I only just noticed the writing above the windscreen. Does that say "The Monster"?
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I only just noticed the writing above the windscreen. Does that say "The Monster"?
Yeah, I'd say so. A real butt-clencher!
It seems that many people have very fond memories of the All Comers class of racing. The more people that have found out about the Morrari recreation have given all interesting recounts of the memories they hold of the loud, fast and twitchy little car. Also been very good to hear from a few members of the Garth Souness family that have shown their support of the recreation......
There was a mention made in an earlier post about the Ferrari chassis being cut down to fit the Morris body.
A Morris Minor had an 86" wheelbase and the Super Squalo Ferrari an 85.1" wheelbase, so no need for a chassis shorten, in fact IIRC the reason the Minor body was chosen was because it was a near perfect match for the Ferrari chassis.
Yes that was my belief ,I can remember something about them looking around at cars that fitted the wheel base ,its too long ago now but from memory the front wheels actually sat to the front of the front guards, maybe something to do with how they fitted the chassis under the body
Hi, great thread, good luck with the build. I never saw it but certainly heard a lot about it. I read in a British magazine a while ago that Ferrari has re-opened it's archives. You may be able to get drawings of the chassis through them. Don't know that I would mention the
Chev V8 and the Morrie body, they might be funny about that sort of carry on!
Hi guys, thanks for all your input. Next big issue to sort out is the rear end. The Ferrari transaxle would not be a financially feasible option so need to come up with something that would be accepted within the historic racing eligibility.
What racing can a replica of a great racing car compete in NZ ,would it be limited to regularity , demos ,sprint, and hillclimbs , which is plenty of oppertunitys to use the car i guess
It is possible that the car could be built to comply with MSNZ Schedule K regulations which would enable it to be run (raced) at the likes of the Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon Festival. I have had discussions with a MSNZ Historic Commission member and if it is not possible to built an exact replica under Schedule CR it may be possible to fit it under the Retrospective Special category. The main thing is to use components that would have been available in the period the car is meant to represent - for example, if four pot callipers weren't generally available in the period the Morrari ran then you can't put on four (or six) pot Wilwoods now.
I have emailed Greg and I'm happy to meet with him and someone from MSNZ to try and sort out a way through the regulations before they embark on work that could unfortunately limited the opportunities to use the car.
Read in the May copy of NZ Classic Car that Gary Pederson of Pederson Sheen Racing had some input to the Morrari suspension. Gary also indicated that Glen Jones had some input to the build that was completed in his parents basement. Maybe they can assist in your build.
45DCOE, check the thread on Glen Jones, he was a hard case.
I was sent this photo today, no idea of the original source. It looks like the same grid as a photo on P1.
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...002700x421.jpg
Thats very similar to the one I found recently ,in it you can see the whel/hub adaptors much more clearly
Hi, a newbie here...
I've read about the Morrari before and its great that you're trying to recreate one - but PLEASE don't chop up that lowlight!
Look at the pictures - the Morrari WASN'T based on a low-light Morris saloon! You can tell because the Morrari has a 'swage line', a body moulding, running from the back edge of the rear side windows, from side to side, below the back window. The early Morris saloons, like the yellow one you have there, DIDN'T have that. For some reason, after 1950 when they raised the headlamps onto the top of the wings, they altered the rear edge of the roof panel to have this moulding to separate the roof from the body tub. I hope this makes sense!
Racers in the 50's and 60's used to retro fit the low lamp wings to aid aerodynamics. The Morrari was a 1950-53 saloon - it has the swage line I mention above and also had the early bonnet shut line which changed in the 50's - the later cars had a bonnet that reached right back to the base of the screen and the window gutters.
Please don't chop up a very rare early survivor!
Here's a view of the proper roof/boot area on a low light:
http://mmoc.org.uk/mbimage.php?src=1297724613_2647
And here's a close up of a later saloon with the sausage-like moulding below the window:
http://www.freenet77.co.uk/auctions/...r/IMGP2239.jpg
The Morrari looks to be made using the later type of shell.
Nuffield, I've just had a brilliant idea. You find a suitable body for Greg to turn into the Morrari, do a swap, and you can restore the very early yellow-peril sitting in Gregs garage! You are obviously a Morris man by your thread name.
