from North London. In September 1929 he enterered his Morris Minor Fabric Saloon into that years MCC High Speed Trial at Brooklands, an hour long endurance test for club members and their cars. His average recorded speed of 59.69 MPH over the course of that hour raised eyebrows then, much as it as it does today. Read the assembled snippets here.

14th Mar:Welcome to new member Geoff Silvester.

William Morris was not too concerned with motor sport and that can be seen by the paucity of competition articles and information appearing in his Morris Owner magazine. A small exception concerned the exploits of the Skinner siblings in their Minor Specials and a short piece and image appeared in the July 1934 edition which can now be found on the Red and White Minors page.

10th Mar: The first MG Midget was much written about post war and F. Wilson McComb contributed an important eight page profile on the model in 1966. This is now reproduced here.

8th Mar:Welcome to new member, Jack Laker.

7th Mar: Welcome to new member, Jim Riglar.

6th Mar: A warm welcome to new members Paul Curry and Philip Howe.

5th Mar: Roger Lucke has recently repaired the fractured body of an SU Carburetter without the use of heat. Read his interesting article here.

The Wolsley Hornet page has recently been updated (with more to follow) and now includes a February 1931 Motor Sport article on the Boyd-Carpenter Hornet Special. This model had a fashionable body shape which looks slightly unusual today. Needless to say it 'went' very well!

4th Mar: Roger Bird of the IAMO (www.iamo.org.uk) wrote a thoroughly researched article for the Winter 2003 edition of the Morris Register Journal in which he investigated the background to the construction of the 100 MPH/100 MPG Minor Special in 1931. He has kindly permitted its re-publication on this website, where it will now have a permanent home.

The Red & White Minors Page has been further updated today with a number of new images.

3rd Mar: Welcome to new member John Dewar.

2nd Mar: Welcome to new members Rob Symonds and Terry Wiginton.

1st Mar: Welcome to new member Kartikeya Lunia from Jaipur, India who owns a 1930 Minor Tourer.

February's Website Stats are available today as is a new page celebrating De Reske 'Mines a Minor' cigarettes - absolutely nothing to do with pre-war Morris Minors other than a shared name!

28th Feb: Dave Aston has sold his 1930 Minor Tourer. Hopefully the car's new owner will continue to use it competitively. The much used car was sold as Dave required more interior space for his growing family, all of whom attended the VSCC events at which he and the Minor competed. (The car was photographed above at the 2009 VSCC Light Car Welsh Weekend)

26th Feb: Welcome to new member, Ronald Hogg.

It's amazing to think that the 2011 PWMN Summer Rally is just 4 months away. If your accomodation hasn't yet been booked, now is the time to do it!

Michael Sedgewick was a prominent and much respected writer on the subject of historic vehicles during the course of the latter half of the last century. He regularly contributed articles to period magazines such as Old Motor and Veteran and Vintage and co-wrote the authoritive book A-Z Of Cars Of The Thirties. His first car was an OHC Morris Minor and so his article on the M Type Midget, written in 1963 for V&V is insightful and an excellent example of his work. Read it here.

25th Feb: Two more Minor related articles have been added to the site today. The first of these concerns a treck to Simla from Lahore in a 1929 Minor saloon; a distance of of over 220 miles, where the last 56 miles takes the car from sea level to over 7,000 feet, high up into the foothills of the Himalayas.
The second article concerns the issues related to starting the Minor in very cold conditions. This informative Morris Owner article from March 1933 now has a permanent home on the Technical Bits page.

24th Feb: Although this website is concerned primarily with the ownership of old cars, the earthquake in and around Christchurch, New Zealand occupies much of our thoughts. The news appears to be good concerning those we know through our shared interest, and our sympathies extend to those who have not been so fortunate.

23rd Feb: In 1965 'Old Motor' published a five page article on Hornet Specials which can now be found here and on the Wolseley Hornet page

21st Feb: The March 1933 edition of the Morris Owner magazine contains a short article written by a vet in which he details his reasons for buying a Minor Family Eight. This article can be found here and also has a permanent home on the Long Wheelbase Cars page.

