emphatically that his father who was
Commander Captain in the navy would
have been horrified at the prospect of
red carpets and certainly wouldn’t have
bought a car that had them fitted!
Absolutely everything had to be black or
blue. Unfortunately, there are no
surviving photos of the car from that
time, but we have to assume that the red
carpet went in at a later date. Lars was
unable to find original carpet but bought
an alternative in period correct grey.
As well as sourcing the right parts,
Lars took great care to ensure that the
original details on the body had been
preserved, taking it as far as using period
correct methods of welding and repair.
Almost all of the original nuts and
bolts feature (after being carefully
cleaned up). He managed to get his
hands on a voltage regulator from the
correct year, even if it is six months too
young. He also got hold of an old
radiator but it only lasted a few minutesbefore the core split and so a new one
had to be fitted. The side and door cards
are new, but the f leck material is from
the correct period (1959-1960) and was
found in USA, UK and Sweden.PARTS HUNTING
Anyone else might have decided to cut a
few corners or take an easier route, but
for Lars sourcing the correct parts was
part of the enjoyment. “For me it wasn’t
a problem it was a challenge and it was
kind of fun. I have to admit that the
gearbox, clutch cover and clutch housing
were difficult to get hold of, as was the
old f leck material. Another huge
challenge was converting the doors and
bonnet from a Swedish Austin into 1959
spec. I’m grateful to Michael Elsberg for
the help with this.”
I asked Lars if he would do anything
differently. “Perhaps keep my ambition a
little bit lower.” He replied with a smile.
“It hasn’t been easy, but now that I havereached the end of the journey and seen
the end result I am so glad that I kept my
promise to myself and made 131 as
correct as possible.”
Lars’ determination to get the car back
to its original state didn’t just stop at
reverting it back to its original colour,
Old English White, he also chose to
paint it the Morris way... by doing it
twice! “Morris painted their cars with
the locks, doors and bonnets mounted
and so I chose to do it twice so that there
is paint under the hinges etc.”
So how was Lars lucky enough to get
hold of such a historically important
vehicle? Before Lars retired, he was the
leader of The Royal Danish Airforce
Historical Collection. He discovered
Morris 131 when he went to the Aalholm
Automobile to view a Swedish built F-
Draken jet that was on loan from the
Royal Danish Air Force Collection. His
job for the day was to decide the future
of the jet, but he ended upLars was keen that the
restored paintwork
looked factory correct.emphatically that his father who was
Commander Captain in the navy would
have been horrified at the prospect of
red carpets and certainly wouldn’t have
bought a car that had them fitted!
Absolutely everything had to be black or
blue. Unfortunately, there are no
surviving photos of the car from that
time, but we have to assume that the red
carpet went in at a later date. Lars was
unable to find original carpet but bought
an alternative in period correct grey.
As well as sourcing the right parts,
Lars took great care to ensure that the
original details on the body had been
preserved, taking it as far as using period
correct methods of welding and repair.
Almost all of the original nuts and
bolts feature (after being carefully
cleaned up). He managed to get his
hands on a voltage regulator from the
correct year, even if it is six months too
young. He also got hold of an old
radiator but it only lasted a few minutes
before the core split and so a new one
had to be fitted. The side and door cards
are new, but the f leck material is from
the correct period (1959-1960) and was
found in USA, UK and Sweden.PARTS HUNTING
Anyone else might have decided to cut a
few corners or take an easier route, but
for Lars sourcing the correct parts was
part of the enjoyment. “For me it wasn’t
a problem it was a challenge and it was
kind of fun. I have to admit that the
gearbox, clutch cover and clutch housing
were difficult to get hold of, as was the
old f leck material. Another huge
challenge was converting the doors and
bonnet from a Swedish Austin into 1959
spec. I’m grateful to Michael Elsberg for
the help with this.”
I asked Lars if he would do anything
differently. “Perhaps keep my ambition a
little bit lower.” He replied with a smile.
“It hasn’t been easy, but now that I havereached the end of the journey and seen
the end result I am so glad that I kept my
promise to myself and made 131 as
correct as possible.”
Lars’ determination to get the car back
to its original state didn’t just stop at
reverting it back to its original colour,
Old English White, he also chose to
paint it the Morris way... by doing it
twice! “Morris painted their cars with
the locks, doors and bonnets mounted
and so I chose to do it twice so that there
is paint under the hinges etc.”
So how was Lars lucky enough to get
hold of such a historically important
vehicle? Before Lars retired, he was the
leader of The Royal Danish Airforce
Historical Collection. He discovered
Morris 131 when he went to the Aalholm
Automobile to view a Swedish built F-
Draken jet that was on loan from the
Royal Danish Air Force Collection. His
job for the day was to decide the future
of the jet, but he ended upLars was keen that the
restored paintwork
looked factory correct.