1969 Morris Minor 1000 Police Panda Car

For sale by auction on Saturday 07 June 2014 with Historics at Brooklands. Brooklands Motor Racing Circuit. Weybridge. Surrey. Call 01753 639170
The Minor was first launched as either a 2 door saloon or a very
stylish convertible on the 20th September 1948 and was initially
powered by a 918cc side valve engine. The merger of Austin and
Morris in 1952 (to form the British Motor Corporation). meant the
Minor Series II of that year was fitted with the 803cc Austin A
series engine. The Traveller debuted in 1953 together with the van
and the pick-up and the split Vee-Windshield was replaced by a
single piece screen in late 1954. However. the major change in the
Minors history was the new 948cc engine for the Morris Minor 1000
for 1956. As a general purpose Police car. the Minor had its
following - Stockport Constabulary was using 2-door Minor saloons
finished in a rather striking Chevron livery between 1962 and 1964
- but it was the arrival of the Unit Beat Panda Car in 1965 that
established the Minor's iconic image as one of Britain's definitive
Panda cars. The thinking being the panda car was that the "bobby on
the beat" could more effectively patrol larger suburban or rural
areas as opposed to foot patrols - and would be readily accessible
via the panda car's two-way radio. In the period between 1965 and
1969. various cars from the Mini. the Austin A40 'Farina'. the
Morris 1100 and the Triumph Herald to the Anglia 105E. the Hillman
Imp and the Vauxhall Viva (not to mention the Ford Zephyr 4 Mk.
III) was used for Unit Beat work but it was the Minor that became
the Panda Car of choice for forces across the UK.

This 1969 Morris Minor 1000 Police Car is believed by the
vendor to have been supplied new to the Police for use as a
'Panda Car' being painted in the current colour scheme of blue and
white and the zip in the headlining to have access to the radio
aerial on the roof. In recent years this Morris Minor 1000
has been owned by a company specialising in renting vehicles for
film and TV productions' and therefore has been fully maintained
and serviced to a high standard as reliability was essential for
the filming schedules. This Police Car is supplied with a V5C
registration document and MoT test certificate which expires in
April 2015. This Morris Minor 1000 has featured in a number of
films and TV programs and most recently in the TV police detective
series 'Endeavour' set in the 1960's. the pre-sequel to Morse
showing the detectives early years in and around Oxford.



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