Description
Green & Roofless Morris Minor roadster pickup is up for sale.
I’ve owned the car since 1980 & it’s been built from a GPO Engineering van into the extensively modified open top machine that it is today, via stints as a 70’s street machine, an 80’s roof chopped van to its current guise as a corner burning road racer which first appeared in 1992.
It is based on a 1957 Morris Minor LCV but the only remaining parts from that are the scuttle & lower bulkhead, the outer door skins & the rear body sides. Everything else has been custom built over the last 40+ years.
The original van body was cut down into a pickup with the windscreen surround chopped to give a low but usable screen. Door tops & rear sides of cab have been panelled over to complete the roadster look. The rear has a custom aluminium tailgate with twin fuel fillers & an opening aluminium tonneau cover with a high level Varis carbon wing. Fibreglass Traveller wings cover the 8 x 18 rear wheels. The front end is a one piece fibreglass moulding incorporating a deep front spoiler, custom grille & additional lights & covers the 7 x 17 front wheels. Paint is VW Cliff Green 73 twin pack.
There are fully functional carbon ground effects pieces on front & rear of car & fully ducted cooling & air feed for brakes, carburettors, oil & water cooling.
Inside it are two custom built upholstered aluminium bucket seats, carbon interior panels, a custom centre console, ancillary gauges & switchgear & a big sound system. There’s a removable carbon tonneau cover over the passenger seat & a full fabric tonneau for the cockpit for when it’s parked. There is no roof!
Chassis is semi spaceframe with new front & rear frame rails & an integrated 6 point roll cage which incorporates B/ C post & scuttle brace & all is welded to the body, giving a very stiff structure for an open top car.
The chassis locates a custom built rear suspension with coilovers, 3 trailing links, & a Panhard rod on a disc brake equipped Ford RS 2000 rear axle & a Lotus / Triumph front suspension with coilovers, Lotus Eclat discs & a custom built adjustable anti roll bar. A custom Ford Escort pedal box is fitted onto the bulkhead with remote adjustable brake bias control & a hydraulic clutch.
The unique powerunit is set back 12 inches from the original mounting position & comprises of a 1340cc BMC A series engine mated to a Toyota AE86 T50 5 speed gearbox via a Dellow aluminium bellhousing.
The engine is a replica Morris Engines XSP unit as fitted to 1968 Le Mans Sprite with a Works Weslake cross flow 8 port head, billet cam & custom made cast inlet manifold with twin 40 IDF Webers. It delivers 100hp at the rear wheels & enough torque to make the lightweight car very driveable.
This is a super turnkey hot rod that is immediately usable, but it has 30 years old paintwork so there are a few small chips & cracks. There is no rust in the car (there isn’t much steel left in it) & all of the structural welding is in great shape. Full build details come with the car, together with a complete spare 1275cc XSP engine, RS 2000 axle, T50 gearbox & Dellow conversion bellhousing.
Contact me if you have any further questions.
Sam Anker
the details below
