Morris

GB, 1913 to date

(1) W.R.M. Motors Ltd, Cowley, Oxford, 1913 – 1919

(2) Morris Motors Ltd, Cowley, Oxford, 1919 – 1970

(3) Austin-Morris Division, British Leyland Motor Corp Ltd, Cowley, Oxford, 1970 to date

W.R. Morris (later Lord Nuffield), an Oxford cycle and motor agent, launched his Morris-Oxford light car in 1913. This Morris car was made from proprietary parts, the engine being a 1-litre T-head four by White and Poppe. At £175 the Morris car was one of the best of the true light cars (as opposed to cyclecars) and over 1.000 Morris cars had been sold by the end of 1914. A larger model, the famous Morris Cowley, arrived on the scene in 1915; this Morris car was assembled from American components, the engine being by Continental. After World War 1 Morris cars marketed two 1½-litre L-head sv fours, with power units by Hotchkiss of Coventry; the Morris Cowley differed from the Morris Oxford mainly in its more austere equipment and the absence of a starter. In an inflationary climate, Morris cars was brave enough to reduce the prices of its Morris cars(a Morris Cowley two-seater cost £465 in October 1920, £299.10s a year later, and £225 in October 1922) and ensured a steady flow of Morris carproduction by acquiring his suppliers, such as Hotchkiss, Wrigley (transmissions) and Hollick and Pratt (bodies).

The Morris ‘bullnoses’ were soon best-sellers backed by a nation-wide service organization of Morris cars, and in 1925 Morris outsold all his competitors with 54.000 Morris cars. From 1924 to 1926 the staple Morris cars were the 1½-litre Morris Cowley and the 1.8-litre Morris Oxford, both with 3-speed gearboxes and the wet-plate clutches which persisted on some Morris carmodels right up to 1939. The Morris Oxford acquired front wheel brakes in 1925, and they were available as an option on Morris Cowleys a year later. 1927 Morris cars produced the flat radiator and also a venture into the export market with the unsuccessful Empire Oxford Morris car of 2½-litres, which had a 4-speed box and worm drive. Equally unsuccessful was a plan to market Gallicized Morris cars built in the Léon Bollée plant at Le Mans.

Meanwhile Cecil Kimber had produced the first of the Morris-Oxford-based MG sports cars, and a new name had been born. Morris had made a few six-cylinder Morris cars in the early 1920s, but his first serious attempt in this direction with Morris cars was a 2½-litre ohc model for 1928, the engine of this Morris car inspired by the Wolseley 16/45, a make which had come under Morris control the previous year. 1929 saw another ohc Morris car, the 847cc Morris Minor at £125. Never a best-seller, the Morris car none the less served as the basis for MG’s Midget. The 1930 6-cylinder Morris cars had hydraulic brakes, extended down the range until they were universal by 1934 on all Morris cars, and in 1931 Morris managed to offer a simplified sv two-seater version of the Morris Minor for £100. The early 1930s proved very difficult for the Morris car company, which had no obvious best-seller and too many different models of Morris cars. Sliding roofs and electric fuel pumps by the Morris-owned S.U. concern were innovations for 1932 and 1933 Morris cars pioneered the semaphore-type traffic indicator in Britain. That year Morris cars sv 1.3-litre Morris Ten-Four came out as an answer to Austin’s Ten and Hillman’s Minx. All 1934 Morris cars had synchromesh and the bigger sixes the added refinement of a free wheel.

The best-seller Morris car came at last in 1935 with the 918cc sv Series I Morris Eight, which retailed at £132.10s for a fully-equipped Morris car saloon and helped reach their first million Morris cars by the summer of 1939. In a bigger category were the Series II Morris carmodels with modern styling, 3-speed gearboxes, and built-in jacking systems, ranging from a revised Morris Ten-Four up to a 3½-litre 6-cylinder Morris Twenty-Five at £280. These Morris cars were contemporary with the Series I, though introduced some months after that Morris car. All 1938 Morris cars except for the Morris Eight had push-rod ohv engines (already applied to Wolseley and MG). Later that year Riley was absorbed into the Nuffield Morris car empire. Two 1939 winners were a revised Series E 8hp with a 4-speed gearbox and headlamps faired into the wings of the Morris car, and the 1.140cc ohv Series M Ten, which introduced integral construction to Cowley and this Morris car was made after World War 2 by Hindusthan in India.

