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 Soho, Birmingham axle manufacturer E.G. Wrigley and Company after it was placed in liquidation late in 1923. Up until that point a small number of commercial vehicle variants of Morris cars were built at the Morris plant at Cowley, but with the newly acquired plant in Foundry Lane, Soho, Birmingham serious production began.
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 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]
1953 Morris Commercial LC5
During the 1960s the light trucks and forward-controlJ4 light vans produced by Austin and Morris commercial were identical.[7]. The J4 was developed into the Sherpa in 1974 by British Leyland and later derivatives of this design survived well into the 2000s as the LDV Pilot/Convoy.
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.[7] The FF remained in production and the two vehicles were offered side by side: in this class the BMC trucks were nevertheless out-competed in terms of domestic market sales volumes by Bedford and Ford (with their Thames).[7] Austin/Morris commercial vehicles in the 1960s also included the Austin/Morris FG-series an unusual-looking urban delivery truck with driver doors set at an angle at the rear corners of the cab to permit access in confined spaces.[7]
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 (145km) range and a top speed of around 90mph (145km/h).[8]
Taxicabs
1929 Morris-Commercial International Taxicab Uncle LimaMorris-Commercial G2SW London Taxicab 2½-litre 1938Morris-Commercial Super-Six London Taxicab 1.7-litre 1939
A new brand of London taxicab was announced on 9 February 1929. Built in accordance with New Scotland Yard regulations the new Morris-Commercial International taxicab was up to date and convenient in detail. Safety glass was fitted throughout, upholstery was real hide, a passenger need only press a button and speak in an ordinary voice and a microphone would communicate it to the driver. The cab's overall dimensions were 13ft 6in (411cm) in length, 5ft 8in (173cm) width, and 7ft 2in (218cm) in height.[9]
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 24ft 9in (7.5m), wheelbase and track measured 9ft (274cm) and 4ft 8in (142cm) 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 125mm giving a displacement of 2,513cc (153cuin) and a tax rating of 15.87hp. 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 18longcwt (2,016lb; 914kg).[10]
Morris Motors Limited was a British privately owned motor vehicle manufacturing company formed in 1919 to take over the assets of William Morris's WRM Motors Limited and continue production of the same vehicles. By 1926 its production represented 42 per cent of British car manufacture—a remarkable expansion rate attributed to William Morris's practice of buying in major as well as minor components and assembling them in his own factory. Self-financing through his enormous profits Morris did borrow some money from the public in 1926 and later shared some of Morris Motors' ownership with the public in 1936 when the new capital was used by Morris Motors to buy many of his other privately held businesses.
The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) was a UK-based vehicle manufacturer, formed in early 1952 to give effect to an agreed merger of the Morris and Austin businesses.
The Austin Motor Company Limited was an English manufacturer of motor vehicles, founded in 1905 by Herbert Austin in Longbridge. In 1952 it was merged with Morris Motors Limited in the new holding company British Motor Corporation (BMC) Limited, keeping its separate identity. The marque Austin was used until 1987 by BMC's successors British Leyland and Rover Group. The trademark is currently owned by the Chinese firm SAIC Motor, after being transferred from bankrupt subsidiary Nanjing Automotive which had acquired it with MG Rover Group in July 2005.
British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partly nationalised in 1975, when the UK government created a holding company called British Leyland, later renamed BL in 1978. It incorporated much of the British-owned motor vehicle industry, which in 1968 had a 40 per cent share of the UK car market, with its history going back to 1895. Despite containing profitable marques such as Jaguar, Rover, and Land Rover, as well as the best-selling Mini, BLMC had a troubled history, leading to its eventual collapse in 1975 and subsequent part-nationalisation.
Leyland Motors Limited was a British vehicle manufacturer of lorries, buses and trolleybuses. The company diversified into car manufacturing with its acquisitions of Triumph and Rover in 1960 and 1967, respectively. It gave its name to the British Leyland Motor Corporation, formed when it merged with British Motor Holdings in 1968, to become British Leyland after being nationalised. British Leyland later changed its name to simply BL, then in 1986 to Rover Group.
Washwood Heath is a ward in Birmingham, within the formal district of Hodge Hill, roughly two miles north-east of Birmingham city centre, England. Washwood Heath covers the areas of Birmingham that lie between Nechells, Bordesley Green, Stechford and Hodge Hill.
