Morris Minor Owners Club

Why was this bulge in the bulkhead added?

Don’t know the definitive answer but at a guess it was put there to accommodate heating equipment.

But the heater went below the dash

Well only an educated guess, based on decades of working in small spaces on various vehicular modes of transport, but it was space going to waste under the bonnet and the other side is behind the dash....
So simply putting the space where it was needed; where the Speedo, it's drive cable, windscreen wiper drives, cable looms, etc were all competing for space.

Nourish wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 2:25 pm But the heater went below the dash

Correct. But not all the stuff you'll find there if you look......

I read the hole behind the battery is for the Roto-Dip anti-rust painting machine that was used, so maybe the bulge above it is also something to do with that process as a guess, or maybe it's just extra space required for the wires and cables running to the speedometer and switches..

Nourish wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 2:09 pm Why was this bulge in the bulkhead added?

You say 'Added' but of course it was always there, so it wasn't added as such, it was in the original design.
The Lowlight didn't have the Speedo in the centre, but it still had all the switches and other stuff, and that bulge.

So my money is firmly on a thorough and thoughtful designer, Sir Alexander Issigonis, who realised some space to work behind the dashboard was quite useful.

The Morris Oxford of the same era was also Rotodipped, but doesn't have that bulge, which makes it even less likely it's anything to do with that process.

That bulge would of added a fair bit to the cost of the tooling I would imagine for space that wasn't needed - you see a lot of modified cars with flat smooth bulkheads all with heaters, wipers and Speedo's.
I can see that it would add rigidity and stop the drumming but it didn't need to be so big.
How big were Valve radios then?

Doesn't the earlier heater protrude up further than the centre-speedo variants?

Nourish wrote: ↑Mon Sep 20, 2021 9:50 am
How big were Valve radios then?

Huge! About the size of a shoe box for a pair of size 7 or 8.

Were in-car entertainment radios even available in the UK at the time the MM was being designed?
They were available in the USA but then so were in-car record players

geoberni wrote: ↑Mon Sep 20, 2021 12:24 pm
Were in-car entertainment radios even available in the UK at the time the MM was being designed?

Yes, they were introduced in 1933 but I think the well-heeled motorist still preferred to have a string quartet in the rear seats.

And you had to have a radio licence (£0-10-0)to operate a car radio fitted in your car.
https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hans ... o-licences

Myrtles Man wrote: ↑Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:03 pm
Yes, they were introduced in 1933 but I think the well-heeled motorist still preferred to have a string quartet in the rear seats.

philthehill wrote: ↑Mon Sep 20, 2021 3:21 pm And you had to have a radio licence (£0-10-0)to operate a car radio fitted in your car.
https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hans ... o-licences

They were also very expensive to purchase. With a Minor starting at say £360, the car radio would have been around another 20 Guineas or so.
Thus adding another 7 or 8% to the cost, and that's when you're considering buying a heater too......

Could the bulge also be needed to form the battery box in a secure way?

I believe that when Issigonis was questioned about a radio, he expressed the view that the driver should concentrate on driving, and not be distracted by a radio; hence neither the Minor nor the Mini had provision for receiver and speakers, they were always added on afterwards by enthusiastic owners.

Both good points Simmitc. But I still think the bulge would of been an expensive support for the battery box when a brace to the bulkhead would of done - wouldn't of looked as nice though.