Car Mechanics July 2014 www.greatmagazines.co.uk/carmechanics56

CM VISIT We call in on those businesses making a difference to

the motoring world, for an insight into their operations.

The ACADEMYThe training industry is evolving and ROB MARSHALL visits Coventry’s latest hi-tech teaching portal to see how automotive professionals learn their skills.

Fifteen years ago, the government’s aim was to get as many people into university as it could. While many families (including my own)

rejoiced in the fact that their bright-eyed teenager would be the first member of the clan to be admitted, the truth is that three years of study (along with the costly student social scene) was not the best option for everybody.

For many of today’s school leavers, the albatross of a five-figure student debt and no guarantee of employment is dissuading them from academia. According to a recent poll, highlighted by the national press, 76% of the sampled university leavers admitted that they had not been informed about alternatives to university prior to attending, and over half of those respondents stated that they would have opted for vocational training instead.

Changing timesToday, the political focus has shifted and more value is given to practical, on-the-job training. Recognising the motor industry’s hunger for enthusiastic and dedicated apprentices, many motor companies have either set up or have reinstated their own training programmes. The Academy is one of the largest examples of its type and was established by PSA, the holding company of Peugeot and Citroën, over four years ago in Coventry, close to the now-demolished production lines at Ryton-on-Dunsmore. Although PSA attracted widespread criticism for allegedly abandoning the historic city, it has consolidated its UK training centres to a single new base, as well as building a new headquarters for Peugeot and relocating the whole of Citroën UK to the Midlands from its original base in Slough.

Located on the Humber Road – which references another proud, but now defunct,

car brand – The Academy is charged with not only training apprentices for both Citroën and Peugeot, but also fulfilling the more advanced training of existing employees. Yet the institution is not simply a main-dealer training centre, because it receives entrants not only from independent specialists and repairers but also fleet operators’ mechanics, where the company wishes to learn how to maintain its vehicles in-house. The training centre also introduces its dealers and repair networks to the latest automotive technology, which varies from fresh diagnostic software and hardware to new engines, floorpans and prototypes.

The substantial site also serves as PSA’s UK fleet centre, maintaining and repairing its company vehicles, as well as preparing large fleet orders for the public services. This additional activity ensures that apprentices train in a working environment and not one giant block of classrooms. At the time of Car Mechanics’

visit, a fleet of Citroën DS5s was being prepared for police use, with the work being carried out by PSA employees; should any apprentices be involved, they are always supervised. The Academy has an enviable track record of turning its apprentices into employees, with either Peugeot or Citroën adding the majority of trainees to its payrolls.

The Academy’s director, Andy Sutton, oversees the entire training programme and is emphatic that keen and dedicated entrants are central to a successful UK motor industry, regardless of whether or not the individual business is a manufacturer, a franchised dealer or an independent retailer. He views the challenge of finding good people as crucial to the long-term viability of any motor company, and his opinion is borne out by experience.

“We find that applicants who are interested in the repair and maintenance of cars in the first place, such as those

Although the Virtual Academy and Academy TV mean that students can be situated anywhere in the UK, traditional classroom-based technical courses remain very well subscribed.

www.greatmagazines.co.uk/carmechanics July 2014 Car Mechanics 57

TURN

who maintain their own vehicles at home, are well-suited to our technical training programmes,” he says. “Any car repair business can only thrive if it can attract the right person and allow them access to training immediately.”

Hybrid safetyCar Mechanics readers will appreciate that electronics have proliferated on even the most humdrum of new cars, which has demanded increasing levels of not only fault-finding hardware but also training. Andy reports that this trend is set to develop even further and that The Academy’s modules on diagnosing and maintaining hybrid cars, including the vital safety elements, have been especially popular. Because diagnostics training is viewed as an intrinsic skill, by the time a school leaver completes a three-year training course at The Academy, he or she will be fully conversant in both Peugeot and Citroën diagnostics, which includes knowledge in how to liaise, via the software, with colleagues at the Paris-based technical centre.

