View attachment 127704
Morris 1100 by
Andrew Priest (Aushiker), on Flickr
My first every motor vehicle was a New Zealand assembled, Alec Issigonis (he designed the Mini) designed ADO016, which was in my case marketed as a Morris 1100. The other common variant was an Austin 1100, but I came from a Morris family so there is no way I could have an Austin. The funny thing was, they are the same car!
I got my Morris 1100 which was fairly an unusual vehicle at the time, being front wheel drive, when I was 18. Even though one could get their licence at 16 in NZ I didn't get my licence until I was 18. I think if memory serves me well my Morris 1100 cost NZ$1,000. I am sure I spent way more than that keeping it going ... front wheel drive in the "70s was not exactly reliable technology.
I still remember to this day the truck like four on the floor gear shift. A change from first to second or third to fourth would just about have the gear lever in the back seat ...
I haven't seen one in years, well since I moved to Australia in '82 and didn't think they where ever popular here so I was quite chuffed to see one today on my walk with Willow. It brought the memories flooding back ... oh the freedom of owning your first car.
For the Poms and Kiwi's here, my next vehicle was a
Vauxhall Victor 2000, a Ford Cortina killer in its day
. It was a four cylinder, but the design of the engine bay meant one could only ever change three spark plugs. The fourth one became a permanent fixture. It was never "the" car to own but, to be really cool back then one had to have
Zephyer Six Mark III. Sadly I never got one.