The humble Morris Minor is a truly iconic British classic, no matter what classic car show or museum you go to in the UK you’d expect to see one. However you will struggle to see one that has been restored to the level of our Re:Fuelers’ Rides contributor for today, Tony.
The original Morris Minor was never known for its eye catching styling however Tony has treated his to a bit of individual flair with some wonderful modifications that we think it definitely should’ve featured when it left the factory back in 1958! This car has been built in memory of Tony’s Father and we think that it is a truly beautiful tribute. The car was completed only earlier this year and if you haven’t already seen it then make sure to pop down to the Re:Fuel paddock to see it as Tony and his Morris Minor have become quite the regulars.
The car is a 1958 Morris minor, but is in no way standard. It started out as my Dads Morris Minor when he bought it back in 1994! I learned to weld on this very car back then when we both restored it with a few mods thrown in at the time, we were both professional classic car restorers and specialised in Morris minors.
My dad drove this car everyday for over 20 years as it was his only car. but unfortunately, age got the better of them both and my dad had to convert to easier driving whilst the Morris sat for a few years in his garden. He gave it to me about 5 years ago. We talked about selling parts off and scrapping it as it was that bad, but then my dad got ill and passed away. I firstly set about getting my garage extended so I could do all the work at home!
The Old man project began in memory of my old man. The car was completed this year (2024) and as a family we have enjoyed taking it to shows and meets and regularly attend Re:Fuel weekends as we call it our local due to being 2 minutes down the road! It wasn’t just an ordinary restoration as I wanted it to stand out with the way it looked and with parts no one else had! There’s too many custom mods and parts to list but the stand out ones I enjoyed making was the steering wheel, dash switches which were turned from Damascus steel, gear stick and knob, washer bottle, thermostat housing. It also has a 1275 ital engine with Sierra 5 speed gear box, front disk brakes and servo with pedal box. It was a labour of love and I think the old man would be proud of how its turned out!
I’d like to give a special thank you to machinist Chris Vanstone for turning the Damascus dash switches and stainless thermostat housing, Adam for laser cutting and to the guys at TR Williams for a fantastic job on the paint!
The full rebuild can be seen on Tony’s Instagram account @eXe-Valley-Rust
Car Facts:
Make: Morris
Model: Minor
Year: 1958
Engine: 1275cc Ital
BHP: 70
Top Speed: 100mph