Lowlight with demister vents?

for those with Series MM sidevalve cars produced between September 1948 and February 1953
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Edward1949
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Lowlight with demister vents?

Post by Edward1949 »

Does anyone know whether later lowlights had demister slots in the dash?
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geoberni
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Re: Lowlight with demister vents?

Post by geoberni »

Interesting question.
Perhaps someone has an example?
The chronology of factory production changes is a part of the question though.
By latter Lowlights I assume you mean around 1950, since the highlights were phased in between 49-51, starting with the USA market in 49.
But as I understand it, there was no water pump until 1950, and that is what allowed the introduction of the interior heater.... or am I wrong?

So the introduction of the heater would then have allowed the introduction of the demisters...but when would they change the body design?

Why the interest?
Have you found a car that you are trying to date accurately? :)
Basil the 1955 series II

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JohnV
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Re: Lowlight with demister vents?

Post by JohnV »

Fascia ventilation ducts were introduced in Sept 1950 on the four-door saloon (RHD 62551 / LHD 65004).

They were presumably added to the two-door and Tourer shortly thereafter, but I don't have a precise date or serial numbers.

BONUS factoid: The early Post Office vans from 1953, the ones with opening windscreens, didn't have demister vents either. I've always wondered if BMC grabbed the obsolete dies from stamping the pre-duct surrounds and retooled them for those LCVs ...
I have two Minors in upstate New York. One is the 1961 Traveller my dad bought new that year in London, where I was born. It's had a hard life but is still running cheerfully at 54K miles. The second is the oldest Minor confirmed to survive in North America, a LHD high-light Tourer built in April 1949. It's a total basket case, but will be restored over the coming years.
Edward1949
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Re: Lowlight with demister vents?

Post by Edward1949 »

geoberni wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 3:55 pm
Why the interest?
Have you found a car that you are trying to date accurately? :)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Morris-Minor ... 3368258777

This in "cars for sale" section. As an ex-lowlight owner I was surprised to see a heater. Very nice car, by the way.
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Re: Lowlight with demister vents?

Post by JohnV »

The car in the eBay advert is listed as a 1951 car, but *home-market* two-door saloons and Tourers got their high lights in Jan 1951 (RHD 83390 / LHD 81585).

So this car would had to have been built sometime between Sep 1950 and Jan 1951. That could be confirmed by a Heritage Certificate based on its serial number—which should presumably be somewhere between 62551 and 83390—to confirm it was originally fitted with lowlight wings.

Of course, it could be a slightly later car retrofitted from high lights back to low lights ...

(LHD Canadian cars had high lights from late 1949, and LHD "USA" cars from Jan 1949, think LHD European markets and RHD export stayed lowlight otherwise for all of 1949 and 1950.)
I have two Minors in upstate New York. One is the 1961 Traveller my dad bought new that year in London, where I was born. It's had a hard life but is still running cheerfully at 54K miles. The second is the oldest Minor confirmed to survive in North America, a LHD high-light Tourer built in April 1949. It's a total basket case, but will be restored over the coming years.
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geoberni
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Re: Lowlight with demister vents?

Post by geoberni »

Edward1949 wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 4:31 pm
geoberni wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 3:55 pm
Why the interest?
Have you found a car that you are trying to date accurately? :)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Morris-Minor ... 3368258777

This in "cars for sale" section. As an ex-lowlight owner I was surprised to see a heater. Very nice car, by the way.
Ahh... I saw that a couple of days ago and thought it was a nice clean looking car, but I didn't notice the demist vents. :)
It's Jan 51 registration, so it's really late spec for a lowlight I guess. :)
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gtt1951
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Re: Lowlight with demister vents?

Post by gtt1951 »

My June 1950 manufactured LHD export low-light has demist vents (see picture below).
It was exported with no heater and no water pump, so why were vents incorporated in the dashboard?
It was then re-imported in March 1960 and converted (not that well) to RHD.
The steering column and wheel were replaced at some time, given the gold colour.
Uncle.jpg
Uncle.jpg (1.73 MiB) Viewed 4301 times
Note the badly cut hole for the relocated Master Brake Cylinder.

George.
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'50 Low-light with 918 Side-valve engine,
'51 High-light with Side-valve 918 engine,
'55 4-dr with 803 engine,
'56 Traveller with 1098 engine.
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Re: Lowlight with demister vents?

Post by JohnV »

gtt1951 wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 11:10 pm My June 1950 manufactured LHD export low-light has demist vents (see picture below).
It was exported with no heater and no water pump, so why were vents incorporated in the dashboard?
If a June 1950 car has fascia vents, then it wasn't the four-door (Oct 1950) that pioneered them.

I wonder if the vents may have been added as early as Oct 1949, when the windscreen mounting system changed entirely? (Dispensing with inner moulding, and considerably simplifying the assembly—but leaving the first year of Minors, Oct 1948-Oct 1949, with unique windscreen mountings!)

In any case, I'd suggest Nuffield was already making plans for what became the USHM3 engine with water pump, fitted from Dec 1950 (engine # 77001). Export markets like N America had screamed throughout 1949 that the Minor needed some kind of heater, not to mention a water pump, and the company responded by the end of 1950.
I have two Minors in upstate New York. One is the 1961 Traveller my dad bought new that year in London, where I was born. It's had a hard life but is still running cheerfully at 54K miles. The second is the oldest Minor confirmed to survive in North America, a LHD high-light Tourer built in April 1949. It's a total basket case, but will be restored over the coming years.
lcgriffiths
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Re: Lowlight with demister vents?