Although cars have become more efficient, thanks to advanced technology, so has training. “We have invested strongly in equipment,” says Andy, “so

that both franchised and independent businesses do not have to lose their staff for days at a time, as well as paying for associated expenses, while they train in Coventry. Our solution is the Virtual Academy, which permits applicants to learn and be examined individually through a high-speed internet link.”

While some onlookers might be apprehensive of computer-based learning, the advantages are that not only can training be performed at the individual’s convenience, but the Virtual Academy can also accommodate twice as many students as an actual on-site classroom. Training costs can be lowered, but not at the expense of the quality of training, because each module is still led by one tutor, who interacts with the virtual students and vice versa.

For more advanced mechanics who need to be briefed on specific repair techniques, Academy TV has been developed through the Virtual Academy. “A technical procedure can be demonstrated,” says Andy, “either as a live stream or as pre-recorded video-on-demand, which shows far greater detail than would be possible had we crowded 10 people beneath a raised vehicle. In most cases, students can also interact with the tutor in real time, as if they were present.”

Virtual Academy video-on-demand courses for technical, sales and marketing are all produced on-site.

The Academy makes use of the sizable on-site bodyshop to teach the latest accident repair procedures.

How to apply for an apprenticeshipMost apprenticeship schemes are

aimed at school-leavers and can be

accessed through the government

site, www.apprenticeships.org.uk,

which allows you to apply for

vacancies in your locale.

In The Academy’s case, applicants are interviewed informally by

telephone after their application has

been received. However, even though

many main dealerships, independent

repairers and parts companies do not

advertise for apprentices, it is always

worth approaching individual firms to

ask whether or not they have any

apprenticeship posts – your

enthusiasm might just persuade them

to invest in you.

It’s worth also contacting UK carmakers. JLR and BMW MINI’s production facilities in the West

Midlands, as well as Nissan in

Sunderland, Toyota in Derby and

Honda in Swindon, all have their own

apprenticeship programmes, as do

the hundreds of independent parts

suppliers to those factories.

Do not ignore the aftermarket scene

either, which includes thousands of

garages and bodywork repair centres

throughout the UK, all of which are crying out for dedicated new talent.

Apprentices are trained comprehensively in diagnostics and repair. Having just completed her third year of training, 19-year-old Alice Bell had just serviced a Peugeot 208 at the time of our visit.

Students learn in a working environment. Here, a Peugeot van is having its fascia wiring modified for police force use.

Car Mechanics July 2014 www.greatmagazines.co.uk/carmechanics58

Unlimited rangeInterestingly, the technical courses do not focus solely on new cars. Many franchised dealers and independent specialists still maintain older models, which is why seeing a Peugeot 205 alongside the latest Citroën C4 Grand Picasso is not such an unusual sight on a typical technical module. Older power units feature as

well, from the XUD and first-generation DW series of HDi engines, cross-sectioned models of which can be viewed adjacent to cutaways of the latest small-capacity DV units. Obviously, these power units are not limited to just Peugeots and Citroëns, because they are used under license by a wide range of other manufacturers. Although many of its apprentices are fresh from school, The Academy also takes on more mature entrants, who have embarked on the increasingly common mid-life career change.

The Coventry centre does not limit its training to technical subjects alone. Sales and marketing of new and used cars, plus parts and accessories, is an essential mix to a successful retail operation, and The Academy’s customer care and warranty training modules are well subscribed. It can be argued that, with the current growth in the British motor manufacturing and retail industries, plus the additional political support, there has never been a better time to join the car industry.

While it has yet to be established whether or not the optimistic outlook is here to stay, the motor trade, both franchised and independent, still needs well-trained technicians with the drive and passion to ensure the next generation of new and used cars remains on the road for as long as possible.

CoNTaCT

The academy

280 Humber Road,

Coventry CV3 1BH.

