MORRIS 131
him and spent hours scouring through
spare parts catalogues, workshop
manuals, brochures and old photos to
ensure that he found everything out that
he could about the 1959 Morris. “I think
I know absolutely everything there is to
know about 1959 Minis now!” he jests.
Through sandblasting they uncovered
many important and unique details on
the car and luckily much of it was very
well preserved. Lars suspected that the
rivets on the rear quarter lights were an
earlier bodged repair... until he
discovered that they were factory
standard, courtesy of a spare parts
catalogue from 1959.
A little digging and Lars unearthed
the remains of red carpet hiding behind
the heater. Lars contacted the son of the
first owner, Commander Captain
Gylding Wurtz, and was toldCowley for its birthday, but he would
also ensure that when it returned it
would be restored to as close to original
as possible. That left him with just over
five years to not only restore the car, but
to source all of the original parts too.
It has been a long and difficult
process, but the end result makes it all
worthwhile. All of the parts are original
and most of them are from the correct
date and year. Even the rubber mounts,
mouldings and various gaskets are
original. The parts have been sourced
from all over the world, with many of
them coming from Austin no 2400 in
Sweden, providing the correct date.
The gearbox in magnesium bears the
correct number, and was found in a
small town outside Jönköping through
Micke Pettersson a helpful and
passionate member of the 1959 Mini
Register. It cannot be guaranteed that
the engine is the original, as only a small
part of the original plate remained.
However, it is clearly a very early engine
and likely to be the original. It has since
been reconditioned and runs beautifully.
The rear subframe was found in
California and all of the anchor plates, as
well as one of the radius arms are from
no 2400. The steering wheel centre and
wiring harness came from Peter
K ronsel l ’s 196 0’s M i n i i n Sweden.
Lars refused to let the project defeatOnly a small part of engine
plate remained but Lars is
confident the motor is
right for the car.Precious glass washer bottle is present.Lars admits that he really enjoys the restoration
process, but returning 131 to its prime has been
a true labour of love. He has spent many hours
ensuring the Morris is as close to factory spec
as he can make it.THE BUILD
“I think I know absolutely everything
there is to know about 1959 Minis now”
MORRIS 131
him and spent hours scouring through
spare parts catalogues, workshop
manuals, brochures and old photos to
ensure that he found everything out that
he could about the 1959 Morris. “I think
I know absolutely everything there is to
know about 1959 Minis now!” he jests.
Through sandblasting they uncovered
many important and unique details on
the car and luckily much of it was very
well preserved. Lars suspected that the
rivets on the rear quarter lights were an
earlier bodged repair... until he
discovered that they were factory
standard, courtesy of a spare parts
catalogue from 1959.
A little digging and Lars unearthed
the remains of red carpet hiding behind
the heater. Lars contacted the son of the
first owner, Commander Captain
Gylding Wurtz, and was toldCowley for its birthday, but he would
also ensure that when it returned it
would be restored to as close to original
as possible. That left him with just over
five years to not only restore the car, but
to source all of the original parts too.
It has been a long and difficult
process, but the end result makes it all
worthwhile. All of the parts are original
and most of them are from the correct
date and year. Even the rubber mounts,
mouldings and various gaskets are
original. The parts have been sourced
from all over the world, with many of
them coming from Austin no 2400 in
Sweden, providing the correct date.
The gearbox in magnesium bears the
correct number, and was found in a
small town outside Jönköping through
Micke Pettersson a helpful and
passionate member of the 1959 Mini
Register. It cannot be guaranteed that
the engine is the original, as only a small
part of the original plate remained.
However, it is clearly a very early engine
and likely to be the original. It has since
been reconditioned and runs beautifully.
The rear subframe was found in
California and all of the anchor plates, as
well as one of the radius arms are from
no 2400. The steering wheel centre and
wiring harness came from Peter
K ronsel l ’s 196 0’s M i n i i n Sweden.
Lars refused to let the project defeatOnly a small part of engine
plate remained but Lars is
confident the motor is
right for the car.Precious glass washer bottle is present.Lars admits that he really enjoys the restoration
process, but returning 131 to its prime has been
a true labour of love. He has spent many hours
ensuring the Morris is as close to factory spec
as he can make it.THE BUILD
“I think I know absolutely everything
there is to know about 1959 Minis now”