Fred W B
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| posted on 12/1/06 at 07:55 AM |
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Minor Myth?
I have heard a story that one of the BL (or its parents) motor plants managed to not only build but even deliver to a customer, a sedan that had 2
doors on one side and a single door on the other.
Is this actually true, and if so does any photographic evidence exist? Or maybe it was a Ford?
Cheers
Fred WB
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smart51
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| posted on 12/1/06 at 08:21 AM |
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During the 70s, a combination of overstrong unions and weak management delivered some shocking work at numerous companies in the UK. BL was just one
of many.
BL had an imfamous workforce. It was not uncommon for a rattling sill on a car to be due to a discarded coke can being stuck in there. or for various
nuts and bolts to be missing from interior trim or minor fittings. The 3 door car sounds like an urban myth to me but having heard plenty of stories
about them, I wouldn't actually be surprised to see the pictures.
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Browser
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| posted on 12/1/06 at 10:00 AM |
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One small fact sbout the Moggie Minor, when it was prototyped it's designer, Alec Issigonis, decided the body was too narrow and ordered it
widened by 4 inches, so the development team sawed it in half down the middle, added the required 4 inches and welded it all up. This is why the
moggie had that distinctive wide ridge down the middle of the bonnet. Read about this
here.
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DaveFJ
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| posted on 12/1/06 at 10:05 AM |
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there was a car designed to only have 3 doors..... A rear passenger door only on the 'kerb side'.....
Dave
"In Support of Help the Heroes" - Always
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Peteff
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| posted on 12/1/06 at 10:21 AM |
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Another fact
The Moggie was originally designed to have a flat four engine like the Alfasud which is why there's so much room under the bonnet.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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smart51
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| posted on 12/1/06 at 10:34 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Peteff
The Moggie was originally designed to have a flat four engine like the Alfasud which is why there's so much room under the bonnet.
A colleague of my is currently fitting a rover V8 to his minor. Not only is there plenty of room, but he says the alloy V8 is the same weight as the
iron I4 that he has removed.
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andygtt
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| posted on 12/1/06 at 10:38 AM |
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3 doors.... Yeh its called the Toyota Previa
Andy
please redefine your limits.
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andyps
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| posted on 12/1/06 at 01:40 PM |
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I suspect the 3 door car is an urban myth, but would be more likely to be an Allegro than a Minor due to the time at which the problems existed.
I certainly remember being told by someone who ran a dealership that they got cars in with seats which did not match and similar faults.
Andy
An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less
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Spyderman
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| posted on 12/1/06 at 02:03 PM |
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I remember recently (within the last few years) a car being shown that was supposed to go into production. It was a small hatchback and had the said 3
doors.
I'm pretty sure it was a Ford. Possibly a replacement for the Fiesta.
Terry
Spyderman
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timf
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| posted on 12/1/06 at 02:10 PM |
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in the us the amc pacer (waynes world car) has the passenger door longer than the drivers door to get the passengers to get in the back by the
passenger side only
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Coose
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| posted on 12/1/06 at 02:35 PM |
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AMC Pacer - now there's a classic! That'll be the Mirth-mobile if I'm not mistaken? 
<bursts into Bohemian Rhapsody....>
Spin 'er off Well...
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britishtrident
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| posted on 12/1/06 at 03:38 PM |
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Like most myths about BL it is false.
BL did however manage to build a Marina with one drum brake and one disc brake on the front. On brand new Austin Allegros the hand brake would not
meet MOT brake efficiency standards unless given some TLC by the deallers mechanics at PDI time.
Industrial sabotage -- I once came accross a plastic production plug that had been deliberately inserted into an Imp engine block at the Linwood
plant.
I know of one battery (non-UK) manufacturer that had problems with one of its assembly line workers inserting coins between the plates of batteries
durring assembly.
As for a a Morris Minor engine being the same weight as a Rover V8 -- no way. The Mnor had a BMC A series which was relatively light -- about the
same as 1300 xflo, the Rover V8 however was within a kg or two of the overweight BMC B series.
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Mark Allanson
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| posted on 12/1/06 at 05:56 PM |
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I saw a Volvo 144 in Stavanger which had the 1 door 2 door thing, it was a post office car and these doubled up as taxis in rural areas, and the one
door thing was to stop passengers getting out into traffic.
If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation
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