20th Feb: The late Harry Edwards was a prolific writer and an excellent motoring historian. At the time of his death in September last year he had been researching the history of Morris cars for nearly half a century. One of his early articles for the Morris Eight Tourer Club (the forerunner to the Morris Register), written in 1966, details the emergence of a spate of Minor Specials from 1929 onward. The article simply entitled 'Specials', appears here courtesy of Barbara, Harry's widow and the good offices of Ken Martin and Mike Houston.

17th Feb: Peggy Genack, the widow of the late Jim Genack is disposing of his 1929 built (1930 Season) Minor Coachbuilt Saloon. The car is located in Aurora, Colorado and contact details can be found on the Cars For Sale page within the Member's Area.

14th Feb:Welcome to new members, Keith Durston and Geoffrey Davies.

12th Feb: The Vans Page has been updated today with the inclusion of a Light Car article in which a milliner's Minor 5 cwt van can be seen with a hat box shaped body! Find it here.

9th Feb: Try the Site Search facility which can be found at the bottom of this page and also on the Site Index page. It is incredibly powerful and will find what you are looking for very quickly. Don't forget to 'check' the 'Search this site' box and NOT the box marked 'Web'.

During the twenties and thirties Morris Motors used the September editions of their Morris Owner magazine to launch their new range of cars for the following season. All six launch articles (from 1929 to 1934) now appear on the Minor Story home page in downloadable PDF format. Just scroll to the foot of the page to find them.

How Fast 2!!? has been updated today with two more Test Data Panels, one each for the Hornet and Midget.

7th Feb: The Drive It Day Spring Pub Meet at Eltisley on Sunday 17th April looks as if it will be a lively affair with repesentatives from both the Cambridge Austin Seven and Classic Car Clubs attending along with a number of Minors. if you live within driving distance why not join in the fun? Full details on th Events page.

2nd Feb: The Forum is once again accessible to all users after a six and a half hour downtime period. Apologies for this break in service.

1st Feb: Do you want to track down a missing Minor? If so the PWMN has launched a page today that may help with your quest. The 'Missing Minors' page will show an image of the car you seek or provide a 'pen' picture if a photo is not available. While the Morris Register and Vintage Minor Register record the details of known vehicles, the PWMN will help try and track down these missing cars.

31st Jan: Welcome to new member Patrick Waeber from Switzerland who owns an MG M Type.
Is the image of your car held within the Member's Gallery up to date? If you have a more recent image or would just like to change the item on display simply email a new selection to the PWMN.

30th Jan: Welcome to new member Philip Butland.

28th Jan: Payment for rally entries can now be accepted via electronic transfer. See the updated 2011 Rally Page.

26th Jan: The 2011 Vintage Wheels & Wings Rally booking form is now available to download. If you are intending to attend our June Rally then please complete the booking form as indicated and post to the PWMN.
 
In addition a second Rally Page has been included which provides further details of the weekend's events together with some useful links.

Welcome to new member Howard Dixon.

25th Jan: The discovery of a possibly unique 1934 Maddox Minor Special Coupe in Minnesota, U.S.A. is cause for some celebration. The car is currently for sale at $20,000 and will hopefully find a good home with an owner that will appreciate George Maddox's fine coachbuilding skills. Any takers from the U.K.?

24th Jan: The May 1929 edition of the Morris Owner published a three page article by C.R. Lucato entitled 'Once Over' the Minor. The article details the checks that should be carried out before embarking on a driving holiday or tour. Find it in the Member's Area on the Technical Bits page.

23rd Jan: Photographer Peter McFadyen has generously contributed further Minor and M Type images all of which were taken during the course of the 2010 VSCC season. These excellent shots are now available to view on the McFadyen Minor Gallery page.

22nd Jan: Welcome to new members Lawrence Dyke, Jan van Thiel and Michael Boulton.

Thanks to the forty members (so far) who have emailed their responses to the short questionnaire sent to all members yesterday. Amongst the replies are some great ideas and constructive comment. If you haven't responded to date, your views would be welcomed.

21st Jan: At the time of its launch in the late summer of 1928 the Morris Minor represented a significant leap forward in automotive styling. By way of comparison, the car's rivals appeared outmoded with their upright windscreens and artillery wheels, while the Minor featured a raked screen and an all together neater appearance from whatever angle it was viewed. Judge for yourself by examining an August 1928 Light Car photo montage here.

