1966 Morris Minor Van

Recently restored as a father and son project that took four years to complete, this lovely little Morris Minor van still features its original engine and gearbox. 

However, the pair weren’t afraid to spend money where it was necessary, so almost everything else has either been refurbished, restored or replaced with top-quality new components.

They now find themselves needing the space, which explains its sale. Reading between the lines, we also suspect that they, like so many others, derive their classic car pleasure in the restoration of their vehicles rather than in the driving of them, which means that you might be able to pick up a bargain.

The coachwork is utterly solid including the inner sills, which were replaced during the van’s restoration. A lot of the body panels on the van were different colours when they bought it, so someone had gone to a lot of trouble - and no little expense - in preparing the van for a forthcoming restoration prior to them buying it.

The Ivory White paintwork is a good, solid job and has been lovingly machine polished to bring it to the condition you see today. Even so, the owner, a self-confessed perfectionist, isn’t 100% happy with the result, blaming it on poorer quality modern paint than he is used to using. 

We think that he might be being overly cautious but why not contact him and arrange to go and check it out for yourself? He’s a lovely chap and only too happy to chat about the van and the work he and his son have put into it!

The van was fitted with new lights and myriad new rubber seals during reassembly, along with some new chromework including the door handles and hubcaps. It sits on four black steel wheels, complete with chrome hubcaps. The tyres are new and matching, which is further evidence of the careful and competent restoration they’ve done.

If it were ours, we’d be tempted to replace the rear rubber window seals, which let the car down in our opinion. Other than that it is ready to drive and enjoy during the forthcoming summer season.

The seats, which are finished in an attractive grey and blue colour scheme, were already fitted to the car and so needed no attention. The carpets were replaced though, as were the door cards and the entire wiring loom, which should keep Lucas, The Prince of Darkness, at bay…

Interestingly, the passenger seats folds up and forward to allow the carriage of longer items than would otherwise be the case. This is a lovely period feature that just reinforces how well thought out the Morris Minor was as a working vehicle in its time.

The 1098cc engine and gearbox are believed to be the originals, were in good order so were left well alone. The vendor has investigated and found the "1100" tag on the block by the manifolds and tells us that it now runs “as sweet as a nut”. The engine bay is clean and nicely detailed.

The braking system is all new bar the rear drums, and the wiring loom was also completely replaced. As you can see from the invoices on the listing, dozens of smaller, seemingly inconsequential parts were replaced as they went along, all of which contributed to the overall cost of the project which stands at around £5,000 - but then you can’t put a price on working together as a family to produce a van like this, can you?

The car comes with a number of invoices and bills to confirm the recent work that has been done to it.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been restored to a very good standard.

The Morris Minor van is an attractive proposition as a classic as it will do double-duty as both a car and a commercial vehicle; we’re sure the new owner will be amazed at the number of friends he/she finds they have in need of help moving large items when they learn of its purchase…

And, as ever, buying a recently restored vehicle makes a whole lot of sense because someone else has done all the hard work and splashed out an awful lot of money in the process. With this in mind, we think the estimate of £6,500 to £8,500 represents very good value for the completed van.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen in Kettering; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.