Telephone: 02476 884000

E-mail: apprenticeships@mpsa.com

Facebook:

PeugeotCitroenapprenticeships

www.peugeotapprenticeships.org.uk

www.citroenapprenticeships.com

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Morris Minor MMA post-WWII creation that became a British institution

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‘O ne of the fastest slow cars in existence!’ enthused Motor magazine when the Morris Minor was revealed at the 1948 Earls Court Motor Show. The smallest of the new range from the Nuffield organisation was handsome, nimble, cheap and, initially, underpowered. Similarly-styled but larger Morris and Wolseley models shared the limelight but, in the climate of post-WWII austerity, it was the Minor that generated the most interest.Alec Issigonis’s original Mosquito design concept was brave and innovative, with an aerodynamic body, a compact flat-four engine positioned ahead of its radiator and independent rear suspension. Penny-

pinching and resistance from Lord Nuffield left many features on the cutting room floor, but the concept’s stiff unitary construction, well-packaged interior and neat torsion bar front suspension were left untouched.The reigning-in of Issigonis’s bold aspirations did the Minor’s prospects little, if any, harm. The simplified specification combined budgetary restraint with a driving experience that could still delight owners. The Minor represented

a substantial step forward in affordable motoring. And, with the help of

the A-series engine developed by arch-rival Austin, this modest but capable creation survived as a British institution in new-car sales for nearly a quarter of a century.

TECH SPEC 1948 Morris Minor MMDisplacement 918ccPower 27.5bhp@4400rpmTorque 39lb ft@2400rpm Top speed 62mph 0-50mph 36.5secKerbweight 750kg Design Alec Issigonis and Jack Daniels (styling and engineering), Reg Job (production engineer), Sydney Smith (technical director), Vic Oak (technical supervisor).

PURCHASE PRICE (INC. TAX)

£358

NARROW BORE AND LONG STROKE

57x90mm

MODERN BRAKESLockheed hydraulic drums all-round with twin leading shoes at the front provided good stopping power.

FOUR-INCH WIDENINGThe Mosquito was planned to be the same width as the Morris Eight. At the 11th hour, Issigonis got his mechanics to slice one of the prototypes in half. They moved the halves in and out until he was satisfied. This resulted in better stability, greater interior space and more pleasing proportions. By this point, press tools had already been made and bumpers had been manufactured. The bumpers were cut and widened with a spacer, and the swage incorporated in the widened bonnet remained throughout the Minor’s life.

CLEVER SUSPENSIONThe Minor sported longitudinal adjustable front torsion bars and a leaf-sprung live axle at the rear. Issigonis, who favoured all-round independent suspension, was inspired by Maurice Olley’s work at Vauxhall in the 1930s. He was ably supported by Jack Daniels, who had designed torsion-bar suspension for tanks during WWII. The front arrangement made room for the abandoned flat-four engine and survived in the Marina and Ital until 1984. The design removed the need for a heavily strengthened nose structure, loads being borne by the main tub.

GOOD ECONOMY

40mpg

OF FIRST MILLION SOLD ABROAD

48%

SHARP STEERINGThe Minor boasted the first use of rack-and-pinion steering in a British production car – a system developed for the Morris Ten but not pursued. Light, precise control, 2.5 turns lock-to-lock, well set-up suspension and a trademark exhaust rasp gave the Minor its widely praised driver appeal.

GREAT LONGEVITYAn intended replacement for the Minor was instead released as the Riley 1.5 and Wolseley 1500. This range came and went between 1957 and 1965, leaving the Minor to soldier on until 1971. By then, Issigonis’s thoroughly modern 1100 had been available for nine years.

PRODUCTION

1.6m

DASHING STYLINGThe Minor’s styling looked fresh and modern to the conservative British public in the aftermath of WWII. It had a horizontal grille and the wings flowed into the body. At the time, many new cars still had separate mudguards. An outward curve of the sills was the only nod to traditional running boards. Despite its compact dimensions, a transatlantic influence was evident. Early cars had a neater and more aerodynamic nose, being spared the need to comply with subsequent US headlamp height requirements. Much to

Issigonis’s disgust, the lights migrated to the wings in the Mk II.

