1940 Morris Minor Type Z Royal Mail Van

• An older restoration
• Present ownership since 1990
• Engine rebuilt in 2009
• Concours d'Elegance winner at the Hurlingham Club in 2009

Following the acquisition of E G Wrigley & Co's Foundry Lane works in Soho, Birmingham in 1924, William Morris set up a new company: Morris Commercial Cars Ltd. By May of that year, production of the first Morris commercial vehicle – the one-ton T-type – was under way. Another of the first models to emerge was an 8cwt light van based on the Cowley 11.9hp chassis, which would later be adopted by the Post Office.

This Morris Minor Van is finished in the livery of Royal Mail, the letters and parcels division of the General Post Office (GPO). The General Post Office, as it then was, used three types of Minor van: the '35cu ft' Mail Van with coachbuilt body finished in red, and the 'Internal Engineers' and 'External Telephone Engineers' Vans, both of similar design but painted green. The chassis were purchased from Morris Motors and the bodies are believed to have been constructed by Duple Bodies & Motors Limited of Hendon. Around 4,000 Engineers Vans and 3,700 Mail Vans are estimated to have been used during the 1930s and 1940s, none of which is known to have continued in service much after 1948.

An older restoration, this charming Morris Type Z Royal Mail Van has been in the same owner's possession since 1990 and was the winner of the Concours d'Elegance at the Hurlingham Club in 2009. Faithful to its wartime origin, it retains many features appropriate to its heritage as a working Royal Mail van in Oxford. Features include 'George VI' insignia; original GPO wing-mounted brass fire extinguisher; several original enamel instruction plaques; original stencil instructions on dashboard; stamped War Department spot light; maintenance logbook; first aid kit; original spare tyre; opening windscreen; and rear blackout windows. There is also a Royal Mail reward key inscribed: 'This key is the property of the Royal Mail and if returned there is a reward of 2 shillings and sixpence'. There are also some notes on file from a previous owner giving details of ownership from when the vehicle was first commissioned.

The 918cc sidevalve engine was rebuilt in 2009 and benefits from a new 6-volt battery. The brakes have recently been overhauled with a new master cylinder and all new slave cylinders, sourced from the Morris Register. With its rebuilt engine, hydraulic brakes and three-speed synchromesh gearbox, the van is said to be great fun to drive and when driven around London by family members has always been greeted with love and affection by fascinated onlookers.