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1966 MORRIS MINI DE LUXE<br />
THE BUILD CONTINUED...<br />
Replacement parts included<br />
the rear subframe and quarter<br />
panels, and rear-wheel arches.<br />
“The paintwork was a quick blow-over<br />
job, covered in micro blisters”<br />
one penny. According to the Bank of<br />
England’s inflation calculator, that is<br />
equivalent to £9,646 at 2016 prices,”<br />
Kevin reveals.<br />
The original bill of sale also shows that<br />
options fitted from new were: front seat<br />
belts, two wing mirrors, under sealing, a<br />
parking light and two interior door<br />
handles (replacing the standard cable<br />
type door releases). “When anyone tells<br />
me at a show that the car should have<br />
door cables, I politely point them towards<br />
the copy of the bill of sale that I always<br />
carry in the car. Also, dad changed his to<br />
door handles so I feel completely justified<br />
in retaining this minor modification,”<br />
smiles Kevin.<br />
FUT383D covered just over 60,000<br />
miles in its first 50 years and only about<br />
600 miles between 2010 and 2016. It<br />
The original Morris Minor badge.<br />
remained the property of its first owner<br />
for 34 years before being passed on to her<br />
son in 2000. Then latterly has gone<br />
through the hands of several motor<br />
traders with Kevin becoming its fifth<br />
owner. “It is a ‘matching numbers’ car,<br />
meaning that it still retains its original<br />
body shell and engine,” Kevin says.<br />
FUN ON THE ROAD<br />
Kevin and Helen then had some fun<br />
taking ‘Morris’, as they had named him,<br />
to a few shows that year, but it was clear<br />
that it was going to take a lot of work to<br />
keep him roadworthy in the long-term.<br />
“The paintwork was a quick blow-over<br />
job, covered in micro blisters," says Kevin.<br />
“There were also many ominous rust<br />
bubbles trying to force their way through<br />
the bodywork. It was clear that without<br />
intervention Morris would not be<br />
roadworthy for too much longer.”<br />
Even though Kevin’s dad had rebuilt<br />
three written-off cars in his time, Kevin<br />
was better qualified as a trombonist,<br />
rather than a mechanic. Therefore, he<br />
needed to find somewhere that could do<br />
justice to Morris. In the end, he entrusted<br />
him to the capable hands of Somerford<br />
<strong>Mini</strong>, in Calne, Wiltshire, just over 150<br />
miles from home.<br />
66
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