Only the 8 and 10 Morris cars were made in the first post-war years, the first really new Morris car for ten years being the 1949 Morris cars designed by Alex Issigonis. Of these the MM series Morris Minor used the old 8hp sv engine, but boasted integral construction, rack-and-pinion steering and torsion-bar independent front suspension and set a new standard in popular car handling. A million of the basic design Morris cars had been sold by January 1961. Its companion Morris carmodels, also chassisless, and with independent front suspension were a new sv 1½-litre Morris Oxford and the 2.2-litre ohc Morris MS Type Six.

The amalgamation of Nuffield and Austin to form the British Motor Corporation in 1952 resulted in a gradual process of rationalization. First the Morris Minor went over to Austin’s 803cc ohv A30 engine in 1953. The Series II Oxford Morris car and its less powerful companion, the Morris Cowley, of 1954 had Morris hulls, but their engines were also ohv Austins. In 1955 the Morris carrange was completed by a new Isis using the 2.6-litre BMC 6-cylinder unit – this Morris car was discontinued in 1958. In the late 1950s some Morris cars were made and sold in Australia under the Morris car name which were in fact more closely akin to other makes in the BMC group. The 6-cylinder Morris Marshall was really an Austin A105, while both the Major and its Austin counterpart, the Lancer, were based on the Wolseley 1500.

With the arrival of the Farina-styled 1½-litre Morris car saloons in 1959, differences between Austin and Morris cars had been reduced to house colours and radiator emblems. The front-wheel-drive Mini (1960) was shared between the two makes and though its bigger stablemate, the 1100 of 1963 with Hydrolastic suspension, was initially a Nuffield monopoly Morris car, the inevitable Austin variant followed a year later. In the case of the third front-wheel-drive model, the 1800, Austin were ahead of Morris cars in introducing it by nearly eighteen months. The 1968 Morris car range comprised the fwd Mini, 1100/1300, and 1800 as well as the conventional 1.600cc Oxford and the indestructible Morris Minor 1000, now with 1.098cc engine and still selling close on 60.000 Morris cars a year. This sole survivor of independent Morris car design did not disappear until the end of 1970. Minis became a separate make that year. From 1971 Morris car versions of the 1100 and 1300 disappeared; the name was reserved for the Marina, an orthodox rear-wheel-driven family saloon with Minor 1000 front suspension, semi-elliptics at the rear, and drum brakes on the simpler variant Morris cars. Push-rod 1.300cc and 1.800cc B.L.M.C. 4-cylinder engines were used, and the original 2-door coupé and 4-door saloon were joined by a station wagon Morris car in 1973. The largest fwd cars were still available with Morris car badges – there was a version of the 6-cylinder 2200 in 1972.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com

Stutz

US, 1911 – 1935

(1) Ideal Motor Car Co, Indianapolis, Ind., 1911 – 1913

(2) The Stutz Motor Car Co of America, Indianapolis, Ind., 1913 – 1935

The Ideal Motor Car Company was the name of the firm which made the first racing Stutz cars, but it was changed to the Stutz Motor Car Company in 1913. Harry C. Stutz’ most famous passenger Stutz car was the Stutz Bearcat speedster of 1914 – this Stutz car is probably the best known of all American sports cars. The Stutz car followed the usual recipe of a low-hung chassis, a big, slow-turning proprietary engine (in this case, a T-head, 4-cylinder Wisconsin unit, producing 60bhp at 1.500rpm), and very little else, just a bonnet, wings, raked steering column, two bucket seats, and a fuel tank behind them. A Stutz-made 3-speed gearbox was integral with the rear axle; an uncommon feature. This component had been sold by the Stutz car company before he made complete Stutz cars. A 6.2-litre 6-cylinder engine was available on the Stutz car, but seldom seen. The Stutz Bearcat was the most popular of its breed, in spite of its high price, and the appeal of the Stutz car was boosted by Stutz cars successes with ohc, 16-valve racing cars. The Stutz car was the Mercers’ greatest rival. Touring Stutz cars were made as well, but these Stutz cars were comparatively little known. Total production grew from 759 Stutz cars in 1913 to 2207 Stutz cars in 1917. Two years later, Stutz left to make another car, the HCS, although the cheaper Stutz cars of the 1915 period were also known as H.C.S. The gearbox was moved back on the Stutz car to the normal position in 1921, and shortly after this Stutz cars began making their own engines: an sv four giving 88bhp and a 75bhp ovh six. The latter was developed to give 80bhp in the 4.7-litre Speedway Six Stutz car of 1924, the last Stutz car of the old line.

