Published on : 11 September 20192 min reading time

Several classic Morris car models have been a popular choice for car restorers for many years. They have a wonderful heritage and provide a great example of the early years of car manufacturing in Britain. A well restored classic Morris, for instance a Morris 10, is a thing of beauty and value. There is a tremendous range of prices depending on the state of the car.

Whilst it is possible to pick up a rather untidy model for a few hundred pounds, a well restored model in excellent condition could fetch as much as fifteen to twenty thousand pounds. Obviously this is seen by many as an ideal investment opportunity. Now we have the web it is very easy to source spare car parts online, and car restoration is a project that people can spend years working on in their spare time.

The Morris car company grew out of a bicycle manufacturing company and was formed by William Morris in 1913 in Cowley in the UK. Cowley has been a name associated with motor manufacturing ever since. The first car was called the Morris Oxford (which was a name also used for a very different looking model introduced in the 1960’s) and was a two seater. A four seater car called the Cowley was introduced in 1927, and the first Morris Minor came in 1928.

This was still the sit-up-and-beg version and not at all like the later Morris Minor with its curved shapes that first appeared in 1953. 1933 saw the introduction of the Morris 10. This was originally a ten horsepower car and had a number of different model options. The model Ten-Four had a four cylinder engine and there were saloon, coupe and tourer models. There was a Ten-Six model which was powered by a six cylinder engine and was larger. Various model revisions led to the series two, series three and series M versions. In 1935 the company also introduced the Morris Eight, an eight horse power car with a 918 cc engine.

Morris ceased to exist as a single entity in 1952 when it merged with Austin to form the British Motor Corporation.