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Now 42, Nigel admits to cruising around in a
MkIII Cortina with bubble arches and the ubiquitous 'Wolfies' in his youth, and has harboured a desire
for a hot rod ever since, but only acted on his ambition when he needed a van for his business.
"I didn't want to be white van man, and wanted something to promote the business. I saw the J van
in Street Gasser, the NSRA magazine, although I didn't know what it was!" Trekking down to Poole in
Dorset he fell in love with the shape and the period look, not even noticing the fact that it was a
"moss covered rust bucket, with the doors and motor not fitted." |
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| As bought and partway through! The extent
of metal fabrication required is obvious here! |
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It turns out this a particular van had already been through a few incarnations, and back in the 70's when
Nigel was tolling around in his MKIII, it had sported a mid-mounted Chevy V8 and a pair of gullwing
doors. Hey, it was the decade taste forgot remember! Someone had started a rebuild, installing a
Sherpa rear axle and a subframe to support the floor as the original was long gone. A 2.8V6 came with
the van, and the doors had been hinged almost conventionally, though originally they were designed to
slide, as they do again now. "It was disgusting," reports Nigel, "It was two feet in the air with wide
wheels and General Grabber tyres." |
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Burnham Autos was contacted with a view to
resurrecting the van, and Nigel has nothing but praise for the company. "They built my idea, although
a couple of things changed along the way, such as the paint scheme and wheels. It drives like a
production car. The power steering gives superb driveability and it really holds the road." It's also
got air bag suspension, something Nigel decided upon when he took the van to Burnham Autos and saw an
installation in the workshop. "I thought, 'That looks like fun,' and though I originally wanted them
for a bit of a gimmick so I could lower the van for custom shows and raise it for classic shows (full
suspension height is the same as stock ride height - Ed) they're superb. It's also useful for hauling
things to the van, as I can lower it for loading then adjust the ride height to compensate for the
weight in the back!"
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It's quite easy to see how some
people mistake the Morris for a Renault or similar French van. After all, they're not exactly common
sights on the road these days.
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Granny annexed
With the van in Burnham Autos workshop down
in Kent
work began on the transformation. The original chassis was retained, along with the 2x2in subframe
and Sherpa axle, though a MKII Granada front clip was grafted in, complete with power steering.
Once the rack was turned and remounted so it lined up with the almost vertical column, an early
Morris Minor spoked wheel was added.
That Sherpa axle was
deemed suitable for re-use, though it is now mounted on a pair of long triangulated trailing
arms - an idea pinched from a '63 Chevy pick-up - solid mounted to the axle and pivoting on
'59 Chevy bushes at the forward end, chosen for their size. A Panhard rod keeps lateral
movement in check.
At the front the Air Ride Technologies air bags
locate where the springs used to be on the A arms, with the shocks relocated to the rear of
the lower arms, while at the rear the bags are mounted on top of the trailing arms, the
compressor and tank living under the floor to one side of the propshaft.
A Granada was relieved of its 2.8L engine and
autobox, the cylinder heads treated to an unleaded conversion and the top end rebuilt, before a
fresh carb was added. Essentially stock, Nigel now finds himself shifting through the gears
and is after more power, though there's just no room for a bigger engine. The guys at Burnham
Autos fabricated a super-snug engine cover that really couldn't fit any better, but Nigel still
finds people saying they expected him to have one leg when they see the legroom round the
pedals!
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| It's a tight squeeze and
legroom is somewhat cramped to say the least, but a carburetted 2.8 V6 and autobox from a
Granada just fit on made-to-measure engine cover. Now he's used to it Nigel would like
something bigger, but where'll he put it? Later model 2.9i may be on the cards.
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| Note how the interior side
panels echo the shape of the exterior, not only the two tone but also the curve in the lower
section. Nigel uses the van for work, including hauling furniture for his other business, an interior
design company. Needless to say, the cargo space is covered in thick cardboard first to prevent
damaging the carpet or vinyl side panels.
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| Vantastic |
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It was perhaps the bodywork that presented the most
problems during the rebuild, or more accurately the most work, as the problems were all overcome.
