1962 Morris Mini Minor

[minitravellerman]

I've regretfully decided that it's time to sell my wee '62
I'm going to post up a thread into the For Sale section of this forum once I get a couple of current photos taken.

[minitravellerman]

Now for sale - ad in For Sale Section

[minitravellerman]

Meant to update this - sold last Saturday (and already regretting it lol) to England. First time she'll have been on a boat since coming to N Ireland back in 1962

Think the new owner has registered onto the forum.

[Chewie Baker]

hello Ian
Tucked up safety on the ferry on Saturday

[minitravellerman]

Well Martin. Hard to believe it's nearly a year now since you bought the wee '62 from me. How's the past year been going with Auld Smokie (as she was affectionately known as in the Mini scene over here)?

[Chewie Baker]

Hello Ian and good to hear from you

BZ is going great, although it's hard to believe it's been almost a year.
I'm taking her back to as original condition as I can, so a few tidy up jobs I've done include

Nos black crinkle finish rear view mirror
Fitted some correct Lucas headlights
Line up the doors and finish the trim with a few bits from Newton
Fitted original engine steady mounts
Nos indicator lenses
Fitted deluxe trim and silver windscreen inserts
Nos seatbelts
Dash switch panel put back to original with choke and heater knobs
The heater has been re-furnished and fitted, along with de mister tubes
Repaired odometer

Jobs still on the list are
Re wire floor Start button
New carpet
Get the front panel 'scoops' back to original 'curved style'

Other than that she is running great and flew through the mot with no problems last year.
She's a lovely car and stayed very original

[Chewie Baker]

hello again Ian

you may be interested to hear Auld Smoke is actually a '61

I'd gone off the log book, which i assume you had, which stated Feb '62, but i'd noticed the fuse box , floor dipswitch and a few other items on the car are dated Sept '61

I contacted British Heritage and i've just got the certificate back to say she was built 22-27th September and dispatched to the dealer close to you on 9th Oct '61

[mk1]

The date on the logbook would be the date Auld Smokie was registered, not the manufacturing date.

As Mini sales were very slow in the early days and as AS was an export model to boot, I am not surprised that there was a 5 month delay between manufacturing & final registration.

Still, nice to get another bit of the story in place isn't it.

m

[Chewie Baker]

cheers Mark
i was wondering why there was a big time gap

I'd had the front grille chromed
Back to O.E. white now

[minitravellerman]

Hi Martin.
That's very interesting - I had never actually looked at the dating of the parts during the rebuild.

Was the dealer RJ Tinsley like we had suspected? The other alternative that it could have been was Banbridge Motor Works (now long closed and demolished) as they would have been the other local Morris dealership. I am friends with the grandson of the Banbridge Motor Works dealership and he checked through old documentation and couldn't find anything about BZ, hence our assumption that RJ Tinsley in Dromore supplied her.

[Chewie Baker]

Dealer was W H Alexander LTD in Belfast, with the reg number issued in Down.
You know of that dealer Ian?

[minitravellerman]

Really?? I would never have expected that he would have gone to Belfast to buy her.
I do know of the dealer. Sadly no longer trading.
The building was used I think in latter years as part if the Courts Service and was redeveloped around 2007 or so.

He obviously requested the Co Down reg as Belfast would have had it's own registration letters (???? XI)


Found this online;

"W H Alexander Limited distributed Morris and Wolseley cars at the aptly named Morris House, 90-108 Victoria Street"


Was looking for old photos but only what's there now;

during redevelopment;



and today;



Dealer sticker;

[Chewie Baker]

Good info there Ian
Cheers!
Nice dealer sticker...ding dong
I'll get one ordered from Leslie Phillips

[minitravellerman]

Good info there Ian
Cheers!
Nice dealer sticker...ding dong
I'll get one ordered from Leslie Phillips

No worries

Good that there's a key in the pic to help get something to scale from.
If I see any cars at local shows with the dealer sticker still fitted I'll get a snap for you an a measurement if I can. They were a pretty well know dealer and maybe one of the leading ones in Northern Ireland at the time so good chance there are cars out there with the sticker still in the window.

[Chewie Baker]

not sure if you know the website, but the sticker you pictured is from the "I say Ding Dong" website (one of Leslie Phillips catch phrases, and one i sadly used to use as a chat up line after a fee beers)

He does all the old dealer stickers and window stickers - worth a look mate

I'll buy BZ's dealer sticker from him

[minitravellerman]

not sure if you know the website, but the sticker you pictured is from the "I say Ding Dong" website (one of Leslie Phillips catch phrases, and one i sadly used to use as a chat up line after a fee beers)

He does all the old dealer stickers and window stickers - worth a look mate

I'll buy BZ's dealer sticker from him

lol - didn't note the connection

[minitravellerman]

..... was an export model to boot .....

Just to clarify BZ wasn't exported to Northern Ireland. It's a UK registered car as N Ireland is part of the U.K. It would have been an export if it went to the REPLUBLIC of Ireland, which would have been a CKD car assembled by Pooles of Dublin.

[Supersonic]

looks good

it really needs a pair of speed stripes down the side, and maybe a flip front!

Thanks

I don't want to be accused of copying anyone else!

Nice wee car Ian, looking forward to seeing it this year. Nice colour and love the original County Down registration

Alan

[minitravellerman]

Nice wee car Ian, looking forward to seeing it this year. Nice colour and love the original County Down registration

Alan

Not my Mini anymore Alan. I sold it to Martin (Chewie Baker) year before last. I restored it in 2008/9 or thereabouts.

[Chewie Baker]

another MOT pass for her 55th birthday