The adventures of Mossie, the remarkable Morris Minor

What is the world coming to with young people today – with their music, their clothes, their hairstyles -and their buying and restoring a 1956 Morris Minor Series II when they were just 16? This is precisely what Andie did, and he even used his Morris as a daily driver.

Andie’s classic car journey began in December 2022, but it seemed inevitable that he would one day acquire a Morris Minor. “When I was growing up, my dad had a blue Morris Minor Convertible, which I loved. We would go to shows and events in it, and sometimes my dad would pick me up from school in the Morris”. In addition, in 2017, a 1961 Traveller that Andie’s grandfather bought new finally returned to the road – a story we will feature in another blog later this year.

Meanwhile, Andie turned sixteen, an age when wise young people focus on GCSE study and future classic car ownership. He explains:

An email was circulated around the Manchester branch of the Morris Minor Owners’ Club stating that an elderly gentleman was moving into a retirement home and his car needed a new owner. My dad and I liked the looks and the ‘vibe’ of the car, and we thought that, as this Minor was not in too original a condition, this gave me scope to modify it to how I wanted it.

So, Andie and his father slowly renovated the Morris. On turning 17 in September 2023, he commenced driving lessons in a Citroën C1 and passed his test that December. Andie considered driving that model of Citroën, which was his sister’s, only to learn it would be £2,000 cheaper to insure the Morris! The mighty car from Cowley became his everyday transport, commuting Andie to his electrical and electronic engineering college course. He is now embarking on a degree in these subjects.

The British Motor Corporation facelifted the Minor in 1954 with the notable addition of a horizontally barred radiator grille. The  De Luxe saloon came with overriders, twin sun visors, leather upholstery and a recirculatory heater as standard. Andie’s is one of the last Series IIs, as BMC introduced the 1000 in 1956, and he has made quite a few alterations to ‘Mossie the Minor’. These include extensive re-wiring and “I have recently rebuilt a replacement engine and gearbox, as the original running gear was becoming very worn out”.

Andie has also custom-built much of the interior and installed front seats from a Jaguar XJ-S and a full sound system with a subwoofer in the boot. However, he has retained the Minor’s trafficators – a charming touch harking back to the days of Teddy Boys, National Service and the BBC Light Programme.

Owning a classic car is almost guaranteed to be a form of learning curve, and Andie’s Morris is no exception:

Having a classic car has taught me a great deal about mechanics and electrics and has given me considerable confidence in taking things apart and fixing them. With the Morris, I swapped the engine, rebuilt the gearbox and differential and swapped the exhaust. I even rewired a friend’s MGB after it was submerged in a flood.

Mossie’s recent adventures include a Morris Minor Owners’ Club Young Members Road Trip around the Causeway coastal route of Northern Ireland. The main picture shows Mossie and Andie in the company of fellow young Morris Minor owners, Hazel and Rhys, while on this epic journey.

In addition, Mossie behaved faultlessly on a 730-mile journey from Manchester to Cornwall and back, as befitting “The World’s Best Small Car Buy”. You can follow his progress on Instagram  here - https://www.instagram.com/tatbucket/

Perhaps the most notable aspect of Andie’s Morris is the sheer age gulf between owner and car. This, let us remind ourselves, is a vehicle that predates his date for birth by half a century, for Mossy is a car from Andie’s great-grandparents' generation. The equivalent for someone of my age (born 1969) would be to own a 1919 Morris Oxford ‘Bullnose’.

The classic car world is constantly evolving, growing, and developing. And owners such as Andie represent its future. Indeed, “Since I started driving the Morris Minor – and it was supposed to be a ‘project car’ - I decided to buy an MGB GT to restomod”.

But that really is another story!

With thanks to Andie Holker for his time.

With thanks to Andie Holker for the permission to use the images in this blog.