20th Jan:The discovery of another surviving Minor Special is cause for celebration. Very few of these specialist coachbuilt models have survived, perhaps as few as a dozen. To find positive evidence by way of recent images of another is also great cause for optimism - perhaps the legendary Gordon England Minor also survives!
For the second time in just a few days the Forum is suffering from access issues here in the UK. (Thursday 20th) If your Broadband provider is B.T. or Virgin Media you may be unable to reach the Forum. The Forum hosts are working with these providers to 'sort' the issues. Apologies.

18th Jan:The Morris Owner produced a series of articles entitled 'Running hints in pictures'. The Technical Bits page within the Member's Area is now home to a number of examples including another added today, No.24 'Adjusting Dynamo Belt Tension on the S.V. Minor'.

16th Jan: Please note that the venue for one of the PWMN Drive It Day Spring Pub Meets has been changed to The Eltisley located in the village of Eltisley, Cambs. The pub is located twixt Cambridge and St. Neots, just off the A428 in a beautiful village green setting. Further details on the Events page.

Welcome to new member Andrew Tullis.

15th Jan: The two Minor Magazine pages of the website are about to undergo some changes, one result of which is the introduction of a new page launched today, entitled Pre-war Minor Art. The purpose of the change is to gather together these items into an easily viewable collection, something not possible with the existing magazine page layouts.
Changes to the website's pages take place very frequently without mention here - just look out for the 'Page last updated on ....' box to be found in the TLHC of many pages.

14th Jan: Motoring in Australia during the thirties, away from the big cities, had more in common with the opening up of the Wild West than anything those of us in Western Europe are likely to have experienced since then. Blazing a trail in a Minor is a fascinating article in which two Morris Owner correspondents take their two-seater 'off road' to explore the interior around Kanagra Walls in New South Wales. Link here.
Welcome to new member Keith Lawrence.

12th Jan: Adjusting tappets on the Minor S.V. engine is a simple task - or is it? Read how Morris recommend it should be done via a new article to be found on the Technical Bits page within the Member's Area.

A warm welcome to new member Chris Cooper our 300th registered member!

8th Jan: The Morris Owner magazine promoted 'home' maintenance and provided detailed instructions to assist owners carry out most technical tasks. De-carbonising the OHV engine is one such article, first published in August 1929 which now has a permanent home on the Technical Bits page within the Member's Area.

7th Jan: Further enquiries for the PWMN Summer Rally, based upon Old Warden Airfield this June continue to arrive. Keep upto date with Rally News via the Blue Button above. Booking Forms wil be available shortly.

Two 1934 Minor two-seater projects have surfaced today. One is located in Essex and the second on Merseyside. Details can be found on the appropriate Discussion Forum thread.

5th Jan: Welcome to new member Peter Smith.

31st Dec: Clive Hall has written a second short seasonal tale to keep us out of our cold garages this holiday. 'Buddies' is a reminder that we don't know what is just around the corner...

The first Wolseley Hornet was re-launched just six months after news of its arrival and scintillating performance had created much media fervour. The re-launch was deemed necessary as much was made in the motoring press of the cramped cabin space in the original car. The new car fared little better. Read the Light Car magazine's November 1931 long term road test of the revised Hornet here.

29th Dec:The new Minor 5cwt. Vans Page has had a long gestation period but it does fill what was an obvious gaping hole in the website's coverage. Further items for inclusion on this page will be gratefully received be they photographs, articles or other van automobilia. To reach the new page follow the link in the PWMN Updates box.

27th Dec:Welcome to new member David James.

24th Dec: Crabbe - Buttock and Sniveller, founder members of O.A.F. are once again taking on Biggles and his acolyte's in another of Oiuja Johns unlikely ripping yarns. Unlikely it may be, but sometimes fact is stranger than fiction......
Read Biggles and the Trophy here.

22nd Dec:The holiday period wouldn't be the same without a new Biggles yarn to laugh along with and Clive Hall has 'delivered' yet again.
To be published on Friday 24th, 'Biggles and the Trophy' features many interesting characters whose identities seem vaguely familiar...

21st Dec: A pdf of a reprinted version of the 1930 MG Midget brochure, containing three Connolly images now has a permanent home on the M.G. 'M' Type Page and can be found here.

