Registration - TNK 962J

Chassis No. - MHS82D28007A

M.O.T. - 8th May 2024

Odometer - 81,641

The Morris 1800 (aka ‘Land Crab’) and its badge-engineered Austin and Wolseley stable mates were always relatively rare sights on our roads, but have now long since passed in the ‘once in a blue moon’ category. This very original-looking MKII example teams deep blue bodywork with mid-blue vinyl interior trim and matching carpets. It apparently began life with automatic transmission, but somewhere along the way has been converted to manual. We understand the vendor purchased ‘TNK 962J’ from a friend in 2019, since when it has seen very little use, though has been dry stored and regularly started. He presently considers the car’s B Series engine to be in ‘excellent’ order, and classes the four-speed gearbox, four-door bodywork and upholstery as ‘good’, and the paintwork as ‘average’. According to Experian Autocheck, the venerable Morris has had 11 keepers to date, while the odometer registers a very credible total mileage of 81,641.

Voted European Car of the Year for 1965, BMC’s 1800 could be considered a large version of its 1100/1300 models, in that it featured a transversely-mounted engine driving the front wheels – in this case the 1800 B Series unit as found in the MGB. The MKII version of 1968 brought a selection of minor cosmetic changes but also featured larger wheels and a 5bhp hike in power, thanks to an increase in the engine’s compression ratio. Total production of the model line-up was some 352,000 units in just over a decade, with the most common version being the Austin (221,000) followed by the Morris (95,271) and then the Wolseley (35,597). Many have been lost to corrosion over the years, while others have sadly been destroyed by the banger racing fraternity, for whom the uncommonly rigid bodyshell is a big plus. According to the ‘How Many Left’ website, ‘TNK 962J’ is arguably one of only 63 street legal standard Morris examples remaining.

In summary:

• An apparently very original and now rare example
• At sometime converted from automatic to manual transmission
• A seemingly very usable family classic