Despite rubber covers for the coil and distributor, sleet or snow can short the electrics

- The Motor 25th September 1963 "Morris 1100 - 12,000 mile report"

Smears of glue round the roof lining above the sun visors. Poor workmanship?

- The Motor 25th September 1963 "Morris 1100 - 12,000 mile report" - Poor workmanship indeed. BMC loved smearing glue on everything!

Poor paint Ominous bubbling just behind the rear bumper.

- The Motor 25th September 1963 "Morris 1100 - 12,000 mile report" - Ouch! That's got to hurt after only 12,000 miles!

Even as early as the 500-mile servicing, an honest BMC mechanic shook his head muttering "you've got a bad one here." Its fuel consumption and performance compared reasonably well with our very smooth road test car, but the feel was of a different engine. It lasted 7,570 miles and then disintegrated dramatically.

- The Motor 25th September 1963 "Morris 1100 - 12,000 mile report" - Hmm, an honest BMC engineer...the same ones who would force newspaper into the sills as repairs at a later date?

when we had to change the wheel the ratchet handle for the jack broke because the spot welds on one side parted.

- Autocar 15th November 1963 "Two Morris 1100s for 12 months" - Even build quality issues on a jack, maybe not the safest thing to use then?

adds £90 to the price, uses more petrol, but is delightfully easy and foolproof to use.

- Motor 1st January 1966 "Road Test 52/65" - Motor giving their opinion on the automatic transmission

Latest estate car version of BMC's four year old 1100. Performance a little different from saloon. Handling just as good with firmer ride and little effect from tail loads. Steering light but turning circles poor. Back seats complicated to fold. Level of road noise high. Finish disappointing and safety features lacking.

- Autocar 28th October 1966 "Road Test 2103"

the large internal volume of the 1100 has been joined to estate versatility...handling much better than most sports cars...

- Motor 29th October 1966 "Supplement to Road test 52/65"

Road holding is also an excellent feature, almost irrespective of surface. The driver feels great confidence and can fling the car around.

- Autosport 1969 "BLMC's practical sporting saloon"

The twin carburetted 1300 unit gives 70bhp, which gives a punchy performance...the dashboard layout is simple yet tasteful.

- Autosport 1969 "BLMC's practical sporting saloon"

Sporting four door version of the basic BLMC 1100/1300, with same engine as more expensive MG 1300. Lively performance, very good handling and reasonable space for four, bouncy ride and poor heating and ventilation.

- Autocar 23rd October 1969 "Autotest- Austin 1300 GT"

Best yet from Longbridge

- Autocar 14th October 1971 "Autotest- Austin 1300 Mk III" - One does wonder how they ever came to this decision!

Latest version of Britain's top selling model. Many detail improvements, and face level vents. Lively performance and excellent fuel consumption.

- Autocar 14th October 1971 "Autotest- Austin 1300 Mk III"  - I wonder if the lively performance has anything to do with the fact that the car had hardly any weight there.

The plain, neat facia is covered in a wood grained plastic. New for the Mk III are the fresh air vents, smaller steering wheel and larger pedal pads, which improve driving comfort. The sub panel for switches is designed to snap off harmlessly in the event of an accident.

- Autocar 14th October 1971 "Autotest- Austin 1300 Mk III" - Well personally I think it's tack, but who am I to comment?

The carpets fitted badly and rucked up easily because they were not fixed to the floor properly.

- The Motor 30th September 1967 "Austin 1100 Automatic"

Swept under the carpet...? After removing a collection of screws, washer, light bulbs, clevis pins, and press studs. The carpets were glued down.

- The Motor 30th September 1967 "Austin 1100 Automatic"

Despite a great deal of exposure to the outdoors, the condition of the paintwork and chrome is excellent.

- The Motor 30th September 1967 "Austin 1100 Automatic" - But for how many days/months would this last? Do not try this at home!

The automatic transmission gives a neat appearance to the engine, and the dipstick must be the most accessible ever.

- The Motor 30th September 1967 "Austin 1100 Automatic"

The paintwork and chrome are lasting well and the bodywork is virtually unmarked

- The Motor 21st December 1968 "Austin 1100 automatic - 24,000 mile report" - One would hope that the paintwork and chrome work would be good.

At 21,000 miles the exhaust pipe split and, as a BMC replacement was not immediately available, the garage fitted a pattern spare. A few days later my two year old daughter gave a painful howl from the back seat and pointed at the ashtray. It was almost too hot to touch.

- The Motor 21st December 1968 "Austin 1100 automatic - 24,000 mile report" - The heat shield was missing! The pattern parts didn't have them fitted.

The battery earthing strap which failed at 22,000 miles through corrosion.

- The Motor 21st December 1968 "Austin 1100 automatic - 24,000 mile report"

Yawning hippopotami: both bonnet seals are now stuck to the hinge brackets, but they seal effectively when the bonnet is closed.

- The Motor 21st December 1968 "Austin 1100 automatic - 24,000 mile report" - Well, personally I thought that those seals were always stuck to the hinges?

Reversed seat brackets provide the necessary leg room for "Motor's" giant. The ashtray and door pull fell off their mountings months ago and are normally stowed in the door pockets.

- The Motor 21st December 1968 "Austin 1100 automatic - 24,000 mile report" - Seems strange they fell of... I would have thought they'd have hung weirdly for a while.

Good handling and all round visibility make the 1100 an ideal car for the back doubles.

- The Motor 21st December 1968 "Austin 1100 automatic - 24,000 mile report" - Agreed.

Unfortunately the excellent automatic bonnet stay of earlier versions has been deleted in favour of the cheap bent wire sort.

- Motor 13th November 1971 "Austin 1300 Mk3 - Road Test" - Like most things on the Mk3 they became some what cheap....

On the debit side we disliked the patent falsity of new wooden facia trim; unnecessary these days when such tastefully realistic plastic simulations are so freely available.

- Motor 13th November 1971 "Austin 1300 Mk3 - Road Test" - Well, correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't this the era of "fake" wood?

Very soft sun visors and plastic framing round the mirror are thoughtful safety points.

- Motor 9th October 1965 "Riley Kestrel - Road Test" - Soft sun visors were used as cost cutting, the plastic framing may have been a good idea around the rear view mirror before it was baked hard by the sun, now it would probably cut your face to ribbons!

Some cars, like good wine, improve with age. Years of development iron out those wrinkles which inevitably seem to slip through the design and prototype development stages. The manufacturer is also able to introduce new features and refinements as and when they become necessary. Others, often technically advanced designs when they first appear, seem to rest on their laurels, to be overhauled by their competitors with the passage of time. This, we feel, is the category to which the Morris 1100 belongs.- I can't really defend this statement, in fact I don't know many ADO16 owners who wouldn't agree.

- Autocar 25th June 1970 "Morris 1100 Mk2 - Road Test"