20th Dec: In its first full year of production the Minor Fabric Saloon became a big sales success. To capitalise on this, Morris Motors announced the pending launch of the steel skinned Minor Coachbuilt Saloon in August 1929. Read the Light Car magazine announcement here.

With Minor and 'M' Type news thin on the ground in the run up to the Christmas festivities any seasonal, topical or interesting images of your car (or someone else's!) submitted to the website, will be displayed here on the front page. Suitable captions also welcome.

13th Dec:Welcome to new members Ian Potts, Sandy Mess and Russell Dade.

11th Dec:Welcome to new member Andrew Hill.

5th Dec:Welcome to new member Richard Bayly who now owns the Minor his Grandfather collected new from Cowley in 1932.

4th Dec: The HOW FAST!!? page has spawned an offspring to cater for the growing number of road test data panels on the site. These make for some very interesting model and marque performance comparisons. Check out HOW FAST 2!!? here.

3rd Dec: Yet another Minor saloon for sale. This one is a 34 two-door, in grey and located in Kent. Full details on the Cars For Sale page.

 A significant gap in the website's collection of period articles and 'features' has been filled with the publication of the Autocar 1929 M.G. Midget road test. The Autocar tester enthuses about the car's performance and handling but criticises the gearbox and the inaccessibility of the brake adjustment! This is quite a surprise as most tests of the period are written in a very obsequious tone and are overtly respectful of the manufacturer - unlike a 'Top Gear' road test today.

2nd Dec:The international appeal of the pre-war Morris Minor is nowhere better illustrated than this website's Cars For Sale page. Amongst the 25 cars listed there are Minors available for purchase in Holland (2), Australia (2), Denmark, France, U.S.A., Northern Ireland as well as from mainland U.K. Amazing!

1st Dec: Welcome to new member Ian Campbell.
The Website Stats for November are published here today.

30th Nov: Will those of you who have placed small ads on the Auto Jumble page over the last few months, please review them and advise via the 'Contact Us' facility if they require updating or removing. Many thanks.

27th Nov:Welcome to new member Malcolm Eades who is restoring an M.G. 'M' Type.

25th Nov: An informative illustrated article by the current owner of MG Midget RX 6795 (Michael P. Boulton) is published today and can be found here. It also has a permanent home on the Beggar's Roost 100 page.

Welcome to new members TJ Jefferies and Derek Scott.

22nd Nov:Welcome to new member Erik van den Dolder.

A third Minor in recent weeks from the same Durham based vendor has appeared on eBay. Like his earlier auctions, this 1934 Minor Saloon is a restoration project. It can be found on the appropriate thread on the Forum.

21st Nov: Welcome to new member Steve Hill.

19th Nov: Welcome to new members Keith Wear, Alan Williams and Robin Haslam.

If you are looking to buy a pre-war Morris Minor then look no further than the 'Cars For Sale' page within the Member's Area of the website. Here you will find 22 available cars, with a price range to suit most budgets.

18th Nov: 'Tubby' the Minor travelled 2000 miles around Britain on a family holiday in 1930. Read of its exploits here.

16th Nov:Two Minors took part in the 1930 M.C.C. High Speed Trial at Brooklands. Both cars and their crews were awarded the coveted 'Gold' including a Saloon driven by F.W.J. Bolton, who later went on to successfully campaign a Page Minor Special for a number of years. Find the original 1930 Autocar article here. The article now has a permanent home on The Back Page.

15th Nov: Member Andrew Miles (16) from Wetheringsett, Suffolk has succeeded in getting his Father's 1932 Minor Sports Coupe running again after a long period of inactivity. He has posted a video of the occasion onto YouTube which can be viewed via the link on the respective Forum Thread (Member's Minors - RT 8431)

13th Nov: Author Clive Hall has written a short tale, part fact, part fiction with a November 11th theme. Find it here.

11th Nov: Richard Morbey's MGCC Safety Fast article on the Midget Beggar's Roost re-enactment is published (with permission) on the Beggar's Roost 100 page today. A further article by Michael Boulton, the current custodian of M Type RX 6795 will also be published here soon.

9th Nov: Welcome to new member Phil Beesey.

8th Nov: Welcome to new members Colin Bellamy, Andrew Miles and John Pallister.