We mentioned the van had been a 'rustbucket' when Nigel found it, and there really isn't a lot of the
original steel left now. Parts of the front wings are stock, though they required extensive repairs
before being banded to cover the new, wider track. The inner and outer front valance are scratch-built,
as are both lower rear side panels from the body moulding down.
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These were made in-house on an English Wheel.
New sills, deepened by 2in to visually lower the van, were fabricated and the B posts were moved
forward 2in to their original locations, as they'd been moved rearwards to enable the doors to
be hinged.
All four doors were re-skinned
once the frames had been repaired and a longer, lower rear valance now lives below the rear
doors, complete with frenched licence plate recess. The rear arches were originally lorry arches,
modified and skirted until the shape looked right for the van. More metalwork was involved in
the new floor, new dash, the previously mentioned engine cover, and a scratchbuilt fuel tank, as
well as an overhead console that houses the air gauges, stereo, and wiper mechanisms from Pop
Brown's. Even the steel roof insert required repairs, though the bonnet is original!
Nigel had originally planned to finish the Morris in
dark blue and cream, but one day by chance spotted a VW van painted in two-tone cream and decided his
van would look much better in these colours, turning the bare metal van over to CC Racing, who are
conveniently located almost next door to Burnham Autos, for the paintwork, before having it sign
written in a period style by someone known only as Andy to advertise his business. And yes, that is
his real phone number! Once the colour scheme had been changed Nigel decided his original choice of
billet wheels wasn't going to suit the van, and
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Morris couldn't be mistaken for a stocker, through raising it gets Nigel into classic shows
without a problem. The headlights came with the van, through whether they're original is open
to debate. Real steels, trim rings and caps lend a hot rod look to this daily delivery. |
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as he'd always wanted it to have a hot rod style, steels and whitewalls seemed the natural
way to go, though even this wasn't easy. Because of the track width a very specific offset was required,
which couldn't be supplied, so a set of Stockton Wheel Company steels were purchased, the rims cut from
the centres and moved by 5/8in to achieve the offset,aided by some modification to the centres of the
wheels around the lug nut holes. North Hants Tyres had no problem supplying the whitewall radials.
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| Two-tone trim |
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Burnham Autos was also responsible for the interior,
but not before insulating the entire inside for warmth and to reduce drumming. After all the van was
intended to be, and is, a daily driver and business promo vehicle, so needs to be warm in winter. To
this end, a pair of Mini heaters were installed, one on each side of the cabin, for 'proper nice
warmness', according to Paul Burnham, with scant regard for grammar! |
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Two-tone vinyl covers the interior,
the split between the colours echoing the exterior paintwork on the side panels. The headliner
is also cream vinyl. A pair of Granada electric seats on Bunham-fabricated risers takes care
of seating arrangements, while the floor and engine cover are covered in beige carpet with bound
edges. This latter includes a map pocket for usability, the same reason there are compartments
like glove boxes in the door steps. New glass was fitted all round by Site Glass (01474 815254),
with early Mini latches used on the sliding door windows.
But what do the public, customers
and show goers think of the Morris. "I've been totally amazed by the response," says Nigel,
"because it's a commercial vehicle, it's sign written, and I didn't build it myself. When I won
Best Show at Drayton Manor it blew me
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New very early Mini
white faced gauges were sourced through Europa to complete the custom dash, and a Lokar shifter
now selects gears. Note the speaker grilles in the upholstery on the dash, as well as individual
heater controls for each side of the cabin! |
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away - there was a tear running down my cheek I was so
knocked back by the roar of the crowd when I drove into the
arena. Even restorers love it. A couple came to one classic show specifically to have a go at me as
they'd heard what I'd done, but changed their mind when they saw it! And customers just love it. It
definitely works as a promotional vehicle, better than I could have hoped for. It's also fulfilled a
boyhood dream to have a Custom Car feature too!" Well, we aim to please Nigel!
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Baines Rubber in Tonbridge supplied all
the new window rubbers, while aftermarket rear lights now live on custom mounting plinths on the rear
corners, replacing the VW lights that were on the fenders when the van was purchased. A pair of London
taxi bumpers were used to make the front bumpers, the remaining corners used for rear quarter bumpers,
all re-chromed of course. |
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