M
any of us hold fond memories of our
very first car or of one particular car from
our past that stands out from the rest.
Some of us choose to search for the same make and
model that we owned decades previously, purely for
nostalgic reasons.
This urge gets even more powerful when it comes
to the very same car. We have two nice examples in
this issue. Colin Waite discovered his old rally car
languishing in a barn in Central Otago — a car he
hadn’t seen for more than 25 years. Despite the car’s
poor condition, Colin knew that he had to rescue it.
He managed to buy it back and restore it to its former
glory. Today, at 90 years of age, he still gets immense
pleasure from the old Skoda and telling tales of the
fun that he and Laurie Evans had competing in it
in the early ’70s. Chris Steele went up against the
New Zealand Transport Authority’s wall of silence to
track down his grandmother’s Hillman Super Minx,
which has so many happy memories for him. Chris
says restoring the car has been an emotional journey
for several members of his family.
I was recently reminded of my first car when I saw
a very nice low-light Morris Minor reversing out of
a driveway not far from where I live. My old 1950
Morrie wasn’t quite so pristine. The body was in fair
condition, with no visible signs of rust, but I didn’t
look to see what was probably lurking underneath.
The 918cc side-valve engine was once, apparently,
capable of an eye-watering 27.5hp (20.5kW) with
a top speed of 64mph (103kph), but this kind of
performance was well in its past. The burning oil
and low compression were definitely a giveaway, and
it would struggle at the slightest incline. Shifting
gears was a hit-and-miss affair, and working the gear
selector was akin to stirring lumpy porridge with
a long stick. That didn’t matter, though; I was still
very pleased with it.
My father was a real fan of Morris Minors, and
decided I should upgrade to a later model. My
’53 Morrie was a definite improvement. The carEDITORIAL
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COVER CAR
1971 Škoda 120 S Rallye
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MINOR MEMORIES
had been substantially re-engineered, and the new,
modern, Austin-designed, overhead-valve, 803cc
A-Series engine felt so superior to my old car’s —
although I still had similar issues with the sloppy
gear selector. My girlfriend would often bring me
large oval Parkercraft stickers from her work that
proved ideal for placing over the rusty bits on my
purple Morrie. It must have been a sight, but I
thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Then, after I’d saved up a couple of hundred
dollars, my father helped me find a 1960 Morris
Minor 1000 for $450. I loved that car; the new
overhead-valve 948cc engine was definitely a
breath of fresh air, but what I liked most about
it was the revised gearbox, which incorporated a
remote selector allowing a shorter gear lever and less
unwieldy gear-change action.
By this time, I was an apprentice, and, as a young
working lad, I managed to clock up a fair few miles
in the light green Morrie. One day — I think it was
about 1974 — I was pulling into the driveway at
work and my formerly trusty old Morrie decided to
call it quits. The gearbox had seized, and it wasn’t
going anywhere. It was towed away, never to be
seen again.
Going shopping for another car turned up
an unusual choice for a serial Morrie owner: a
1968 Holden HK Monaro GTS — but that’s
another story.
Today, I often see very nice Morris Minors at
various car shows. It always makes me think that
I’d really like to own one again, for purely nostalgic
reasons. It’s a powerful urge.
Ashley Webb
Editorthemotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car 1