Historically correct details for 1948 Lowlight please ?

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LobbyLudd
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Historically correct details for 1948 Lowlight please ?

Post by LobbyLudd »

May I ask a couple of details please to anyone who might be able to actually confirm as correct as I need to complete a couple of fine details on a practically finished, large size artwork project .

Q. The first Platinum Grey Series MM Low Light (as launched at the London Motor Show 1948) in the only black and white photo that I have now been able to find so far after much searching appears to show a rather wide white (or possibly cream) coachline ?? .
(With presumably the early matching round lines painted on the wheels surrrounding the plain hubcaps (No 'M' embossed)
Q. Also It appears this 1948 car had stainless door top surrounds ??
'69 4 door saloon, traf: blue.


'LIFE'- is what happens when you are busy planning other things. John Lennon
palacebear
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Re: Historically correct details for 1948 Lowlight please ?

Post by palacebear »

The coachline was indeed wider on early low-lights and, irrespective of main body colour, was finished in a very VERY pale grey (almost white) I believe. The wheels had a matching painted ring on them. The hubcaps were plain and unembossed. The window frames were chromed, not stainless steel. :)

If you can get hold of a copy of Ray Newell's book 'Original Morris Minor' close-up recent colour photos of coachline can be found on page 19. Wheels can be clearly seen on page 14.
1956 4-door called Max
LobbyLudd
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Re: Historically correct details for 1948 Lowlight please ?

Post by LobbyLudd »

Many thanks - (that was indeed what other of my fellow branch members had guessed without being absolutely 100% ) - I will do coachlining in a 1940's grey/white then - have actually got Rays excellent book Original Morris Minor , however the photos clearly only seem to clearly illustrate the coachline etc. on his original Maroon low light.
'69 4 door saloon, traf: blue.


'LIFE'- is what happens when you are busy planning other things. John Lennon
palacebear
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Re: Historically correct details for 1948 Lowlight please ?

Post by palacebear »

I imagine that Ray's maroon car is accurate and as posted above, the coachline colour was the same irrespective of body colour.

I take it you're undertaking a 70th anniversary project...?
1956 4-door called Max
ManyMinors
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Re: Historically correct details for 1948 Lowlight please ?

Post by ManyMinors »

I'm not at all sure that original production MMs had the wide coachline. I've only ever seen it on photographs of pre-production/publicity cars which is what some restorers have then copied. My own car certainly didn't have it but that was not particularly early. Maybe we'll never know unless somebody has an original photo of an original car!?
The Maroon car in the "Original Morris Minor" book is Keith Fletcher's car, not Ray Newell's but both have been restored and resprayed of course.
I don't personally think the thick line suits the cars but, as always, owners must do as they wish with their own cars.
LobbyLudd
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Re: Historically correct details for 1948 Lowlight please ?

Post by LobbyLudd »

Yes do realise now more accurately studying that part of the book it was in fact Keith Fletchers (apologies to Mr Fletcher) :oops:

Its just that with several thousand sets of eyes expected (including enthusiasts) to be noticing the illustration as part of the project for later on in the spring Inaturally wanted to be seen to be as accurate as possible to avoid making an obvious avoidable 'bloomer'. It seems this point may have to be taken as a 'most consensus of opinion' basis perhaps
Thanks again for further info.
'69 4 door saloon, traf: blue.


'LIFE'- is what happens when you are busy planning other things. John Lennon
palacebear
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Re: Historically correct details for 1948 Lowlight please ?

Post by palacebear »

Just dug a bit deeper into this. Regarding coachline colours I quote from Ray Newell's book, page 34, "WHEELS & TYRES", specific to Series MM:

'On all models, wheels were painted body colour but on low headlamp models this was supplemented by a coachline - always in pale cream - on each wheel to match the main coachline on either side of the car'
.

The captions accompanying the photographs on page 19 suggest a degree of uncertainty regarding coachline width on body sides! :)
1956 4-door called Max
LobbyLudd
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Re: Historically correct details for 1948 Lowlight please ?