Sheesh! Well spotted nuffield. Its so obvious now you've pointed it out. That car only had a low-light nose. Well that is amazing! For all these years every magazine article that ever described this car, even when it was first built, named it a low-light Morris Minor. The knowledge on this forum just astounds.
Well I only just noticed myself as I have never seen so many photos of the Morrari in one place!
In fact, the Morrari looks to have been a 50-51 car (not 53 as I mentioned earlier) - the 'short' bonnet was actually discontinued in 1951. So it was quite a rare body really.
Of course Greg is free to do what he likes, and the yellow peril he has there looks a bit sad and needs a new lease of life. But if he wants to get it dead right...:) Mind you, tracking down the correct 1950/1 body shell would probably be harder than getting an original low light!
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MORRIS-MI...item3f0d2dda33 IS this the right model Nuffield
Thanks Bob, yes that makes sense.
Thats a four door anyway, but, if you look, its got the 'long bonnet' which the Morrari didn't have. The 'long bonnet' extends right back to the gutter on the A-post, whereas on 1948-51 cars the bonnet stopped about 3" short, leaving a section of the scuttle/bulkhead exposed. This section carried a short length of the side coach line and I suppose they made the bonnet longer to cover this area as it was cheaper to manufacture.
Not entirely - just the wings and grille and they could have been 'new old stock'. Remember that the 'highlight' wings were the result of a balls up at Morris where they overlooked/forgot the upcoming Californian lighting regs - this was a quick, cheap fix for export cars only so involved no important/structural panel changes. UK cars, on the same structure, stayed 'low lamp' for another year after export models were changed.
The differences are simply 3 panels - the wings (which swap over perfectly; fitting onto the same inner wing and abutting the same chrome 'hockey stick' trim around the grille) and the grille panel itself (that fits within the chrome trim). The new grille had the same number of slats but the headlamps were replaced by sidelights. The 'highlight' headlamps were actually a larger diameter too. You can switch a 'highlight' to a 'low light' (or vice-versa) quite easily - as long as its the right year. The Minor underwent a heavy facelift in 1956 when it became the Minor 1000 and actually got different wings (not so you'd notice it) and a new grille, which aren't interchangeable as on the older cars.
Was the underbonnet structure of the Morrari completely new anyway? By the looks of it, it probably lost the original chassis legs, bulkhead, inner wings etc anyway, so they could fit whatever nose onto it they wanted.
As I said somewhere earlier on here ,something sticks in my mind about the body being shifted around to fit the wheel base ,maybe this was achieved with the sub body and mudguards,as you say nuffield
Well its been a while since we have posted on here about the Morrari but after the NZ Motor Racing Festival earlier in the year and the Leadfoot Festival last weekend - we are VERY keen to actually get started on this project. Dads away at the moment and I have been busy with the NZ Hot Rod Magazine but once he is back we are going to sit down and have a talk about commencing work on the project.
Thats great to hear Greg. We will expect to see it at the Denny Hulme Festival at HD in January 013!! Something to wile away those winter evenings out in the shed. We've done all the talking on here......now it's action time.
was looking on trade me for an old ferrari squallo chassis, nearly as rare as a lowlight morrie:)
Still trying to track down a good drawing of the Ferrari chassis. We have found cutaways and various sketches. Would be great to find a drawing that showed the entire chassis. Would also love to find photos of the inside of the Morrari too.
Greg, I'm sure you have seen the photo of the stripped Hoare/Fow Ferrari. A good pic of the chassis. Is on page 2 of 'the other GTO' thread, posting No29. probably is a different chassis altogether but must be similar in a lot of ways.
Slowly been studying Ferrari chassis pics etc - would dearly love to find anymore pics on the Morrari as well so any leads are appreciated. We want to recreate this car as closely as we can in a feasible and realistic manner. Thanks
Thanks Pallmall, those are EXCELLENT pics!
My Taraschi Formula Junior was built in 1959 and has a ladder chassis in a similar style to the Ferrari. You are welcome to have a look at it to see how the Italians fabricated these sorts of chassis back then.
Thanks, we would like to meet up and view your car. Would you mind emailing your contact details to me at Greg@nzhotrodmag.co.nz
Bob H has mentioned that his memory tells him the body was moved around to fit the wheels,in post#45, that photo shows the rear wheels towards the front of the wheel arch while the front wheel looks to be toward thre rear of the wheel arch. None of the other pictures show this as clearly as the 45 posting.