On Location at the Beaulieu Spring Autojumble

It would be fair to say my time at the Spring Autojumble began and ended with one of the select band of cars that may be justly described as “iconic”. The Morris Minor celebrates its 75^th anniversary, and the Dorset branch of the Owners’ Club pulled out all the stops for their ‘Moggyfest 2023’ display. There were the MMs with their “low lights”, last-of-the-line 1000s that still represented excellent value for money compared with many younger rivals, and several versions that made me double-take.

I was especially fond of Richard O’Brien’s MM four-door that has plated hubcaps due to shortages brought about by the Korean War. This particular Morris was initially destined for Canada, only for the order to be cancelled, resulting in Cowley changing the steering from LHD to RHD. The condition was so original that it even lacked windscreen washers, while the dashboard is an art deco masterpiece.

A further Morris delight was the Series II ‘Traveller’s Car’ at the ‘1953 Display’. As most readers know, 2023 marks the 70^th birthday of the Minor Traveller, and this line-up celebrated British cars that were launched in the year of Elizabeth II’s Coronation. Joining it was a truly breathtaking Sunbeam Alpine in Sapphire Blue, looking as glorious as the Rootes PR car from To Catch a Thief.

Other gems from the 1953 display included a Prefect 100E De Luxe, a prime example of Ford GB’s first unitary body small car. As its proud owners noted, it boasts twin wipers, unlike its Anglia 100E stablemate. There was also its fellow Dagenham product, the Popular 103E - once the UK’s cheapest four-wheel new car. The fine example on display at Beaulieu was highly decadent, as it featured trafficators, a heater, and a second wiper – none of which were standard equipment.

By contrast, the Riley Pathfinder was a car for the go-ahead 1950s barrister or chartered accountant, and its Gerald Palmer lines are some of the most attractive of the era. There was also a delightful Triumph Mayflower, which was not a new model for 1953 but represented a typical small British car of the early 1950s. Seeing one in the metal reminded me how photographs rarely capture its distinctive charm.

But it was now time to take a look at Lancaster’s prize car and be mesmerised by the orange glory of the Austin-Healey Sprite Mk. IV. As an H-registered model, it is one of the last to wear the ‘Healey’ suffix; the final 1,022 examples were ‘Austin Sprites’ after the end of BLMC’s agreement with the Donald Healey Motor Company.

Progressing through the field was the Practical Classics stand, with Matt Tompkins displaying the joys of tent life atop a 1989 Land-Rover and Danny Hopkins’s quite magnificent Mercedes-Benz camper. I always admired these when I was younger, and the Carry On Camping crockery only added to its appeal. Plus, James Walshe spotted, on a nearby stall, a 1962 Earls Court Motor Show guide that immediately had to join my collection.

As to the highlight of the day, the fashion parade of the Morris Minor Owners’ Club brought forth an array of period costumes that looked as though they had emerged from an Alastair Sim comedy film. There was that Austin A40 Sports, in all its pale green magnificence. And there was the remarkable sight of Beaulieu’s staff firing up the engine to the Outspan Mini.

All to soon the day ended, and the owner of a 1962 Minor Traveller very graciously gave me a lift to Brockenhurst. Every detail of his Morris conjured memories of the well-used examples I used to see in the 1970s; the ‘black on silver’ speedometer studded with three warning lamps, the flashing indicator stalk and the separate starter button. And so, we travelled through the New Forest with the quarter vents open and the sun highlighting the yellow flowers of the gorse bushes. There may be more perfect ways to conclude a Spring Autojumble - but I really cannot think of any.