In 1926, there was a change of management within the Stutz car company, and Frederick E. Moskovics, the new president, initiated a radiacally new Stutz car policy. Paul Bastien, who had designed the splendid 2-litre Métallurgique from Belgium, was responsible for the Stutz AA, or Vertical Eight Stutz car. This Stutz car was a beautifully-made fast tourer, more typical of Europe than America. Its specification embraced a straight-8 4.7-litre engine with a single overhead camshaft, and dual ignition, including two plugs per cylinder. Power output of this Stutz car was 92bhp at 3.000rpm. This was a modern, reasonably efficient engine by any standards, and the Stutz car was distinctly advanced in these respects by American standards. There were, however, only 3 forward speeds on the Stutz car. The hydraulic brakes were very good indeed, and the underslung worm final drive allowed the fitting of low-built, good-looking bodies on Stutz cars. Centralized chassis lubrication and safety glass were provided. Glamorous though the AA Stutz car was, the Stutz car was sold on the slogan of ‘The Safety Stutz’, and a year’s free passenger insurance was given with each Stutz car. In 1927, the engine of the Stutz car was enlarged to 4.9-litres, now giving 95bhp, and a speedster option, the Stutz Black Hawk, was added. In the following year, Weymann fabric body construction was adopted on Stutz cars; another European touch. The engine of the Stutz car was enlarged again in 1929 and this made 113bhp available. Better still, this Stutz car had 4-forward speeds. Special Stutz Black Hawk speedsters were 2nd at Le Mans in 1928, but the Stutz cars came no higher than 5th in 1929. These Stutz cars had Roots superchargers and vacuum servo brakes. This Stutz car was put on sale as the Stutz Bearcat, reviving a famous name. Stutz cars also competed at Le Mans in 1930, 1931 and 1932. Unfortunately, a Stutz car lost a well-publicized challenge match at Indianapolis with a Hispano-Suiza, and Frank Lockhart was killed at Daytona Beach while trying to take the World Land Speed Record with a Miller-engined car built by the Stutz car company, both setbacks taking place in 1928.

Sales of Stutz cars fell, and a range of cheaper Stutz carmodels with, it was hoped, wider appeal was introduced for the next year, alongside the existing Stutz car range. These Stutz cars had little in common with the classic models, so were called Black Hawks, not Stutz cars. One used a 6-cylinder, ohc engine of 4 litres’ capacity made by Stutz car company, and the other a straight-8 sv unit by Continental. At the other end of the scale, there appeared in 1931 the superb DV (dual valve) 32 Stutz car, to compete with the new multi-cylinder Stutz cars being brought out by Lincoln, Cadillac, Marmon, and others. The Stutz car design was basically similar to that of the SV16 Stutz car, still current, but there were two overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder: 32 Stutz cars in all. The DV32 Stutz car was listed in speedster form, as the Stutz Bearcat, and, on the shorter chassis, as the Stutz Super Bearcat. These stubby, formidable Stutz cars were guaranteed to exceed 100mph. The expensive, high-quality, specialist Stutz went the way of most of its kind in the Depression years. Intead, the Stutz car company sold, and later made a light delivery van, called the Pak-Age car. This had a rear engine and all-independent suspension, and was current from 1928 to 1938, after which manufacture was taken over by Diamond T.

US, 1970 to date

Stutz Motor Car of America, New York, N.Y.

Unlike replica cars such as the Auburn and Cord, the makers of the Stutz Blackhawk coupé merely borrowed the name of the pre-war Stutz car for their machine. The Stutz car was powered by a 6½-litre Pontiac V8 engine stripped and modified so that the original output of 365bhp was raised to 425bhp. This was mounted in a modified Pontiac chassis, and the Virgil Exner-designed body was hand-built by Carrozzeria Padana of Modena, Italy, where the final assembly of the Stutz cars was done. The first Stutz car model, the 2-door hardtop, was priced at $22.500; a new Stutz car model for 1972 was a 4-door saloon using an long wheel base Cadillac chassis, and selling for $31.250.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; TRN, GNG 

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com