March 61 Morris Pickup

[steve1071]

What a fantastic find.

Looking forward to the progress.

[bill773mini]

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

[Pandora]

I find leaving commercials to mature for several years before making any progress is definitely the way to go....

Al

[66Traveller]

I do like that Bill - what a great project!

[Rubber Sprung]

Excellent story ,very interesting history .Thank you for sharing it with us .

[jayare]

As a (MUCH later) pickup owner, it's definitely of interest! Like several others had mentioned, there are a few things mentioned that I never knew about the early pickups. I had heard of the lack of supports between the wheelarch and rear quarter but have never seen any evidence of it other than a single period photo of one.

Good luck with putting it all together!

JR.

[STG95F]

Great update Bill . Can't wait to see it in the flesh

Ian

[bill773mini]

Thanks Ian, James, Rubber sprung and JR

We knew the prototypes had the missing stiffener but until we found the Swiss Pickup we didn't think they'd made production, even when we found that car you still ask questions of a big restoration but it's not something people usually leave off by accident. Finding the sencond Pickup without the stiffener was such a relief.

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[kit of bits]

Excellent project Bill..
Upesh is a very helpful chap I’ve known him for a long time, I bought his pick up..
D

[asantos]

Bill, this project is of great interest, I am sure there is no need for any reservations on posting it here, I have already learnt several things I did not know about early Pickups!
Martin B.

Well said Mab, give us all the gory boring details Bill - it just makes me all the more frustrated at my pickup shell in the garage

I’ve had to be patient with this one so far but couldn’t wait to rescue it. The fact that it’s travelled so far and been used to death but somehow survived makes me determined to see it back to it’s former glory.

Sadly what I will almost certainly not be able to find out is who it’s first owner was and what it was used for. Who ordered two matching white pickups with whitewalls in Angola. When the Portuguese left in 74 the USSR swept in and destroyed any and every remanence of what went before so all historical documentation was destroyed.

Hi, I would like to make a suggestion. If you try to find the angolan state agency similar to your DVLA they could have the first record details. The portuguese registration document that you have must have a final note with the angolan license plate number. With that number some research can be made. Many years ago I've done a similar research on a 1973 Land Rover first registered in Mozambique. Did some calls to Maputo... and they only took some hours to find the record details.

António

[minimk1man]

I have seen the progress of this Pickup from the beginning when Bill first managed to buy it. It has been a difficult journey for him especially securing it from Portugal. A good job he has good friends and contacts over there. I think it is fantastic to find such an early Pickup and restore it to this level. Dave Gate at www.phoenixmotorbodies.co.uk has done an absolutely fantastic job on the shell. He has done several cars for both me and Bill and his work is exceptional.
Now its up to you Bill to get it up and running.

Trevor

[wantafaster1]

No need to be embarrassed Bill, lovely seeing a basic vehicle built to perfection

[bill773mini]

Well said Mab, give us all the gory boring details Bill - it just makes me all the more frustrated at my pickup shell in the garage

I’ve had to be patient with this one so far but couldn’t wait to rescue it. The fact that it’s travelled so far and been used to death but somehow survived makes me determined to see it back to it’s former glory.

Sadly what I will almost certainly not be able to find out is who it’s first owner was and what it was used for. Who ordered two matching white pickups with whitewalls in Angola. When the Portuguese left in 74 the USSR swept in and destroyed any and every remanence of what went before so all historical documentation was destroyed.

Hi, I would like to make a suggestion. If you try to find the angolan state agency similar to your DVLA they could have the first record details. The portuguese registration document that you have must have a final note with the angolan license plate number. With that number some research can be made. Many years ago I've done a similar research on a 1973 Land Rover first registered in Mozambique. Did some calls to Maputo... and they only took some hours to find the record details.

António

Hi Antonio, oddly there isn’t the Angolan registration on the documents. This has puzzled us all both here and in Portugal, Luis has family connections to Angola too and it’s is those people who have told us the records are destroyed Pre 73.