SMALL WHEELSCompact 14in wheels were another new feature, being 3in smaller in diameter than the Eight and required Dunlop to manufacture special

tyres for the prototypes. Advantages included lower unsprung weight and centre of gravity and less intrusion into interior space.

ENGINE DEVELOPMENTIssigonis first proposed a vertically opposed-piston supercharged two-stroke. Then, he moved on to an ingeniously simple liquid-cooled flat-four. It could have been expected to be smooth and reasonably powerful, and was intended to be offered with larger cylinders for export markets. In the end, what actually occupied the wide engine bay was the 918cc straight-four UB engine from the Morris Eight. It had a very long stroke, a cast-iron sidevalve block and a three-bearing

crank. Introduction of the A-series in 1952 gave the

car a new lease of life.

INTERNAL OPPOSITIONLord Nuffield was anything but supportive of Issigonis, ‘that foreigner’, or his new design, ‘a poached egg’. The Morris boss favoured post-war production of the 1935 Eight, and the Mosquito project was both watered down and seriously delayed by his authoritarian intervention.

PRESS PRAISE‘Drivers hitherto enthusing over larger, faster cars begin to feel that this grown-up baby could fulfil all their requirements and double their mpg figures’ – Motor.

STRUCTUREThe all-steel mono-construction was described by the Nuffield organisation as having a ‘turret-top and one-piece floor pressing’. The reasonably-sized boot was accessible from inside and out. With a split, V-shaped windscreen, the only piece of costly curved glass was the rear window.

OVERSEAS PRODUCTIONCompletely and partly knocked down cars (CKD and PKD) were assembled in Ireland, the Netherlands, India, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, often with some local input such as batteries and glass. Engines and transmissions were built in Australia. Off-shore production could be augmented to meet local demand with complete cars shipped direct from Cowley.

TRANSMISSIONFour-speed manual with synchromesh on 2nd, 3rd and 4th, and helical-cut gears. A tubular propshaft led to a hypoid bevel semi-floating live axle, advertised as offering silence and reduced tunnel height.

VENTILATIONFront quarter-light windows were presented as a noteworthy feature, offering controlled, draught-free ventilation.

GRAND DESIGNS

Not just any MM, this is Morris Minor number one. Pride of the British Motor Heritage Museum at Gaydon.

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100 pages of pure Morris Minorcelebration

INSIDE... The Morris Minor story Service guides and restoration tales Tests and drives: Could you use a Minor every day? EXCLUSIVE: How the PC pick-up was restored in 72 hours

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PRACTICAL CLASSICS // MORRIS MINOR GUIDE

Compared to the other side it looked a bit

ropey, but once I had fi tted all the brackets,

securing the set up fi nally, it looked decent

and I knew it was strong. Next, I covered all

the wood on that side with Sikkens wood

preserver – base and topcoat. Lights,

refl ectors, hinges and doors were added

and once the rear bumper was on I managed

a short dance.

Bizarrely, a month later I was missing the

sound of electric planer and drill so much

that I spent a weekend replacing the

bottom wood section from the off side

rear door. Simple and hugely satisfying,

I approached it with confi dence and

nearly got it absolutely right

(see above).

Given time, confi dence, decent

materials and tools, mastering

simple woodwork is easy. I’m no

genius, but I stuck at it and now

have a Traveller that’s now much

easier on the eye. It will also

pass its next MoT – wood is

structural on a Minor – so

I look forward to positive

comments from Colin,

my local tester. S o does

the cat. ■

Good wood revivalReplacing your Minor’s wood at home is not as hard as you’d may think

W hen Morris was building

Travellers, the most diffi cult part

of the construction process was,

unsurprisingly, the wooden back body. It

took a long time and a lot of fi ddling to get

right, and that was by men who could

virtually do the job in their sleep.

Woodies, the father and son team of

Steve and James Foreman, had shown me

the correct way to replace a rear pillar and

had supplied me with a new nearside ash

pillar and wing over section. Now it was my

turn to fl y solo.

