1956 Morris Minor Convertible

When I was approaching my 40th birthday, my wife reckoned that something old with four wheels would be less complicated than something young with two legs, so I bought my first old car, a Frogeye Austin Healey Sprite. Since then I have had a succession of old classics, all of which I’ve worked on and improved. As I reached my 70’s, owning a “woodie” Morris Minor Traveller, I considered what I would really wish for as my last old classic. Obviously it had to be a Jaguar XK120 or a Morris Minor Convertible. My funds could not stretch anywhere near a Jag, so I sold my “woodie” and started a hunt for a Morris Minor convertible. After nearly a year, I came across one advertised in Northern Ireland that looked just right. I took the boat across., met the owner, and then, outside Belfast, met Betsy. After a run when she was not running well, I left a deposit and asked her to be serviced, as I intended to drive her home to Ayr from the ferry. Next week, I returned with the cash and a strong companion as guard, collected Betsy, and drove her home via the ferry crossing. She just looked perfect but was running a bit rough. My highly skilled mechanic friend, who spends some of his time on GT Racing Cars, soon had her running sweetly as she does right up till now. I contacted the lady who was her owner from 2006, the earliest name available, and she was able to tell me that her family christened her “Betsy” and that extensive restoration was carried out in 2007. They had loved Betsy and were sorry to part with her. The next owner only kept her for a short time before I bought her in 2015. She originally left the factory as a two-door saloon and, at some point, which I am trying to find out, was very expertly altered to a convertible with a 1275cc engine. Servo brakes were fitted in 2007, and I replaced the oversize tyres (165) with the correct 155 tyres, so she now looks perfectly original in appearance. She is truly a dream to drive.