The Morris Cunard and 10/6 Special

The Morris Cunard and 10/6 Special

Sir,

As the owner of the 1935 Morris 10/6 Special CMU 267 with Cunard bodywork which took part in the Endurance Run at Silverstone, I was most interested in the comment in “V-E-V Miscellany”. Since the publication I have received many phone calls and letters requesting that I put the record straight, including one from the Morris Register Historian, Harry Edwards. Mr. Elmer is quite correct that these cars were made in 1935, perhaps even a few in 1934. The date 1936 was one of those errors which creep in from time to time in publicity material! However, he has made the error which has been made frequently, in assuming that the term “Cunard” is a model designation for the four-seater tourer on the Morris 10/6 Special chassis. There were at least two types of four-seater tourer

bodies fitted to this chassis, one by Morris Motors themselves, and a second by Cunard Motor and Carriage Co. Ltd. who had been purchased by the Morris distributors, Stewart and Ardern, in 1931. Cunard will be remembered for supplying the majority of the bodies fitted to Napier cars when owned by that company during the early twenties, but their products were fitted to the Morris Minor, Eight, Ten, and Oxford Twenty chassis in the thirties.

The car AUM 789 illustrated in the November issue of MOTOR SPORT carried an example of Morris bodywork. I enclose some photographs of CMU 267 and comparison of the IWO cars shows the Cunard front wings sweeping into running boards, and the valance under the door is not louvred. Differences also exist in the windscreen, bonnet, dash, interior trim, and the mounting of the spare wheel—however, both bodies are of aluminium with steel wings.

Further identification is that Stewart and Ardern supplied the Cunards with MU registrations. The Morris-bodied cars are fairly common in that well over a dozen are known to the

Morris Register, including one in Holland and another in Germany. Only two Cunardbodied cars are known to have survived, CMU 267 which I have rebuilt and use regularly, and AMU 963 which I bought recently from the Events Secretary of the Register, Frank Ashley. This will be restored when parts, money and time are available.

AMU 963, registered in February, 1935, carried the information “Car No. 6” pencilled in the reverse of the interior panelling, and CMU 267 which has “29” stencilled in similar places was registered in August 1935. If these were the body numbers the sales of this model must have been very few, as Morris ceased production of the 10/6 and 10/6 Special by May 1935.

Records exist of two other cars which were photographed for advertisements, MU 8017 is on page 265 of the Morris Owner for May 1934, and what appears to be AMU 835 on page 26 of the Light Car of February 22nd 1935.

A further car with Cunard body is supposed to exist in the Birmingham area, but as this does not carry an MU registration I suspect it will turn out to have a Morris body.

Should any readers have any information or photographs of Cunard-bodied 10/6 Specials I would be most grateful if they could contact me.

Finally, that word “Special” which also comes in for misunderstanding. This refers to the engine which has a high-lift camshaft and twin carburetters—to give a 20% power increase over the standard engine..

For reference, road tests of the Morrisbodied car, AJO 889, were published in Light Car of May 10th and Aritocar of April 12th 1935, but unfortunately errors have crept into the specifications listed.

Wishing MOTOR SPORT continuing success as the only magazine that manages to combine all aspects of motoring within one cover. Hitchin. IAN P. HARRIS, Chiltern Regional Secretary,

Morris Register.