100 Years of the Morris Motor Cars 2013

This is off-topic but another of my passions. 2013 is the 100th year of the Morris and in Oz we are having a big Rally in Canberra to mark the event.

Canberra is 738 kilometres away, not far but quite a journey for "Laury the Morry". My Morris was built in 1946 and is a Morris 8 Series E Saloon. He is 66 years old and I re-built the whole car this year. New pistons rings and conrods and bearings, new old stock 3.9 diff, new brakes, honed out the shockers and had the tailshaft re-trued and balanced. The paintwork is originaol stove enamel and will outlast me Still 6volt and the old "Trafficators" work a treat.

Hope to be in a convoy of around 40 Morris cars from the Mornington Peninsula. These will include everything from a Morris Cowley up to Minors, Minis and an MG or 2, including one V8 MG. I'm told there will be around 3000 Morris Motor Cars on site

This is my Morry...

That's me opening the door, one of my sons, Ian, watching on.

That will be some 'get together' hope we will see a few pics of the event
Thanks for sharing ..

wow that looks lovely condition!
Not many of them about I guess?

Its a shame a friends Very rare Morris Minor Cheese Grater split screen wont be there as it has been shipped from Oz to the UK.
Its totally rust free coming from Oz , Its just had a respray by my mate who is a car body repairer.
It has also had a servo brake upgrade so it can stop :silly:
It is also for sale

Good luck when I was a boy living in London my father bought his first car a Morris 8 I can still remember some of the trips to the coast quite an adventure

My Morry is not so rare here in Oz, we don't have salt and rust problems so cars tend to last longer. In our local club we have 12 of the Morris 8's. 2 Drophead Saloons, 4 Saloons, 2 Sedans (2 Door) and 4 tourers plus of course heaps of Morris Minors, Oxfords, Cambridge , Cowleys and MG TC and TD's plus quite a collection of MGB's and some Austin Lancers and other Marques like Triumph Mayflower etc.

We also have a brilliant system for keeping the old cars on the road in Victoria, the Club Permit system of registration. For a low fee of $126/year you can drive an old car on the road for 90 days of the year, a logbook must be maintained and you must be a member of a car club. The cars must be at least 25 years old to be eligible. There is no requirement for a Road Worthy Certificate but the vehicle must be safe to drive... or at least able to stop

I have some 50 odd cars in my collect but I prefer to drive the Morry as Dad bought it new on 14th March 1946 from Lanes Motors in Melb for the princely sum of 103 pounds 10 shillings and 3 pence halfpenny, still got the receipt!

A 54 Morris Minor (High Light) was my first (real) car but before that I had a Sunbeam Zeta which was made by a local builder and was in the class of bubble cars that kids could get their first licence in in South Australia.