Morris Minor back at garage after 42 years

A vintage Morris Minor 1000 has been bought by the same Black Country garage which sold it as a new car - 42 years ago.

And T Wall Garages has had to pay more than the car cost in 1968 to get it back.

The maroon two-door saloon was bought from the Pensnett garage for £681.17s. 3d by coach driver George Gregg on July 1, 1968. He was given £50 part exchange for his old Austin A35 and had to pay an extra £8.10s to have seatbelts fitted.

Mr Gregg was a keen driver who used to take parishioners to St Mary's Church in Kingswinford every Sunday in a bus. But when he was no longer able to drive he passed 'Morris' on in 1985 to his son Peter, who set about restoring the car.

He and his wife Sheila, of Barnett Lane, Wordsley, began showing it the following year and it was good enough to take a 'best in class' title at Bridgnorth in 2000.

Peter, aged 66, who worked as a GPO engineer and a funeral director, said he and his family had enjoyed taking the car to Morris Minor rallies. But a hip condition has meant he is no longer able to devote as much time to 'Morris'. "You've got to do things. These cars don't look after themselves," he said. And when he saw a newspaper article about the 50th anniversary of T Wall he decided to contact the dealership.

Dealer principal Tim Barnes made Peter a four-figure offer for the vehicle and is delighted with the firm's new acquisition. The Morris has still only covered 46,000 miles.

"We took it for its MoT and it sailed through," he said. The aim is to use it for promotional purposes, charity events visits to schools.

* Any schools or charities which would like 'Morris' to feature at their local event should contact T.Wall on 01384 288333.