Description
1960 Morris Mini-Minor for sale
19, 000 miles from new
Original service book and sales invoice
Totally original condition and never welded
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION
Very early examples of the ground-breaking Mini are particularly sought after, and few survivors will be as original as this exceptional 1960 Morris Mini-Minor.
Built during the first full year of production, it was invoiced to its first owner – Miss E Muxlow of Sleaford in Lincolnshire – on 1 October 1960. Miss Muxlow bought it via Holland Bros Ltd, the local BMC distributor, which had a garage on Carre Street, Sleaford. The original invoice is still part of the car’s remarkable history file and shows that the Morris Mini-Minor cost her a total of £558 9s 8d, against which she was offered £75 as part-exchange on her old car.
An accompanying receipt shows that Miss Muxlow paid the balance on 2 November 1960, and the file even includes the car’s Maintenance Service Voucher Book. This records regular servicing during its early years, up to 17 March 1965, when it had covered 5990 miles.
It’s thought that the Mini remained in the Sleaford area even after it had passed to subsequent owners in the 1980s and beyond. It was used sparingly – it has still covered only 19, 000 miles – but its ‘timewarp’ condition is testament to the fact that it has obviously been diligently maintained.
The paintwork, for example, is original, as are the front and rear subframes. The 848cc engine has never been removed and the bodywork has never been welded. The interior is also untouched and charming early touches abound, such as the floor-mounted starter button. The car even comes with the optional wicker baskets that offered extra storage beneath the rear seats in the compact cabin.
Now being offered for sale at the Classic Motor Hub, this Morris Mini-Minor comes with a Driver’s Handbook, a copy of the AA Members Handbook for 1966-67, and the original Unipart anti-freeze sticker is even still in the windscreen. It represents a rare chance to acquire an unrestored, perfectly preserved and totally original example of this timeless classic.
MODEL HISTORY
When it was launched in 1959, the Mini revolutionised the small-car market in the same way that the Austin Seven had done more than 30 years earlier. Perhaps it was little wonder that the car was initially sold under the Austin Seven name, as well as the Morris Mini-Minor, before becoming known as simply the Mini.
Conceived as a way of offering an economical and practical small car in the aftermath of the Suez Crisis and subsequent petrol rationing, the Mini’s genius lay in its packaging. Designed by a team led by Alec Issigonis, it was only 10ft long but featured room inside for four people, thanks to the fact that the four-cylinder engine was mounted transversely and drove the front wheels – a simple but hugely effective layout that would set the template for all small cars.
In the Mini, the four-speed gearbox was in the sump and shared the engine’s oil supply, and there was even innovation to be found in the suspension system. Alex Moulton came up with a design that used compact rubber cones instead of conventional springs, and although it was replaced by a fluid-based Hydrolastic system in 1964, the ‘dry’ rubber cones were fitted again from 1969 onwards.
Space was maximised inside thanks to the use of sliding windows, while the doors were opened via a pull-cord rather than a handle. It was a spartan arrangement that reflected Issigonis’s desire that the Mini should be simple family transport – or a car ‘for the district nurse’, as he put it.
However, its compact dimensions and ‘wheel at each corner’ stance gave it superb handling, and enthusiastic drivers quickly realised it could handle more power. The standard car was launched with an 848cc engine, which would be enlarged to 998cc, 1098cc and then 1275cc. From 1961 onwards, there was also the option of the Mini Cooper, which was conceived by racing-car constructor John Cooper and introduced with a tuned 997cc engine plus front disc brakes.
Two years later, the 1071cc Cooper S came along, and these ‘hot’ Minis enjoyed huge success in international motorsport, particularly rallying; between 1964 and 1967, a Cooper S won the Monte Carlo Rally three times in four years.
Although it became an enduring symbol of the 1960s – whether buzzing through rally stages or pottering down high streets – Mini production lasted until 2000. Countless variants were produced, from saloons to estates and panel vans, and not only is it consistently ranked as being among the most significant cars ever made, it remains one of the most beloved.
