Morris Commercial Cars
Company type | Automotive |
---|---|
Industry | Automotive |
Predecessor | EG Wrigley and Company |
Founded | 1924 (Original) 2017 (Relaunch); 6 years ago |
Founder | William Morris |
Defunct | 1975 | (Brand re-created in 2017)
Fate | Brand incorporated into British Leyland Motor Corporation in 1968 and re-created in 2017 |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Dr Qu Li, CEO |
Products | Trucks buses vans military vehicles |
Morris Commercial Cars Limited is a British manufacturer of commercial vehicles formed by William Morris, founder of Morris Motors Limited, to continue the business of E G Wrigley and Company which he purchased as of 1 January 1924.
The marque was re-launched in 2017 when a proposal for all-new electric J-Type was announced, which was unveiled in November 2019.[1][2]
History
Morris bought the assets of
In 1932 the business was moved a few miles across Birmingham to the former Wolseley factory in Adderley Park. As a response to success of the American-owned Ford and Bedford truck brands, in 1934 and 1935 the radiator badge incorporated the text "British to the Backbone". This somewhat jingoist design remained in use until the end of the war.[3]
In 1936 Morris sold the company into his
In wartime commercial vehicles in the Morris range were produced for military use – such as the Morris C8 field artillery tractor (FAT) and Morris CS8 15 cwt truck. Morris Commercial also built vehicles such as the Terrapin amphibious carrier while Nuffield Mechanisations also built a number of armored vehicles.[6]
During the 1960s the light trucks and
While production of the light vans remained concentrated on the Birmingham Adderley Park site, production of the F-series and W-series light trucks moved to Scotland with the opening in 1960 of the company's Bathgate plant.[7] The Adderley Park plant was closed in 1971 and demolished shortly afterwards.[5]
The light trucks in the 1960s included the FF, a forward-control design introduced in 1958, along with the WF which was a sibling vehicle with the driver placed behind the engine rather than on top of it. The updated version of the FF, the FJ, appeared in 1964; it featured a split-circuit braking system, a novelty in this class of vehicle.
In 2017, Morris Commercial Ltd announced a proposal to resurrect the Morris Commercial brand. It proposes an all-new electric J-Type light commercial vehicle with a 90-mile (145 km) range and a top speed of around 90 mph (145 km/h).[8]
Taxicabs
A new brand of
The 4-cylinder engine, single dry plate clutch and four-speed gearbox were a unit like that on the standard 30cwt Morris-Commercial vehicle. Four wheel brakes would have been better, reported The Times but the rear brakes supplied were efficient, the steel artillery wheels detachable. The average turning circle was 24 ft 9 in (7.5 m), wheelbase and track measured 9 ft (274 cm) and 4 ft 8 in (142 cm) respectively.[9]
Carrying four passengers the taxicab had "plenty of speed" and four forward gears and was suitable for the country as well as London. The engine's four cylinders have a bore and stroke of 80 and 125 mm giving a displacement of 2,513 cc (153 cu in) and a tax rating of 15.87 hp. The engine had side valves with tappets easily reached for adjustment, the generator and magneto being driven in tandem. The cooling water circulated naturally. Such parts as the carburettor were easily accessible. The speed lever worked in a visible gate with a stop for reverse. The three-quarter floating back axle was driven by overhead worm gear from an enclosed propellor shaft. The springs were semi-elliptical and beneath the frame, those in front were flat and splayed while those at the back were underhung. Shock absorbers were provided. The chassis weighed 18 long cwt (2,016 lb; 914 kg).[10]
These vehicles were succeeded by Nuffield Oxford Taxis.
Vehicles
- CDSW
- C8 (1939–1945)
- J-type (1949–1961)
- WE/WF (1955–1968 – kept in production as a BMC and then a Leyland until 1981)
- J2 (1956–1967)
- J4 (1960–1974)
- 250 JU (1967–1974)
- JE (2021–)
Notes
- ^ "Morris Commercial returns with all-electric Morris JE van". Auto Express. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- Sunday Times Driving
- ISBN 978-1-85482-162-3)
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link - ^ Morris Motors Limited, Notice issued in compliance with ... The Times, Tuesday, 13 October 1936; p. 22; Issue 47504.
- ^ a b c "MSS.226/MC Morris Commercial Cars Ltd. 1924–1968". A Summary Description of the Papers of the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016.
- ^ Ward, Morris-Commercial – Austin – BMC – Leyland, p. 12
- ^ a b c d e "The BMH group's Big 'Uns: Commercial Variety". Autocar. 127 (3730): 77–78. 10 August 1967.
- ^ "All New J-Type". morris-commercial.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017.
- ^ a b "Motor Transport". The Times. No. 45123. 9 February 1929. p. 6.
- ^ Motor Transport Show. The Times, Tuesday, 12 November 1929; p. 21; Issue 45358