I had faith. Woodies are the biggest

manufacturer and supplier of Morris

Traveller woodwork in the world. As

I started the process of deconstruction

of the nearside rear end last November,

I was safe in the knowledge that the

Woodies boys were only a phone call away.

I unpacked the tools, dragged out the

extension lead and set to work.

The fi rst job was to pull out the old wood.

An evening with a Phillips screwdriver,

electric drill and chisel saw a pile of rusty

wood screws and chipped varnish at my

side. The brackets that join the pillar at the

top back corner of the frame were removed

as were the doors and associated hingery.

The rear lights and refl ectors were next.

I labelled up the wires and stored everything

in a plastic ice-cream tub, which I

immediately kicked over – if anyone wants

to come and look for the bullet connector

I lost during this incident then you are most

welcome. Six months on and I still haven’t

found it. Finally, it was off with the rear

bumper and then the moment of no return,

I started to waggle the wood.

It took another whole evening of hard

waggling, extra screw removal and chiseling

before the car fi nally released its grip on the

rear pillar. I had to dig into carefully fi lled

wood to reach screw heads that had been

hidden decades ago, all the time in the

knowledge that too heavy a hand could

cause splits in the good wood I wanted to re-

use and potential glass crackage. Eventually,

on my third foray into the garage, with a loud

crack (that scared the cat) it came free in my

hands, along with the silicone sealer that the

previous wood waggler had used to fi ll gaps.

The gloop was the main reason why

the job had taken so long. I repeated the

extraction on the wing over section – which

took another evening of cat scaring.

1Good woodWoodies’ Steve Foreman looks at the non-

standard pillar. He made an all new bespoke item

from scratch in about half an hour.

2Door renewal A new door frame has been fi tted to the

nearside door. This rotten crossmember was extracted

from the off side.

3New sectionThe new section will need work to fi t. Careful

measurements are taken. It is also a chance to locate

the position of fi xing screws onto the section back.

4To the bench Plane, sand and cut. Keep returning to the car

as you work. Removing wood is easy, putting it back

is tough. A decent bench is useful.

5Keep everything When the section is ready, treat with wood

preserver and re-check where screw holes should be.

Until it is fi tted, keep sectional off cuts – just in case.

6Job doneDrill the holes and fi t to frame and metal panel

with brass screws. Glue and screw into the uprights too.

Seal with wood putty and preserve with a stainer or oil.

‘It took an evening of hard waggling before the car finally released its pillar’

not disturb any more wood than was strictly

necessary. What I did do, however, was dig

out all the sealing grot I could fi nd and then

dribble preserver to every crevice.

Now the car was ready to receive the

new wood. I started with the over panel,

off ering it up and fi ling and trimming until

I was confi dent it would be a good fi t. Then

I clamped it into place and with a marker

poking through the original screwholes

identifi ed where I would need to drill. Drilled

and ready, I started screwing and, after

another night, had a fully attached panel.

Next was the big one, the rear pillar. And

this is where it all began to unravel slightly.

My back body was so diff erent from

standard that the usual laws of Traveller

wood did not apply. I spent several evenings

carefully fi ling and sanding the top of the

pillar so it would fi t in the roof, rear wooden

top arch and nearside roofl ine panel.

Immense care has to be taken here, you

can lose wood very easily – a bit like

virginity, once it’s gone, it’s gone; getting it

back is impossible. Something I discovered

when, after another two nights of pillar

fettling, I realised I had taken slightly too

much wood off the rear over-wing section.

The cat was absolutely petrifi ed this time.

PRACTICAL CLASSICS //

I approached it with confi dence and

nearly got it absolutely right

(see above).

Given time, confi dence, decent

materials and tools, mastering

simple woodwork is easy. I’m no

genius, but I stuck at it and now

have a Traveller that’s now much

easier on the eye. It will also

pass its next MoT – wood is

‘It took an evening of hard waggling before the car finally released

Job done – and even

the winker works.

Dark colouring

hides the rot

within. It’s all

stripped back.

