Shooting the 1937 Morris Fourteen Six Series II

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Shooting the 1937 Morris Fourteen Six Series II sn-802SO549971
Photos and story by Tim Nott

One of the 'morning walk the dog' club that I am strangely a 'member' of told me about this man called Ian who had a very classic car that I could shoot. Now normally I would charge for this sort of thing but when it turns out that there are only 9 of these in existence and its a car of great British heritage and nostalgia I thought I would make an exception.

So I duly looked him up, gave him a call and we arranged a day to take the old girl out and do a shoot. On this day the weather was good being overcast but still quite bright as I went to Ian's home. I really wasn't sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised to see a purpose built garage complete with a hydraulic lift on which the car was resting. At first I thought that this meant that the car was 'not well' and therefore unable to strut her stuff in front of the camera. But I was wrong and with the push of a button she was down and soon after out of the garage with a nice mellow tick-over.

She was a 1937 Morris Fourteen Six Series II. 6 cylinders in a straight line and 1400cc hence the name. 3 speed, 4 doors and the most antiquated instrument panel I have ever seen (unsurprisingly). Ian has spent many hours on his car but it still has the vast majority of it's original parts.

We set off to the first venue that I had in mind which was Norley Wood in the New Forest, near East Boldre. Having arrived at Ian's house in my Audi A4 the contrast to this car was huge and it is very interesting to see how far we have come in this amount of time. The other thing I noticed very quickly was that nearly everybody watched you go past and many, usually the older blokes, with a smile on their faces.

She ran very well with only a couple of misfires on the whole trip and soon enough we were at Norley and I was pleased that there were no other cars there. We positioned the car and I started to shoot. In this sort of situation, i.e a very rare car, it's best to make sure you get a lot of shots so I clicked away at the same time trying to think of other interesting positions for the car. After a little while, plenty enough for Ian's dog to chase a stick around the place, I asked Ian if he would make a few runs up and down the main road so I could get some motion blurs and general shots of the car on the road.

This meant I had to leg it across the bracken and get into a good position with a nice background. Only 'slightly' out of breath I then had to concentrate on making smooth pans with the camera. In the end the shots came out really nice with good movement in the wheels but a sharp body and indeed a sharp Ian.



After this we went to the local church and this meant driving past the old aerodrome that they used in the war for the Spitfires and Hurricanes and I couldn't help having a little day dream of being back at that time, driving to the airfield in a new Morris Fourteen and all the projected nostalgia that goes with it. I don't think I will ever really grow up.

At the church there were a few cars there which made it tricky to get some good 'scenes' but we managed in the end.

It was also a time for Ian to put some more water in the radiator and then we set off for the marina to get some last shots and also I think for Ian to show off to his mates there that he was on a professional shoot with his classic car. Which he was.

True to form Ian gave me a blank look when I said I would send him a link to the images. He said that he never goes near a computer. So I sent him some good old-fashioned prints instead to say thanks.
Tim Nott © 2013

1937 Morris Fourteen Six Series II sn-802SO549971;
Engine number 3397; Registered 01.01.1937; First digit of the chassis number may be a '3' or an '8'
Tim Nott Photo 2013

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