Austin Lancer and Morris Major

Introduced in April 1958, the Morris Major and Austin Lancer differed only superficially from the Wolseley 1500 (which in turn had been developed from a projected replacement for the Morris Minor) on which they were based.

Majors and Lancers were mechanically identical to the Wolseley, which was also produced in the same factory.

The bonnet and complete front body section and grille was totally unique to the Morris, whilst the Austin closely resembled the Wolseley in appearance.

The interiors were fairly spartan, with rectangular Austin style instruments mounted centrally in the Morris and in front of the driver in the Austin.

In October 1959, the Series II was released, having lengthened front and rear panels and ending with small tailfins.

The boot was now two and a half cubic feet bigger than before. The capacity of the petrol tank was nine gallons instead of the earlier cars' seven. The tank also had a steel shield to protect it from damage on rough roads. The only obvious differences between the Major and the Lancer now were the grille and badges. The cars had been restyled to give a family resemblance to the larger Farina-designs. The Lancer and Major had a local content of almost 98%.

Click here to see a road test from the September 1959 issue of the Australian motoring magazine WHEELS of the Morris Major Series II.

By 1961, BMC had rationalised their dealer network and it was decided that two makes were no longer necessary and the final version was the Morris, with the Austin Lancer being dropped from the line up (the Wolseley 1500 had previously been discontinued with the release of the Series II Major and Lancer).

With the 1622cc engine from the Austin A60, the Major developed an excellent power to weight ratio. The car underwent further improvements to become the Morris Major Elite in April 1962. The Morris Major Elite was equipped with the 1622 cc version of the B-series engine, had a stronger drive train, revised suspension, new wide grille, tail fin flash and an updated interior.

The Armstrong 500 race at Philip Island (the forerunner of the present day Bathurst 1000) in 1960 featured six Series II cars, one finishing fourth outright and second in its class behind a Peugeot 403. The 100,000th “Australian” vehicle built by BMC was a Morris Major Elite. The Issigonis-designed Morris 1100 replaced the Morris Major Elite in 1964.