A Topless Classic: 1956 Morris Minor Tourer

Automobiles have played a vital role in the Sri Lankan community. The first ever motor vehicle to land here in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) was back in 1902 which was a steam powered locomotive. Ever since then, the automobile industry has revolutionized the way of living in the country. The country has witnessed the makes of many popular brands ranging from the luxurious Rolls Royce hailing from Great Britain to the economical and cute Volkswagen Beetle and many other glamorous makes. The automotive industry has made its way through to the 21st century. Automobiles in the current era are more environmental friendly, comparatively economical, safer and can be easily replaced. One of the main challenges which automakers face is to reduce their carbon footprint, which enables them to strive as a great automobile manufacturer.

With the rise in demand for newer cars, one does not spend a day without witnessing a couple of classics, whistling down the island roads whilst awe-inspiring the crowds. Many cars have been passed down generations and some have been neglected and dedicated individuals have spent their time restoring and resurrecting these machines.

Today, we focus on a classic, which has been passed down generation after generation; a 1956 Morris Minor Tourer.

Initially, this particular car was purchased in the latter part of 1956 as an official car by the estate which Mr. Malcolm Peiris worked for. The car was used by a European gentleman for a short period that happened to be his boss at that time and was passed onto him as his official estate vehicle in Dehiowita. After an AA valuation by the company, the car was sold to Mr. Peiris for an amount of Rs.9000. He was so fond of this car that he had used it back then to travel all round the country with his wife and kids and particularly remembers his trip to Jaffna with his family which had been quite an interesting and exciting trip on the way back with his wife behind the wheel of it. The car was restored in 2008 so as to take part in the Thomian Cycle Parade since his grandson, Jehaan Thahir was the captain of the 1st XI at the time and wanted to go in front of the parade with the top down but unfortunately, the parade was cancelled off since the civil war which lasted for 30 years was at its peak during the time.

Despite having an elder brother, the younger sibling Shehaan Thahir insists that his brother Jehaan would’ve never used it since he had no patience to drive an old car with the constant heating issues and was left for quite sometime in the garage to deteriorate. Shehaan had started using this car in 2009 to travel to and from his tuition classes and for short trips to visit his friends’ houses and had started paying attention to the car right from that time. His grandfather had a feeling that he would take good care of the car on the day that Shehaan decided to scrape all the rust on the floor to apply anti-corrosive paint having removed all the seats. Having saved up, he used this money to do some serious work on the car and realized how much time and effort goes into in keeping a classic car in good shape and hopes to do add more finishing touches on the car soon.

Shehaan says, “ I love it. I’d prefer a classic car over a modern car any day”

Text and pictures by Migara Wijesinghe