Post by lcgriffiths »

A little late to the party with this one. My Nov 1950 Lowlight has vents but no water pump. However, they did have heaters. They picked up hot air from the radiator which was circulated with a fan in the car.
1950 MM Lowlight 2 door.
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Re: Lowlight with demister vents?

Post by lcgriffiths »

A little late to the party with this one. My Nov 1950 Lowlight has vents but no water pump. However, they did have heaters. They picked up hot air from the radiator which was circulated with a fan in the car.
1950 MM Lowlight 2 door.
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Re: Lowlight with demister vents?

Post by JohnV »

lcgriffiths wrote: Tue Oct 29, 2019 8:15 am A little late to the party with this one. My Nov 1950 Lowlight has vents but no water pump. However, they did have heaters. They picked up hot air from the radiator which was circulated with a fan in the car.
So instead of plumbing to carry water through the firewall from the engine coolant, does your heater have ducts to carry air? I'm having a bit of trouble envisioning this (and my Apr 1949 car has nothing of the sort). Do you know if this was a factory fitting or an aftermarket item?

Possible to post a few photos?
I have two Minors in upstate New York. One is the 1961 Traveller my dad bought new that year in London, where I was born. It's had a hard life but is still running cheerfully at 54K miles. The second is the oldest Minor confirmed to survive in North America, a LHD high-light Tourer built in April 1949. It's a total basket case, but will be restored over the coming years.
Edward1949
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Re: Lowlight with demister vents?

Post by Edward1949 »

JohnV wrote: Tue Oct 29, 2019 8:39 am
lcgriffiths wrote: Tue Oct 29, 2019 8:15 am A little late to the party with this one. My Nov 1950 Lowlight has vents but no water pump. However, they did have heaters. They picked up hot air from the radiator which was circulated with a fan in the car.
So instead of plumbing to carry water through the firewall from the engine coolant, does your heater have ducts to carry air? I'm having a bit of trouble envisioning this (and my Apr 1949 car has nothing of the sort). Do you know if this was a factory fitting or an aftermarket item?

Possible to post a few photos?
I don't think the system which ducted air scavenged from the radiator was an original option. It would have been an aftermarket accessory. I remember them being advertised in the 1960s, aimed at the dwindling number of motorists with thermo-syphon cooling (eg MM sidevalve, 100E Ford, also many pre-war cars still on the road). Another design used a large-bore pipe mounted across the parcel-tray area which was plumbed in to the engine cooling system and simply radiated heat like a household radiator. Both of these systems were markedly inferior to the pump/thermostat system on the more modern cars.
DAVIDMCCULLOUGH
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Re: Lowlight with demister vents?

Post by DAVIDMCCULLOUGH »

My May 1950 has vents in the dash.

The car in the eaby advert belongs to Ewen Cameron and it was at the national Rally this year.


Too many Minors so little time.....
c a addison
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Re: Lowlight with demister vents?

Post by c a addison »

Hello
My MM Tourer, just to the south of Maidstone, was on the road in October 1950, no heater, no water pump although the plate is there, and no vents.
There is another Tourer in Maidstone which is identical but on the road in the December 1950. I would guess the cars were actually manufactured in the month previous to these months.
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Re: Lowlight with demister vents?

Post by JohnV »

Would it be possible to get serial numbers from everyone who's posted with 1950 cars, along with whether or not they have vents?

Manufacture dates if you happen to have a Heritage Certificate would also be helpful.

Colin's 1950 Tourer may throw a spanner into the chronology, but perhaps not if that particular car sat for a few months before being commissioned.
I have two Minors in upstate New York. One is the 1961 Traveller my dad bought new that year in London, where I was born. It's had a hard life but is still running cheerfully at 54K miles. The second is the oldest Minor confirmed to survive in North America, a LHD high-light Tourer built in April 1949. It's a total basket case, but will be restored over the coming years.
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Re: Lowlight with demister vents?

Post by gtt1951 »

Hello John,
I have a 1950 low-light and it came with an early Heritage Certificate from what was then BL Heritage Limited in 1982 -
Morris Minor Series MM 2-door saloon
car/chassis no. SMM / 53732
Engine no. 54249 (but now has a replacement C95573)
Body no. 31732
Specification LHD, export (it went to Belgium)
Colour, exterior: green (Romain Green?)
trim: beige
Dates built: 27.-28. June 1950
Date despatched: 30 June 1950
To (dealer): Nuffield Exports
Details of equipment: less heater

This car does have vents.
It was brought back into England in March 1960 and then converted to right-hand drive.

Regards,

George.
Image
'50 Low-light with 918 Side-valve engine,
'51 High-light with Side-valve 918 engine,
'55 4-dr with 803 engine,
'56 Traveller with 1098 engine.
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Re: Lowlight with demister vents?

Post by DAVIDMCCULLOUGH »

John, I would estimate that they came in around April 1950. My March 1950 tourer doesnt have vents but the May 1950 saloon does!


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JohnV
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Re: Lowlight with demister vents?

Post by JohnV »

George, David: Thanks for the info.

I think so far we're down to May 1950 ... but can we further refine it? :)
I have two Minors in upstate New York. One is the 1961 Traveller my dad bought new that year in London, where I was born. It's had a hard life but is still running cheerfully at 54K miles. The second is the oldest Minor confirmed to survive in North America, a LHD high-light Tourer built in April 1949. It's a total basket case, but will be restored over the coming years.
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