Paul Kelly wrote:
"Any one entering the shop will instantly recognise the 34 as a Hot Rod , the
Hudson as a Custom and the Morris as a Morris!"
I think this about sums it up. The Morris Owners Assoc. of California
started in 1973 BECAUSE Minors were not accepted by ANY aspect of the rod,
custom or concours/antique car guys anywhere in the States. In San
Francisco, where the club was formed, the Minor had two sets of followers.
It was the ultimate "Hippy" car - a realy exotic type of personal statement
made by people who were so termanally hip and non-conformist that they
refused to drive the standard issue hipmobile, a VW beetle or bus! Then
there were the "old guys" who wore the full Sears & Robuck work outfits,
including the matching billed caps. Some even had their names on their
shirts, embroidered in red on white ovals. They looked as though they just
had walked off the job at an aircraft plant during WWII. These guys became
our mechanical gurus because they knew how to fix the cars that we(the
hippies) were trying to keep running as daily transport.
When I first owned my 59 ragtop, I fitted a set of amazing American Racing
"Libre" four spoke/full polish alloy wheels (5" front, 7"back) to my stock
24.000 original pearl gray car and dropped the front end 4" - It looked
like a little hot rod 48 Chevy. I found a Sprite finned valve cover and put
on twin SUs with polished velocity stacks from Huffaker Racing. The car
looked tres cool. I told everyone that it had an Austin Healey engine! I
tried to enter some local SF Bay Area Rod & Custom shows but was told that
while the little car was "cute" it was NOT a rod or a custom and they might
consider it if I put a Chevy V8 in it!!!!
The Concours d'Elegance people laughed at us and said that our cars were
not "old enough, rare enough or cost enough when new to be accepted until a
Palo Alto socialite, who also owned an antique store with a Morriservice
restored Minor van for deliveries, pushed us upon PA Concours officials and
6 of us entered. I pulled off the mags and returned the outside of my Minor
to stock in order to show it there. The cars were so well accepted by the
crowds that it opened the Concours circut for us!
We got a second and a third in a class that included Jags, Mercedes, Alfas
and Lancias. The best of the bunch, Tom Richardson's Traveller, was given
second place and a detailed explanation of why it didn't get first by a
friendly judge (red engine, twin carbs, chromed stock wheels and rear door
hinges) so Tom took it all back to stock and MOAC members scared up a full
set of tools and a tool bag to display on the rear floor. Tom won first
place in class G at the remaining dozen NorCal concours that year but ALL
Morrises were outlawed the next year after both the Jag and Mercedes clubs
said that it was unfair for them to have to compete with cars that cost so
much less to restore!!!! I occationally would show my Minor at Concours
but "for display only."
One of the reasons that we developed the original British Car Meets in
California was because there was no acceptable place to show Minors,
Metropolitans, Heralds, Magnettes and Austins and even the Concours, that
would accept British sports cars would round out the field with one or two
MGs (usually TCs) a Triumph, a Healey and a Morgan. THAT WAS IT!
Be proud that your Morris is a truly unique car without being a silly car
like an Issetta or a Messerschmidt. Even though it is a standout among the
world's "people's cars," the Minor has always been living in the big
shadows cast by the little Mini.
I like Paul's statement!
"the 34 is a Hot Rod , the Hudson is a Custom and the Morris is a Morris!"
Cheers,
Rick Feibusch
Venice, CA
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