The Morris Minor is an economy car produced by British marque Morris Motors between 1948 and 1971. It made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, in October 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.6 million were manufactured in three series: the Series MM, the Series II, and the 1000 series.
Nuffield Organization was the unincorporated umbrella-name or promotional name used for the charitable and commercial interests of owner and donor, William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield. The name was assumed following Nuffield's gift made to form his Nuffield Foundation in 1943, it linked his business interests to his existing very generous philanthropy. The same enterprises had previously been referred to as the Morris Organizations and at first described itself as The Nuffield Organization, A Cornerstone of Britain's Industrial Structure.
Wolseley Motors Limited was a British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in early 1901 by the Vickers Armaments in conjunction with Herbert Austin. It initially made a full range, topped by large luxury cars, and dominated the market in the Edwardian era. The Vickers brothers died and, without their guidance, Wolseley expanded rapidly after the war, manufacturing 12,000 cars in 1921, and remained the biggest motor manufacturer in Britain.
The LDV Pilot is a panel van that was produced by LDV Limited from 1996 until 2005, and closely based on preceding models dating back to the 1974 Leyland Sherpa developed by the Austin-Morris division of British Leyland, which was in turn derived from earlier light commercials produced by the British Motor Corporation.
BMC Otomotiv Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., doing business as BMC Otomotiv and BMC, is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in Turkey. Its products include commercial trucks, buses, military trucks and armoured vehicles. The company was founded in 1964 by Ergün Özakat in partnership of British Motor Corporation which held a 26% stake. It was purchased by Çukurova Holding in 1989, and seized by the Turkish government's TMSF in 2013. BMC has been taken over with a final bid of TL 751M, by a partnership of 51% Turkish side and 49% Qatari side.
The Nuffield Oxford Taxi, initially produced as the Wolseley Oxford Taxicab was the first new taxicab designed to comply with the Metropolitan Police Conditions of Fitness for London taxicabs to be launched on the British market after the end of the Second World War.
The Morris Commercial J4 was a 10 cwt forward-control van launched by Morris Commercial in 1960 and produced with two facelifts until 1974.
The Morris Commercial J-type is a 10 cwt van launched by Morris Commercial in 1949 and produced until 1961. After the formation of the British Motor Corporation in 1952, by the merger of Morris' parent company, the Nuffield Organization, and Austin, the Commercial name was dropped and the van was marketed as the Morris J-type.
Sociedad Anónima de Vehículos Automoviles (SAVA) was a Spanish producer of light and medium commercial vehicles, based in Valladolid.
British Motor Corporation (Australia) was a motor manufacturing company formed in Australia in 1954 by the merger of the Austin Motor Company (Australia) and Nuffield (Australia). This followed the merger in 1952 of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Group in the United Kingdom to form the British Motor Corporation. Following further corporate changes in the UK in the late 1960s, BMC Australia was absorbed into the newly established British Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia, the name of which became Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia in 1972, and then JRA Limited in March 1983.
The Morris 250 JU was a forward control light van launched by Morris Commercial in October 1967. It was offered with the familiar B series petrol engine in 1,622 cc (99.0 cu in) form. Claimed power output was 49 bhp, with a compression ratio of 7.2:1. The 250 JU replaced the Morris Commercial J2 and with the merging of the Standard, it also replaced the Standard Atlas.
Mann & Overton Limited owned and operated a motor vehicle dealers business previously known as Mann & Overton's and established 14 May 1901 which came to specialise in the supply and financing of London taxicabs, first Unic then Austin Taxicabs, eventually holding the concession for the Austin taxicab chassis for the whole of the Metropolitan Police Area of London.
Morrison-Electricar was a British manufacturer of milk floats and other battery electric road vehicles (BERV). Their first vehicle was built for a bakery in 1933, and the company ceased to exist when it was finally sold to M & M Electric Vehicles in 1983.
The Morris WE/Austin S203/S403/S503 was a bonneted truck produced by the British Motor Corporation from 1955. After a revision in 1964, it was marketed as the Morris WF/Austin S303/S403/S503 and from 1968 as the BMC WF. In the export markets, the Austin model was usually called the Morris, WE/WF. After BMC merged with Leyland Motors to form the British Leyland Motor Corporation, it was produced as the Leyland WF from 1970 to 1981 and replaced by the Leyland Landmaster.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