A new update to the Wolseley Hornet Page is included today. A September 1931 article entitled 'Something Special' was published by Autocar magazine in an attempt to keep pace with the rapid introduction of new coachbuilt Hornet models. Find it here.

7th Nov: Welcome to new members Anton Deja from Belgium and Renaud Richard from France.

6th Nov: The Military Minors page has been updated today and now includes a number of new images and a PDF of correspondence concerning these cars between this website's editor and the late Harry Edwards.

5th Nov: Roger Bashford from Llandovery Wales is selling his 1929 Minor Tourer along with a S.V. project. Prices being asked are very reasonable. Full details can be found on the appropriate Forum thread.

Thanks to recent contributions from Ken Martin and Michael Boulton the Beggar's Roost 100 page has been further updated today.

2nd Nov: Ken Martin has kindly permitted the publication here of his recent Morris Monthly article entitled 'Former Club President In Madcap Re-enactment' in which he describes the goings on at the May Beggar's Roost 100 event. His article also has a permanent home on the Beggar's Roost 100 page.

Ist Nov: Alister Reid reports that many of his spare parts, listed on the Auto Jumble page just last week have sold, which proves the old adage 'it pays to advertise.' An updated list of the remaining items has now been posted to the same page. If you have advertised a 'Sale' or a 'Want' here and have sold or purchased your item please notify the PWMN via the Contact Us facility so that the page can be updated.
Welcome to new member Richard Mellis.

30th Oct: Welcome to new members David Hinds and Martyn Griffiths. Martyn has recently purchased a 1933 Darlington registered Minor Saloon.

28th Oct: Another Minor ('32 two-seater) and an M Type kit are available for purchase. See either the Cars For Sale page within the Member's Area or the appropriate thread on the Discussion Forum. Both cars look to offer good value.

Welcome to new members, Michael Boulton and Peter Anderson. Michael owns the famous Midget RX 6795.(see IOTW 53 Below)

The official Morris Motors August 1931 price list has been published on the website today where, possibly for the last time, it shows prices for both engine versions of the Minor alongside one another and actively promotes the OHC Minor. The O.H.C. car was dropped from the range later that month.

25th Oct: Welcome to new member Simon Tuke from Epsom, Surrey. Simon has recently acquired the ex Alister Reid 1933 Minor two-seater.

24th Oct: Alister Reid has recently sold his 1933 two-seater and now has some spares available for sale. These can be found on the Auto Jumble page in the Member's Area of the website.

Welcome to new members Rex Webb and Nick Stone.

23rd October: Welcome to new member Duncan Gilbert.

17th Oct: The 'Cars For Sale' page has been amended and now includes a pop-up gallery to enable all cars for sale to be viewed on a single page.

Welcome to new member John Dixon.

16th Oct: Another Minor related technical item concerning spark plugs and the steering assembly has been uploaded to the website today. This was found on the 'Information Bureau' page of the June 1931 edition of the Morris Owner magazine.

13th Oct: Welcome to new member Richard Atkin.

The Morris Owner magazine is a wonderful source of snippets of information about our Minors. Under a headline entitled 'Information Bureau' the February 1929 edition offers the reader a series of maintenance hints and tips covering topics as diverse as gearbox oils and shackle bolt tightening. The item can be found in the Member's Area on the Technical Bits page. (Scans courtesy Tony Gamble)

11th Oct: Harry Edward's funeral takes place in Chelmsford today.

The Morris Owner magazine announced the imminent arrival of the new Morris Minor model in a very subdued and low key manner. The July 1928 edition of the magazine carried just two small photographs which were included in a short introductory article and a four paragraph editorial item. (Scans courtesy of Tony Gamble)

9th Oct: The Crosskeys, Redgrave hosts the next PWMN pub meet on Sunday 10th. Hope to see some of you there.
In May 1930 Autocar's H.S. Linfield wrote an eight page article on special bodied small cars entitled 'Individual - Inexpensive' in which he looks at the smaller products from coachbuilders such as, A.P. Compton, Gordon England, Hoyal and others. Find it here. (Scans courtesy of Jeremy Evans)

8th Oct: In 1933 Almalgamated Press published a 30 part Motoring Encyclopedia in magazine format. Issue 23 of this weekly publication contains articles on the care and maintenance of both the OHV and SV Minors. These articles now have a permanent home on the Technical Bits page and can also be found here & here.

