Minor LCV Register
Vans and Pick Up's 1953-1971
Minor Vans, freezing in winter, unbearable in summer, little acceleration and even less brakes, forever with a rattle from some hidden depth - what on earth is their fascination?
During the early 1980s the van was quite a common sight, still very much in use by the jobbing builder, electrician, etc., although most were in the further advances of the 'well used category'. As time went on though, their sightings became rarer and rarer, and it is quite noticeable that into the 1990s, they have become very rare indeed, compared to saloons and travellers. The cult of the Morris Minor, which has been going for many years, had never really involved the poor old working vans and pick-ups, and consequently when the 'general builders' wanted their new Escort van or such like, the old trusty steed more often than not went straight to that great scrap yard in the sky! Only in the past ten years has a real and genuine interest emerged for the LCV, and now I do feel that there are many more, who are just 'LCV nuts'.
You cannot really put a finger on why these wretched vehicles are so special, but they really are! I suppose that one of the main things with vans is that they need not be all the same. For many indeed were delivered ex works in primer, etc., and so their variation in colour schemes and logos were endless. Indeed now, one of the most pleasing sights around is a good condition, van/pick-up fully sign written and being used as an everyday working advert.
'The Minor 1000 LCV Register' was created by Dave Thomas specifically for all LCVs built from 1956 onwards, as Peter Hanby has, for many years now, run the Series II Register excellently. The Minor LCV Register is dedicated to the preservation, use, restoration, as well as the historical study of all Minor LCVs, Morris and Austin no matter what condition, concourse or just rough! If you have a Minor LCV then we are he club for you.
How many are left out of the 326,000 or so produced, heaven knows, but however far we look and however many people are searching, we can only guess that a quarter of these will come onto the register, but this will increase as time goes by. The next thing to do is to save, if possible, every single one of them and to enter them on the register! This can now be done on line even if you do not wish to join the club, register your LCV now! We now know of surviving examples from every corner of the world.