Morris Minor

I came across this Morris Minor car on Elder Street in the East End of London, not far from Brick Lane.

I know this model well because I used to have one. Well, not exactly the same because this one is a convertible.

Look at the split windscreen, the wing mirrors, the rust.

The floor pan in our car was riddled with tiny pinprick holes that revealed themselves when we drove through a puddle. A fine mist would fill the car as the water was driven up through the floor.

This model rusted at the bottom of the doors. All cars rusted at once upon a time, but not any more. Galvanised steel and electro-coating have stopped rust.

The front wheels on these models are held on to the axles with a nut and a spigot with a hole in it that screws onto a vertical bolt. The thread on the nut had a tendency to wear and then the whole assembly would fail. it was especially prone to do so when going slowly around corners, as happened to us.

The garage repaired it but forgot to tighten the bolt. It sprang off and the wheel came off completely, rolling faster than the car. After a while the car lost balance without a front wheel and the car stopped.

The garage was unapologetic and came out to fix it with some reluctance.

Elder Street

Elder Street is one of those cobbled streets with nice Georgian Houses that are surrounded by modern buildings that are slowly advancing. The Morris Minor is the third car from the far end.