5th Oct: Welcome to new member David Hinds.

1st Oct: In February 1931 the Light Car published a centre spread showing images of ten Specials of the day including examples built upon the Minor, Midget and Hornet chassis. Entitled 'A Fine Range of Specials', it can be found here.

30th Sept: 'The Rivals' page has been updated today with a 1931 Light Car Buyers Guide to models from 33 manufacturers ranging in price from £85 to £298. Of course the respective models from Morris, Wolseley and M.G. are included. Find the article here.

29th Sept:The original 6 cylinder Hornet engine with dynamo armature driven camshaft gear lasted only 17 months, having already been facelifted just 5 months into its short production life. In September 1931 Wolseley relaunched the model with a new six cylinder engine, this time the OHC gear being driven by duplex chain. Read the Autocar report on the car here.

28th September:Welcome to new members Nick Hooper and Ian Westrope. Nick is looking to buy an open top Minor to accomodate him and his family.

27th September: Welcome to new member Jim Blacklock, Secretary of the Austin Seven Arrow Register. While no Minor Arrow Specials survive, "around forty" Austin Seven Arrow Specials are believed to still exist.
 
23rd Sept: Welcome to new member John Small.

22nd Sept:Welcome to new member Terry Synnott.

 A list of potential rally accommodation has been added to the 2011 Rally page today. The message is 'book early to avoid disappointment'!

Member Brian Hendy is selling his modified M.G. M Type (Pootle). Find full details on the Discussion Forum which is accessible via the Blue Button at the top of this page.

20th Sept: Very sad news received here this morning advising of the death yesterday (Sunday 19th) of Harry Edwards, the Morris Register Historian. Harry will be missed by all who knew him, particularly by those of us in the pre-war Minor community, where his knowledge of our cars was without equal. Our thoughts and condolences go to his family and loved ones.
 
18th Sept: Welcome to new member John Paternoster.

15th Sept: Welcome to new member Paul Fraser-Bennison.

14th Sept: A Poacher's Pootle Tour Report has been published today and can be found

13th Sept: The launch of the £100 Minor was national news in the U.K. The Daily Express newspaper was fulsome in its praise of the car in an article published on December 30th 1930. Read it here.
A Photo Gallery has been launched on the Event Galleries Two page displaying some of the images taken in Lincolnshire last week. Find them here.

10th Sept: The Anglians tour of Lincolnshire with their Minors has not been without incident. All three cars have suffered problems, two of these prematurely curtailing their further use. To follow this saga click on the 'Events' tab at the top of this page and then click upon 'Poacher's Pootle Blog'.

3rd September: More Minor advertisements have been posted within the members area, including a wonderful full colour ad drawn by Harold Connolly of M.G. Midget fame.

2nd September: Landmarks are worth celebrating and 100,000 hits is quite a milestone - so thanks to all 242 site members for repeatedly coming back for more!
The Autocar magazine belatedly announced the pending arrival of the £100 Minor with a somewhat muted statement. Read their December 26th 1930 announcement here.
Welcome to new member Richard Mace.

31st August: During the course of 1930 and 1931 the Kent based coachbuilding firm of Maltby's Motor Works & Garage Ltd. manufactured two distinct bodies for the Minor chassis. Images of both versions can be found here along with a December 1930 Autocar article about the company's products.

29th August: The last of the S.V. Minor 'economy' models to be launched was the Tourer in March 1931. This four seat 'open' car was never a top selling model in either S.V. or O.H.C. guise, but was practicle and sold sufficiently well to remain in production from 1928 until the end in 1934. Read the Morris Owner magazine launch article here.

27th August: One of the twentieth century's greatest fictional characters
takes on the mantle of a latter day Sherlock Holmes when he endeavours to solve an extraordinary crime wave on his own doorstep! Biggles is back by popular demand - read it here from Saturday onwards!

26th August: There has been a tremendous membership response following the announcement yesterday of the venue for the 2011 PWMN Rally. Eleven cars and crews are now provisionally booked to attend with interest coming from across the U.K. and Europe. Thank You!
The announcement of the £100 Minor in December 1930 created massive media interest. Originally planned to be a single car range, Morris took an early decision in the light of this interest, to extend the number of S.V. models available. The first of these, the Fabric and Coachbuilt Saloons, were announced in February 1931. Read the Morris Owner's launch article here.