[bill773mini]

I have seen the progress of this Pickup from the beginning when Bill first managed to buy it. It has been a difficult journey for him especially securing it from Portugal. A good job he has good friends and contacts over there. I think it is fantastic to find such an early Pickup and restore it to this level. Dave Gate at www.phoenixmotorbodies.co.uk has done an absolutely fantastic job on the shell. He has done several cars for both me and Bill and his work is exceptional.
Now its up to you Bill to get it up and running.

Trevor

Thanks Trevor, no pressure!

Agreed Dave has really out done himself with this one. It really tested him too.

[asantos]

I’ve had to be patient with this one so far but couldn’t wait to rescue it. The fact that it’s travelled so far and been used to death but somehow survived makes me determined to see it back to it’s former glory.

Sadly what I will almost certainly not be able to find out is who it’s first owner was and what it was used for. Who ordered two matching white pickups with whitewalls in Angola. When the Portuguese left in 74 the USSR swept in and destroyed any and every remanence of what went before so all historical documentation was destroyed.

Hi, I would like to make a suggestion. If you try to find the angolan state agency similar to your DVLA they could have the first record details. The portuguese registration document that you have must have a final note with the angolan license plate number. With that number some research can be made. Many years ago I've done a similar research on a 1973 Land Rover first registered in Mozambique. Did some calls to Maputo... and they only took some hours to find the record details.

António

Hi Antonio, oddly there isn’t the Angolan registration on the documents. This has puzzled us all both here and in Portugal, Luis has family connections to Angola too and it’s is those people who have told us the records are destroyed Pre 73.

Hi Bill, if there´s no mention to the angolan registration number in the documents, an official certificate request of the original import process from Angola to Portugal can be requested to https://www.imt-ip.pt/, our "DVLA". Even before the independence of Angola, Mozambique, or other former portuguese colonies, any vehicle brought to Portugal from those origins would have an import process to a portuguese licence plate/registration to be assigned. This request usually takes a lot of time, IMT has lot´s of complaints, and the archive is based outside Lisbon.

[bill773mini]

Hi, I would like to make a suggestion. If you try to find the angolan state agency similar to your DVLA they could have the first record details. The portuguese registration document that you have must have a final note with the angolan license plate number. With that number some research can be made. Many years ago I've done a similar research on a 1973 Land Rover first registered in Mozambique. Did some calls to Maputo... and they only took some hours to find the record details.

António

Hi Antonio, oddly there isn’t the Angolan registration on the documents. This has puzzled us all both here and in Portugal, Luis has family connections to Angola too and it’s is those people who have told us the records are destroyed Pre 73.

Hi Bill, if there´s no mention to the angolan registration number in the documents, an official certificate request of the original import process from Angola to Portugal can be requested to https://www.imt-ip.pt/, our "DVLA". Even before the independence of Angola, Mozambique, or other former portuguese colonies, any vehicle brought to Portugal from those origins would have an import process to a portuguese licence plate/registration to be assigned. This request usually takes a lot of time, IMT has lot´s of complaints, and the archive is based outside Lisbon.

I’ll see what I can find out. Thank you

[bill773mini]

Went to collect the rest of the panels and parts from the painter today.

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Also started painting a few parts.

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[Peter Laidler]

Talking of vehicles taken to Angola. My pal Dave Chaplin was the 2i/c of a couple of tankers in the 70's plus a couple of freight ships (Denholms) that were regulars on the Angola route. The tankers regularly took Land Rovers and utility vehicles plus a Bedford Sherpa type van down to use in Angola. So far as he recalls following a phone cal last week, they were never registered as in 'registration' in Angola as such infrastructure simply didn't exist following the war there!! The vehicles were used in the wharf areas and locally for short supply and domestic runs. They were always passed on to the next incoming ships and tankers but never returned to the UK. Occasionally a few spares would be taken down but that was that. A couple were clearly stolen but replaced. Other vehicles such as exWD lorries were taken down on contract for the oil field contractors. He laughed that it wasn't really lorries they needed, but armoured cars.

Best of luck contacting the equivalent DVLA in Angola.......

[mini_surfari]

If you need a full length rear bumper there is one for sale on the dreaded facebook. In the BMC paper and tape still.

[woodypup59]

£950 !!!!

But is it for an Innocenti traveler ????