Welcome
to the International Alliance of Morris Owners website
Items from previous home pages
Following the disposal
of the Suntor camper it can be revealed what was behind the
gates in the background. Morris Motors only ever made one
model that was described as an open sports car although some
regard the Eight tourer as being in this category, tourers
were exactly as described - they may have been fun to drive
but they were not sports cars. The Ten-Six Special was produced
in 1934/5 as a direct rival to the MG equivalent and their
specification was everything a boy racer of the period could
ask for. A stylish four seater aluminium body on an sturdy
ash frame and ladder chassis powered by a smooth twin carburettor
six-cylinder engine. The rakish wings were without running
boards and there were go faster accessories such as a bonnet
strap and stone guards for the headlamps and radiator. The
image was let down by the use of a side valve engine and the
Special suffered from being marketed alongside the saloon
version which despite the longer chassis to take the six cylinder
engine had an identical body to the four cylinder version
which had similar performance. The Ten-Six was not a commercial
success but the Specials are sought after for their good looks
and extreme rarity.
To find one example
of a genuine Ten-Six Special with its original
engine is a rare occurrence but in this case
it was not one but two of them. Both are in
need of full restoration and have been found
suitable homes which should ensure that they
are back on the road by December (year unspecified!).
The first one was supplied
by London agent Stewart & Ardern in 1935
and has a plate on the dashboard to verify
this as well as an AMU registration. The new
owner was delighted to find that the original
engine came with the car although there is
evidence that an attempt had been made to
fit a more modern engine sometime in the 1960s.
The body is very sound as is the ash frame.
The picture shows the very low eating position
with a thin pneumatic cushion so that the
driver's head does not sit above the very
shallow screen.
The second Special
has had a lot of work carried out on it with
all of the mechanical parts restored some
20 years ago. Most of the ash frame has been
replaced but it now needs to be repanelled
as can be seen from the picture. The car has
a body that is similar to the first one but
there are detail differences that suggest
that the car may not have been bodied by Morris
Motors. It does have a supplier's plate stating
that it was supplied by The Morris Garages
of Oxford which is about as close as it will
ever get to being an MG!
In the excitement of
finding such rare vehicles one important fact
was overlooked - garages only have a finite
amount of space. The result is that one or
more cars have to be sold to make room. The
webmaster's pre-Series 1935 Eight two door
saloon with sliding head has to be sold as
a result. The car had a total bare metal respray
and restoration and comes with a full MOT
and four new tyres for £3500. More details
of the restoration can be found here.
Contact the webmaster for further details.
These pictures show one of
the later Morrises in the form of a 1974 Suntor camper
badged as Austin-Morris. Who said that the last Morris
was made in 1983?
It is in remarkably good condition
although it could do with a clean!
We can provide a vehicle dating
service for Morris vehicles and have just
