WAH 793H is a seemingly unpretentious Morris Minor Traveller, the kind your Auntie always ran around in. But when you drive it, there are a few surprises in store.
People laugh at the Morris Minor and in truth they shouldn't. Ask the drivers of the Ford Capri, MG Midget and BMW528i that encountered an innocent looking white Traveller the other day.
A traffic light Grand Prix saw off the Capri. It was in the left-hand lane looking to turn right at the next junction and knew he could outrun the Morris. When he found he couldn't the driver was moved to mouth a modern - rather vulgar - version of 'Well I'm blowed' and proceeded to cause chaos to the following traffic by trying to cut across three lanes of rush hour traffic.
The Midget and the BMW were both discovered on a quick dash up the M3. As the 15 year old Traveller over took the sportscar, the sound of the driver's jaw hitting the floor could be heard for counties while the BMW driver is probably still wondering why he needed to be doing 90mph to pass the wooden wonder.
Those drivers could be excused their disbelief. After all most Minors appear fit for little more than the scrapheap, unless of course, they are owned by classic car fanatics and then they are mollycoddled in such a way that they never go above 50mph anyway. This Minor is different!
For the mighty WAH is the pride and joy of the Morris Minor Centre in Bath, the brainchild of Charles Ware. In a nutshell it is a minor for the 80's, a car that can more than keep up with modern traffic and has none of the inbuilt obsolescence of a modern motor for the masses.
People used to laugh at Charles Ware too. But, no longer. The former property tycoon who went under when the bottom fell out of the market in the mid-seventies - the 'News of the World' was moved to write a story about him then, headlined 'The rise and fall of Champagne Charlie' - has bounced back in a big way. They laughed when he started dabbling in second hand Minors, but now accept that it wasn't such a stupid move. He's not yet back to millionaire status… but there's time for that later.
After a slow start, first just selling Minors, then offering a service and repair facility, Ware realised there was more to the Issigonis masterpiece than met the eye. Here was a car so fundamentally over-engineered when it was designed back in the forties that almost no matter how badly neglected, examples could be saved. Ware started buying parts from BL, then, as they dried up, started creating his own. Before long the Morris Minor Centre was big business and scores of other companies jumped on the Minor bandwagon. With a total of 130,000 Minors currently in use, estimates Ware, the profit potential for specialist companies - and sharks - is obvious.
But Ware is not a man to sit still for long. Rescuing and patching Minors is one thing, but he was painfully aware that the car was now well outmoded by modern vehicles. To use one regularly, as everyday transport is not really feasible, he believes, without some form of updating. Hence this Traveller. On the surface it is a beautifully restored Minor traveller, with not a speck of rust nor trace of woodworm. Only the bigger than usual tyres on the smaller than usual wheels give the game away… As the Capri, Midget and BMW drivers discovered, this is no ordinary Minor. Under the bonnet lurks a 1275cc BMC 'A' series engine mated to a spridget gearbox and putting its power to the back wheels via a Morris Ital rear axle. Hardly a specification to burn rubber on a drag strip, it's true, but enough to allow the car to show a clean pair of heels to many.
And it has a properly controlled pair of heels too. In the past, axle tramp, even with the standard 48bhp, was inevitable. WAH has a pair of radius arms keeping the live back axle under control. Add Ital disc front and drum rear brakes and the mechanical package is virtually complete.
As well as taking the car to MIRA we spent 500 miles using it a s we would a normal road test car. There was no shortage of takers each night… For it is a car that can be used everyday. The Morris Minor Centre's changes have produced a car that now keeps up with - and outperforms in some cases - modern cars. The brakes add a sense of security lacking from the standard offering, and, by giving the car decent seats (from a Metro, in this case) and re-trimming throughout, Ware has turned it into a civilised beast too.
