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Details
1935 MORRIS EIGHT TOURER
Registration No. BAF 892
Chassis No. S1/E53187
Engine No. 50463
Blue with blue interior
Engine: four cylinders, side valve, single SU carburettor, 918.6cc, 23.5bhp at 4000rpm; Gearbox: manual three speed, synchromesh on 2nd and top; Suspension: beam front axle, live rear axle, half elliptic leaf springs all round; Brakes: four-wheel hydraulically operated drum. Right and drive.
The solid, well made 11.9hp Cowley and its slightly larger sister the Oxford served Morris well through the 1920s, selling in great quantities. With the slump of 1928, sales of mid-priced popular cars began to slide and Morris brought in the Minor as its entry in the 'baby car' class. The Minor really was none too successful and it took six long years before the company found another best-seller in its 8hp Eight of 1934. Utterly conventional, cheapness itself to run and maintain, the Eight was offered as a roomy little saloon or a trim four-seater tourer. Perfectly practical, with an easily erected hood and sidescreen, the tourer seemed to last for ever and was quite a performer. Practical Motorist found it good for over 58mph, although most were happier cruising at 45mph.
And so this Eight was an appropriate choice, in the much-loved television series All Creatures Great and Small, for James Herriot, the impecunious young veterinary surgeon embarking on his new career fifty years ago in the Yorkshire Dales. James and the Eight tourer featured in many memorable adventures. The present owner heard that the car lived in the Manchester area and although the owner was reluctant to sell a bargain was struck after a complicated exchange deal and the Eight joined a museum collection in 1989. Since then it has won the round-Britain Great British Film Rally. This well turned out example of one of the most popular British cars of the 1930s may need simple recommissioning, after which it should provide economical 'high days and holidays' motoring, when its intriguing history might well be a talking point.
Registration No. BAF 892
Chassis No. S1/E53187
Engine No. 50463
Blue with blue interior
Engine: four cylinders, side valve, single SU carburettor, 918.6cc, 23.5bhp at 4000rpm; Gearbox: manual three speed, synchromesh on 2nd and top; Suspension: beam front axle, live rear axle, half elliptic leaf springs all round; Brakes: four-wheel hydraulically operated drum. Right and drive.
The solid, well made 11.9hp Cowley and its slightly larger sister the Oxford served Morris well through the 1920s, selling in great quantities. With the slump of 1928, sales of mid-priced popular cars began to slide and Morris brought in the Minor as its entry in the 'baby car' class. The Minor really was none too successful and it took six long years before the company found another best-seller in its 8hp Eight of 1934. Utterly conventional, cheapness itself to run and maintain, the Eight was offered as a roomy little saloon or a trim four-seater tourer. Perfectly practical, with an easily erected hood and sidescreen, the tourer seemed to last for ever and was quite a performer. Practical Motorist found it good for over 58mph, although most were happier cruising at 45mph.
And so this Eight was an appropriate choice, in the much-loved television series All Creatures Great and Small, for James Herriot, the impecunious young veterinary surgeon embarking on his new career fifty years ago in the Yorkshire Dales. James and the Eight tourer featured in many memorable adventures. The present owner heard that the car lived in the Manchester area and although the owner was reluctant to sell a bargain was struck after a complicated exchange deal and the Eight joined a museum collection in 1989. Since then it has won the round-Britain Great British Film Rally. This well turned out example of one of the most popular British cars of the 1930s may need simple recommissioning, after which it should provide economical 'high days and holidays' motoring, when its intriguing history might well be a talking point.