EXCLUSIVE
Marque devotee reveals bid to put Bristol-based collection on show
A Morris Minor aficionado has revealed his ambition of creating amuseum dedicated entirely to the first million-selling British motor.
Martin Stoker, from Bristol, runs the online Morris Minor Owners Community group on Facebook, has a collection of 20 examples of the Alec Issigonis-designed big-seller and says that he has been inspired by the success of recently opened museums – particularly the County Classics Motor Museum in Taunton and the Great British Car Journey in Derbyshire. He told CCW: ‘I’m trying to put together a collection of every variant ever made, from the lowlights right the way through to the very last models – there’s about 28 in all – and the dream would be to have them all on show, from concours to unrestored cars.
‘If I had deeper pockets it might be a collection of Ferraris that I’d be trying to put together, but what people love about the Morris Minor is the affordability and they’re very much people’s cars. It’s an ambitious plan at the moment and ultimately what it needs is finding a suitable venue, which could be anything from an old supermarket to a disused petrol station – ideally a site where you could include a café as part of the attraction and encourage younger enthusiasts to bring their cars along. Think of it as a bit like The Great British Car Journey – which I love – but for Morris Minors.’
Martin displayed two unrestored 1950 MM ‘lowlight’ Minors at the Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show last month and hopes that they will form part of the display. He is hoping to turn one of them into a replica of the Mosquito, the 1940s prototypes that formed the basis of the production Mino