There was a half-inch gap to fi ll, and no

matter how hard I tried to tell myself it

wasn’t so, it just was.

I left it to fester over Christmas and then,

after some bravery wine, in mid-January

I went out and applied my brain and hands

to the conundrum. I had kept all the wooden

off -cuts from the previous timber work, so

started my solution-hunt by rooting through

them and pulling out the ones that looked

most likely to fi t the errant cleft. I then fi lled

the space with wood fi ller and slipped the

wood into the sticky gap. Once set, I drilled

through the layers and added a wood screw

to bind it fi rmly and then fi nished it with

another skim of fi ller.

Then I began the process of cleaning up

the ends of the adjoining wooden sections,

stripping the old varnish from the whole side

of the car, sanding back the frame, carefully

fi lling the gaps with Sikkens fi ller (top stuff )

and treating what was left with wood

preserver. Then I got to work on the metal

work that the wood was screwed into.

Luckily it was sound, but I reckon another

winter and the rear wing would have

required replacing. I stripped it back and

treated it in situ, deciding that I would rather

Traveller Wood Replacement

www.practicalclassics.co.ukMORRIS MINOR GUIDE // PRACTICAL CLASSICS To subscribe to PC go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk

History File

➽ ➽

From Mosquito to Minor 1000, Ray Newell tells the remarkable story of Britain’s favourite family classic

The Morris Minor Story

The popularity of the Morris Minor

remains undimmed in spite of

the 43 years since the last one

rolled off the production lines at

Adderley Park in Birmingham. It regularly

tops the classic car polls – in the 2014 PC

Readers’ Survey it pipped the Mini as the

most popular family classic.

If few people could have predicted the

Minor’s success, fewer still foresaw it

becoming the fi rst British car to sell a

million. Even legendary designer Alec

Issigonis and his handpicked team, who’d

worked at Cowley from 1943 to develop a

revolutionary new small car for the post-

WWII era, could not have envisaged the

impact of their unique package. They gave it

a bold launch, though, dubbing the Minor

‘the World’s Supreme Small Car’ at the Earls

Court Motor Show in 1948.

The Minor completed a line-up of all-new

Morris Models which included the Morris

Oxford and Morris Six and it

was a hit from the start.

Road testers praised it

and the British public took

to its well-appointed

interior, superb handling

and exceptional fuel

economy. It was the car to

own in the late 1950s.

The only problem was that, for

the majority of would-be buyers in

Britain, sales were embargoed by

government decree as export orders took

precedence. Over 80% of the cars produced

went abroad, so as demand increased for all

Morris cars, and particularly the Minor, a new

factory was purpose-built for the booming

The Minor completed a line-up of all-new The Minor completed a line-up of all-new

Morris Models which included the Morris

CKD (Completely Knocked

Down — to be assembled

overseas) division at

Cowley. Such enthusiasm

was gratifying for the

design team at Morris,

who had worked tirelessly

on the myriad concepts

dreamed up by Alec Issigonis.

The Minor was a completely new

car and the number of components

which went into a 1950 two-door saloon

was estimated at 19,579.

Designing an iconThough some of the more radical features

of the original Mosquito prototype fell by

the wayside, the fact that the Morris Minor,

as Morris Motors’ founder Lord Nuffi eld had

insisted it be named, had a new style

monocoque-construction body, independent

front suspension with torsion bar springs,

rack-and-pinion steering and 14in road

wheels put it way ahead of its rivals. The

decision to widen the prototype by four

inches late in its development improved the

precise and controlled handling, as well as

adding to the car’s aesthetic qualities.

The clean cut, symmetrical lines of the

front end diff ered greatly from some earlier

prototype creations, which featured

concealed lighting behind a slatted oval

grille panel. Bench seating was tried in early

prototypes, along with a column gear

‘For the majority of British buyers, sales were embargoed by government decree’

PRACTICAL CLASSICS // MORRIS MINOR GUIDEwww.practicalclassics.co.ukMORRIS MINOR GUIDE // PRACTICAL CLASSICS To subscribe to PC go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk

FIRST SIGHT In its original narrow-body

form, the Mosquito still

had room for the fl at-

four engine that was

requested by designer

Alec Issigonis.

