Mike Hardy's Memories

By Mike Hardy
1st July 1961 - 1st December 1964

The Car
I went to Loughborough CAT (College of Advanced Technology – now University) in 1960 and realised early on that local public transport was non-existent and getting back to Liverpool to see my girlfriend involved hitchhiking for most of the weekend.

That settled it – I had to have a car. In those heady pre-MOT days there really was an amazing choice but even a dumb 18 year old like me had to be a bit wary of picking up a triple-carb Armstrong Siddley or vintage Rolls Royce from the local scrapyard or a Ferrari from Measham auctions (yes – really – the Rolls and Armstrong S were going for a song and the Ferrari was in with a load of battered commercials!).

After rejecting a very tidy Riley 9 (too dear) and flashy MG TC (steering so dodgy that you could do a full turn of the steering wheel without altering the course of the car at all) I finally settled on a modest 1938 Morris 8 Series 1 saloon. Even in mid 1960, this was an astronomical £50 and far beyond the means of a penniless student like me so it was Dad to the rescue. I am slightly embarrassed to say that I never offered to return the loan but I don’t suppose he ever expected me to.

The car was wonderful. Two tone (as all the Series 1 were I believe, well ahead of their time), mine was appropriately black and blue and had a giant motor of about 814cc as I recall and weighed several tons. I am sure about that bit as I spent many happy hours pushing it. It had many interesting features including:

• No boot. Luggage rode inside with the passengers if there was any room left.
• No heater. So? – we had perfectly good rugs and blankets.
• A 6 volt electrical system. This meant that the starter motor never operated in the winter (and not often in the summer either) so I always parked on a hill facing down if at all possible.
• In those heady days, dipping headlights were a luxury. The Morris solved the problem by turning the outside light off altogether and pulling the whole nearside lamp down with a solenoid – more on this shortly.
• Because of this it had a gorgeous little chrome slider above the driver’s door which pulled a roller blind up over the (tiny) back window to stop the ignorant chap behind dazzling you!
• It was so joyfully narrow that you were intimately close to the front seat passenger
• The doors were hinged at the back which made it very easy to get in and out but also very easy to lose a door to the wind if you hadn’t shut it properly.

The photos attached are borrowed (stolen really – thanks to the owners) – as I said mine was the blue & black variety.

Some Experiences

Coming back from the Lake District once, the dynamo (forerunner to the alternator) had packed up so the tiny 6V battery was on its last legs. I bump started the car in Windermere and set out for Liverpool. There were no electrical devices at all in the car (radio etc) so once running the dynamo produced enough charge to fire the sparking plugs. All was well until reaching Aintree, the rain started. I foolishly turned the wiper (yes – singular – why would the passenger need one?) on and that was it! Nothing left for the sparking plugs so they gave up. After another push start, I made it home through the rain in the dark with no wiper and no lights. Nobody even noticed.

After leaving the car for a week at Christmas – about 1963 I think, I returned to find it frozen up and devoid of any electrics. OK – bump start again but I had foolishly parked it against a wall and had to push it back about 10 feet to be able to swing onto the hill. Heaving, sweating, busting a gut I was in no mood for a flashlight in my eyes and a deep voice saying “Now then – is this your car Sir?”
“No officer, I just like pushing other people’s cars around on the ice for fun”, I wittily replied. To my shame, the car suddenly shot backwards as the large PC applied his muscle and within minutes I was mobile again. And what’s more not even a request to see my licence. Can you imagine that today?

Sadly the end for the Morris 8 came after a disgracefully boozy Liverpool party. I went with some friends (I think – it’s all a bit hazy) to a do off the East Lancs road, near Queens Drive in Liverpool. After the party and with a full load (in every sense) I set off home. I mentioned that the Morris 8 didn’t have a heater so obviously no demister either. It also had a tiny windscreen and being low on petrol (as ever) I took a short cut across the centre of the dual carriageway. Unfortunately there was a lamp standard which was much too high for me to see, so I clipped it on the way past. The following morning (or possibly afternoon) when I went out to the car I was horrified to find that the running board on the driver’s side had been torn off. Even worse, the bobby who pointed it out to me had noticed that the section of chassis which should have been behind it had been replaced with a few gobs of rust. The car did have a very “saggy” look, I have to admit. I believe technically they called it a broken back.

What a shame – it went to the scrap yard with its lovely blue leather seats and a lot of my memories.

PS I just remembered the registration number - ANR 965. Who says oldies can't remember anything?

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