Driving a 'real' Minor calls for anticipation not appreciated by other road users. Speaking from recent experience, (I own a 948cc, four-door, born on 1 Jan. 1960 and have been known to drive it to work) that gap you leave, designed to accommodate the comparatively poor braking capabilities of the all drum set up, more usually accommodates the cut and thrust merchants as they carve their way to work. Performance more usually annoys than impresses (I'm going as fast as I can, honest), while trips of more than 20 miles are back breakers.
WAH was a revelation, both to the driver and other road users, and it's not finished yet. Ware is a disciple of the durable car ideal. He believes that WAH is only half way to completion and further improvements can and will be made. The promised finale is a brand new Morris Minor, fully type approved, with a 15 year corrosion guarantee, and enough performance and comfort to make it a real alternative to next years multinational super mini.
Areas for further improvements are obvious. You tell Ware the gearbox is a mite agricultural and, being only a four speed needs a higher top gear to bring down motorway cruising revs. You tell him the car is far noisier than a modern, you tell him the new seats, while being a vast improvement destroy rear seat legroom, and you complain that the heating system is showing its age.
He has the answers. "The gearbox problem is under control. We have nearly finished creating a universal bell housing that will mean we can put virtually what 'box we like in the car. Currently we are looking at a modern Ford unit, say from the Escort, as that has a good reputation, but others are under discussion." "The new 'box will cut down the noise too. We are looking at new door seals - at present we are using the ones designed when the Minor was new - and other sound deadening materials will feature. We can cut 60% of the noise out very easily. And we will soon fit a Metro heater in the battery compartment". A modern small battery can be fitted elsewhere in the vast engine bay.
His only pause comes with the rear legroom. While the advantage of being able to move the driver's seat back further than before is huge, it does mean the rear passengers suffer, while the car's B-post hides the seat tip release lever. He looks you up and down and then says "Most members of the British public are not as tall as you, they will have no problem." He's probably right, too.
Remarkably, two areas where the Traveller excels are no improvements over the old. Ride and handling. The Minor was advanced for its day, with independent torsion bar front suspension, a comparatively long wheelbase and rack and pinion steering. Even the tattiest Minor rides and handles well, better than some modern cars we could name.
In some respects WAH is a bit of a mongrel, its 'pedigree' coming from all sorts of different sources. That is not the intention. Says Ware; "Our aim is to use mainly Ital sourced items, with the gearbox being the only non-Morris part."
The acid test is the price. It is possible to buy 'banger' Minors for around £200. In round terms the suspension and braking package will cost about £1500, the new engine adding another £1000 or so. That's assuming your banger is structurally sound. WAH started life as the Centre's project car and features throughout Ware's book 'Durable Car Ownership'. It was a rust ridden heap. Now with new metal underneath, new wings, new woodwork and the Ital running gear it is insured for £10,000.
"Even if the survival motorist spends £1500 on the suspension, £1000 getting the shell sorted and £200 on the initial purchase he's got a structurally new car for the cost of an X-registration Fiesta." But even though this current project is just bearing fruit - "we've spent so long on R & D, that it's time we recouped some of the investment" - Ware is impatiently looking to the future. "With the aid of computers we are looking at a new shell - not a replica, we can do that already but one that will conform with crumple zones and other legislative and type approval demands. It will look like a Minor on the surface but underneath it will be a real car of the 80's. Then we can look at updating the suspension - independent all round maybe - and so on and so forth. It's an expensive project and costs might rule it out.
Neither does it stop with Minors. "We don't see the minor as the be all and end all. We are currently looking at a similar project with the Triumph Herald/Vitesse with the owners club, while there are various versions of the Minor on the stocks. We believe the chassis as it stands will take 100bhp…" There are plans for a GT version!
Ware's philosophy of the past few years has changed. What was once mere durable car ownership has become durable car development. Ware has never met Sir Alec Issigonis and in some ways is relieved. "I don't think he would have been that impressed with what the Morris Minor Centre started off by doing, worthy though it was. Somehow I think the things we are doing now would interest him a lot more." It certainly interested the drivers of a certain Capri, Midget and BMW…
MATTHEW CARTER
(This article was originally published in Autocar Magazine 1985)
