My father drove a number of Morris Minors during the 1960s and 70s, always a pale blue, a popular colour at the time. My mum would go back and forth to the car in his staff car park on her trips to town filling the boot with shopping. On being driven home by dad one day they found the boot empty. Back at the car park, dad found all the shopping in another pale blue Minor. Yes (Letters, 4 July), the same key fitted both cars.
Kate Wheller
Wyke Regis, Dorset
• In the early 1960s I owned an early split-screen Morris Traveller, not very fast as it only had a 803cc engine. One summer, its virtually nonexistent acceleration appeared to be getting even slower according to the speedometer, although on the road it wasn’t any slower. Getting into the car after work on a warm summer’s day, I found the inside of the quite large speedo dial crawling with thousands of minute spiders. The nest web had caused the speedometer needle to slow in its operation. Once the spiders disappeared, the speedometer operation returned to normal.
David Bushell
Caterham, Surrey
• In response to Mike Lattimer’s question (Letters, 30 June), I managed to get my Traveller through its MOT by having the rotting wood replaced. However this is the only time that I have called on the services of a carpenter to repair a car.
Peter Bardsley
Sheffield
• The Morris Minor was the car of choice for some rally drivers in the 1950s (Pat Moss, 58 RAC rally, 4th) even though the top speed (68mph-ish) was no match for the sheer pace of the Austin A35 (nearly 72mph). But what it lacked in “grunt” it made up for in superior handling (poor) compared to that of the A35 (v poor). So in that era, the Minor reigned supreme, erm, of the two.
Mick Henry
Worthing, West Sussex
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