Post by LobbyLudd »

Ah Ha The wonder of this site - :lol: thanks palacebar

I myself was only 2 years old at that time and I just cannot remember !.
I had not even started driving my Tri-ang pedal car
but I do remember that actually had shiny hubcaps and a boot ! I thought later it had similar features to that 'one and only' brand new Morris Minor that some envied person was seen driving around in my home town at that time :) -
'69 4 door saloon, traf: blue.


'LIFE'- is what happens when you are busy planning other things. John Lennon
palacebear
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Re: Historically correct details for 1948 Lowlight please ?

Post by palacebear »

First car I travelled in was a low-light Minor. It was July 1961 and I was about a week old. My dad, not a car-owner until 1962, apparently borrowed his boss's wife's low-light to bring me and mum home from hospital... he wasn't allowed to drive the boss's razor-edge Triumph Renown! :)
1956 4-door called Max
LobbyLudd
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Re: Historically correct details for 1948 Lowlight please ?

Post by LobbyLudd »

My dad had bought a lovely second hand 1937 Morris 12 in deep maroon - I was six then and he had scraped and saved over years for a car .
In reward for polishing it with the revolutionary new Johnsons One Step Wax "The only polish to give a shine too deep to measure" I was permitted to raise it up on the built in hydraulic jacks (an optional factory extra when new at around 21 pounds I believe) and pretend to drive it when stood still.

Funny how you remember things that long ago sometimes much better and clearer than recent events !
Happy memories :lol:
'69 4 door saloon, traf: blue.


'LIFE'- is what happens when you are busy planning other things. John Lennon
LobbyLudd
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Re: Historically correct details for 1948 Lowlight please ?

Post by LobbyLudd »

ManyMinors wrote:I'm not at all sure that original production MMs had the wide coachline. I've only ever seen it on photographs of pre-production/publicity cars which is what some restorers have then copied. My own car certainly didn't have it but that was not particularly early. Maybe we'll never know unless somebody has an original photo of an original car!?
The Maroon car in the "Original Morris Minor" book is Keith Fletcher's car, not Ray Newell's but both have been restored and resprayed of course.
I don't personally think the thick line suits the cars but, as always, owners must do as they wish with their own cars.
Having now been able to study this with having this resulting further with the kind access and use of original 1940,s sales brochures and also perhaps more importantly monochrome photo etc. of the original example model of the Minor on the 1948 Earls Court stand I am 99% happy that I have now an idea of the most probable used coachline details.

It is evident that the 1948 motor show for Morris was not solely about the Minor alone (a couple of years into Britain's post war austerity with the greater incentive on 'Export or Die' at the time) Morris Motors staged their range of cars that had similar lines in design The Minor The Oxford and the (BIg) Six all with an equal importance. The coachlining and the matching circle on the wheels are all shown in fact as being the same cream accross all 3 car models irrespective of their body colour. The Minor of course as we all know had the great success resulting in being the 'star of the show'

I think the coachline does appear to be reasonably wider in these archive documents than the subsequent later models but perhaps not quite as wide as suggested in Rays Original Minor book ? (The Minor and it's 2 larger brothers the Oxford and Six at the time are consistently shown with a matching fairly thick width of coachlining)
'69 4 door saloon, traf: blue.


'LIFE'- is what happens when you are busy planning other things. John Lennon
ManyMinors
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Re: Historically correct details for 1948 Lowlight please ?

Post by ManyMinors »

As I said earlier - I have only ever seen the wider coachlines on photos of pre-production/publicity cars. This includes Motor Show cars and those in sales brochures of course.
LobbyLudd
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Re: Historically correct details for 1948 Lowlight please ?

Post by LobbyLudd »

That'll be it then, my artwork will simply depict a 1948 'promotional show model' car. (No more over concern on this detail with me now thank goodness !)
Thanks finally again :)
'69 4 door saloon, traf: blue.


'LIFE'- is what happens when you are busy planning other things. John Lennon
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