MINOR

INTEREST

Extensive testing of the

Morris Minor took place at

Chalgrove Airfi eld, near Cowley

in Oxford. Other favoured routes

for original road tests included

a 100-mile high-speed

circuit that ran from Oxford

to Cirencester

and back.

Fifty years ago, the British Motor

Corporation was preparing for

the launch of a car designed by

its technical director, one of the

few automotive engineers whose name was

known to the general public – Alec Issigonis.

He was the man behind the Minor, the

Mini and the Morris 1100, and now he had

created a car that was so removed from the

large family car norm of the day as to be

almost surreal. So we decided to take one

of the oldest, and fi nest, examples of the

Austin 1800 to the Heritage Motor Centre

at Gaydon in Warwickshire to meet with fi ve

other examples of Issigonis’s genius.

On their own, each of these cars is a

reminder of how he ranks alongside Heinz

Nordhoff (Volkswagen) and Dante Giacosa

(Fiat) in changing the post-World War II

motoring landscape. Cumulatively, the

impact is overwhelming.

Morris Minor MMIn 1943, the Ministry of Supply gave

permission for Morris Motors to commence

work on a new post-war range of cars.

One of the prominent fi gures at the design

offi ce was one Alec Constantine Issigonis,

who had joined Morris Motors in 1936 to

work on the suspension of the Morris Ten.

Project ‘Mosquito’ was deemed essential

to revitalise the Morris brand in the post-

war export markets and, to a British car

buyer visiting the 1948 London Motor Show,

the Minor was as far removed from the

Eight saloon as The X Factor is from music. In 1948, Alec Issigonis announced his genius to the world. We test the Minor against the designs that followed

British Icons Group Test

In 1948, Alec Issigonis

Hits of

WORDS ANDREW ROBERTS PHOTOS MATT HOWELL

1965 Austin 1800

ENGINE 179800/4-0yl/OHV

POWER 80bhp@5000rpm

TORQUE 100lb ft@2100rpm

GEARBOX 4-spd man

0-60MPH 17se0

TOP SPEED 90mph

FUEL ECONOMY 23.5mpg

1976 Austin Maxi

ENGINE 174800/4-0yl/OHC

POWER 84bhp@5500rpm

TORQUE 105lb ft@3000rpm

GEARBOX 5-spd man

0-60MPH 20se0

TOP SPEED 89mph

FUEL ECONOMY 24.5mpg

1950 Morris Minor MM

ENGINE 91800/4-0yl/SV

POWER 30bhp@4400rpm

TORQUE 39lb ft@2400rpm

GEARBOX 4-spd man

0-60MPH n/a

TOP SPEED 62mph

FUEL ECONOMY 36mpg

1967 Morris 1100

ENGINE 109800/4-0yl/OHV

POWER 48bhp@5100rpm

TORQUE 60lb ft@2500rpm

GEARBOX 4-spd man

0-60MPH 22se0

TOP SPEED 78mph

FUEL ECONOMY 33mpg

1959 MiniENGINE 84800/4-0yl/OHV

POWER 34bhp@5500rpm

TORQUE 44lb ft@2900rpm

GEARBOX 4-spd man

0-60MPH 29.7se0

TOP SPEED 75mph

FUEL ECONOMY 40mpg

1969 BMC 9XENGINE 99800/4-0yl/OHC

POWER 60bhp@4300rpm

TORQUE A mystery

GEARBOX 4-spd man

0-60MPH An enigma

TOP SPEED Promising

FUEL ECONOMY A riddle

PRACTICAL CLASSICS // MORRIS MINOR GUIDEwww.practicalclassics.co.ukMORRIS MINOR GUIDE // PRACTICAL CLASSICS To subscribe to PC go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk

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CM VISIT

This Peugeot 205 GTi was a restoration project that was undertaken by The Academy’s bodywork apprentices.