25th August: Following the success of the Network's first rally earlier this year, the venue and dates for the 2011 PWMN Rally have now been set. Provisional details are available to view on the new rally page which can be found here . If you don't want to miss the fun, reserve these dates in the planner sections of your diaries today!

24th August: Welcome to new members Gerald Comstive and Simon Kernahan. 
In June 1931 the Morris Owner magazine published an article on how to de-carbonise the S.V. Minor engine. The article is published here today and also has a permanent home on the 'Technical Bits' page.

23rd August: Long time Morris enthusiast Paul Harris, wrote an article for the Morris Register Journal in 1979 entitled 'Minor Matters' in which he tells of how his love affair with these cars was kindled and then blossomed. Read it here. With thanks to Paul for permitting re-publication.

21st August: Further additions have been made to the Red & White Minors page. View the page here.

20th August: A Light Car article which was first published in 1934 provides an insightful look into the running of a much used and abused 1929 Midget in the mid thirties. Read it here.

19th August: Welcome to new member Brenda Kucinskas from Australia.
A number of new (to this website) Minor related Morris Owner cover images have been added the Minor Ads & Cover Shots page within the Member's Area.

18th August: It wasn't that often that Morris Minors received a mention within the hallowed covers of Motor Sport magazine. However, the January 1932 edition was an exception as it contained a half page report on the newly launched McEvoy Minor, a car that was to have some competitive success over the next two years. Read about it here.

17th August: Stefan Marjoram is an artist and photographer employed by the Aardman organisation, makers of Wallace & Grommit and Shaun the Sheep. His artistic talent can be seen to good effect on the Minor Magazine 2 page, where his pencil and watercolour image of a 1932 Minor two-seater can be found.

16th August: Welcome to new member Mark West.
Travelling from the south of England to Edinburgh and back for a weekend break is probably a viable proposition in a modern car using the motorway network. How about making the same trip (1000 miles return), over a similar time period in a 1931 Side Valve Morris Minor Saloon? Thirties Minor drivers were adventurous - read how it was done here.

9th August: In the summer of 1931 a S.V. Minor van was taken for a 3000 mile trek around the Indian sub continent. Read all about it here.

7th August: Welcome to new member Michael Dawney.
The Forum hosting company have today sent the PWMN an electronic birthday card to celebrate the Forum's second birthday! If you don't visit this area of the website why not give it a try via the blue button at the top of this page. It requires a seperate 'log in' process but it is well worth the effort. Technical help is available in abundance as are opinions, Minor related eBay sale items and much more besides...

4th August: Welcome to new member Tony Wilkinson.
G.E.T. Eyston was a prolific record breaker in the decade running upto the Second World War. His exploits at the French track of Montlhery in a much modified and sleeved down version of the Midget are the stuff of legend. Read here his fascinating first hand account of how he cracked numerous class records, including breaking the 100 MPH barrier, in a souped up Morris Minor!

3rd August: Welcome to new member Grant Sellers.
Minor Specials began appearing towards the end of 1929. Before this the Austin Seven was the favoured small car chassis for coachbuilders. Austin however didn't have it all there own way as this summer 1929 Light Car article illustrates....

1st August: Michael McEvoy's first body for the Hornet chassis was a doorless open sports car and was said to be capable of 75mph. After this Autocar road test was completed the car was promptly stolen!

The third annual PWMN Rally will take place in the New Forest National Park in the middle of June, just a few days after the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Celebrations and only a matter of weeks before the 2012 London Olympics. To make for an even more memorable summer bring along your Minor or M Type and enjoy the long June days at our own celebration. In addition you will get to see at close hand a real gem of a National Park and the beautiful coastline upon which it borders. The event is open to all pre-war car enthusiasts and their cars, although numbers are restricted so booking early is essential! Full details are available on the event's website page, accessible via the Red Button on the right.

If you possess any articles or images pertaining to the pre-war Morris Minor (or M.G. 'M' Type & early Wolseley Hornet), please consider sharing them with your fellow enthusiasts by forwarding them to the PWMN for publication on this website. Your contribution will be acknowledged and you could well be adding to the growing bank of knowledge being accumulated here concerning this historic and unsung vehicle. Click here to contact the PWMN.