For this first Hero I was going to have a bit of laugh really and talk about a bloke that my Dad knew in the 1950s who was probably called Bill. Apparently Bill would routinely buy a Ford Popular for something less than a fiver. He would then proceed to treat the bonnet as a sealed unit and drive it without incurring any unnecessary expenses, except to occasionally add petrol. That was all true, but Bill was hardly the ideal Bangernomic role model.

So when I was trying to find a picture of a bloke working on I car I remembered all those old boys who dressed like my Uncle Charlie (see right leaving our house and getting in his 850cc Mini in say 1964)  in a suit, tie, braces and a permanent roll up in the corner of his mouth. Like my Uncle he had no regard for his own health but would in 24 black and white pictures show me how to decoke a Ford Prefect after Sunday lunch and in time for the drive to work on Monday morning. They looked about 108 years old but were probably just into their thirties. The combined effect of fags, used engine oil and cooked breakfasts obviously took their toll, but they knew their stuff. Back in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s even the average car owner could do reasonably complicated engineering procedures and these blokes showed us how.

Car Mechanics is still with us and showing us how to do things with on board diagnostics and hats off to them for that. The blokes in the latest issues don’t have a black Moss Bros two piece or twenty Capstan between them. And if you do not know what they are, then ask your Dad, Grandad, or your own Uncle Charlie.

Charles Ware

Meet the people and the cars that have defined Bangernomics over the years. Any suggestions or nominations for this section please contact me james@bangernomics.com

The Car Mechanics Blokes

Meet the people and the cars that have defined Bangernomics over the years. Any suggestions or nominations for this section please contact me james@bangernomics.com

Charles Ware has done more than anyone to prove that cars never need to be thrown away making him a true Bangernomics hero. What he has practiced since 1976 when he set up his Morris Minor Centre is essentially HyperBangernomics with the express intention of never running a car into the ground, which has to be the preferred method these days.

As the world’s car industry implodes his Morris Minor Centre (established 1976) is proof that sustainable car remanufacture and ownership has never gone out of fashion and could even be a way forward. Ware would prefer that we all think of car ownership in decades, rather than the short term approach that the car industry has lived by and could soon die by.

As Ware shows you around the premises and the possibly the largest number of Minors in captivity, his affection for the cars is obvious as he touches each one in a reassuring manner, so why the Minor? “It is fundamentally an over-engineered car.” Ware grasps the metal and points out the heavy gauge material, taps at the substantial bulkheads and invites me to experience the solid thunk of the doors. There is no arguing that these are brick outhouse motors, especially as Ware’s engineers can cut great chunks out of the structure without worrying about it bending out of shape. As for the old A series, “that will go on forever,” says Ware. “One of my customers you could hear approaching from miles away, but she always resisted any engine work despite the obvious evidence that it needed an overhaul.”

Another key ingredient to the Morry’s longevity is the electrics, or rather lack of. Ware holds up four fingers, “It really is as simple as that, you can see what goes where, the fundamental flaw with modern cars is that the electronics now dictate the life of the car. It is planned obsolescence and we are now caught in a frightening cycle of waste.” Ware admits that build quality is infinitely higher now and the virtual eradication of body rot is to be welcomed, but the wholesale reliance on electronics and culture of replacement rather than repair is killing modern cars.”

Charles Ware has always used the house analogy which sums up his position perfectly. Essentially you would never demolish a perfectly decent solidly built Edwardian or Victorian residence just because a few tiles were lose or the central heating needed a new boiler. “New car buyers have been brainwashed into wanting the latest model and gadgets when they really don’t need them.”

Trouble is I can already read the Hate Mail which suggests I might want to condemn readers to driving Morris Minors. Well actually that would never be a bad thing. The light, direct steering and sporty handling are a revelation plus there is so much you can do make them more 21st century friendly, from new seats, to electronic ignition, which Ware heartily approves of (“simple and reliable”). Servo brakes are a popular upgrade with Morris 1100 drums, Ford Sierra five speed gearbox makes longer journeys more comfortable. Nevertheless the hardcore of Ware’s customers simply want, “a car that will get them from A to B reliably and cheaply, but they also want identity, something nostalgic they can treasure.”

Surely that means that Ware’s customers are a bunch of mean old duffers. “Oh no, we have lots of people in their twenties and others who want a second car. Plenty of them are women who are not obsessed by speed and just love the shape. They also love the fact that the Minor is so easy to drive, the rack and pinion steering is so light and the whole chassis is set up for precise handling, it really is a joy.”

Over forty years new car buyers are going to lose a six-figure sum whereas rebuilding a Minor every few decades is only gong to be a fraction of that, plus Ware has a commonsense approach to restoring customers cars. “The patchwork quilt attitude just won’t work and we will not do it. We always replace a series of panels that are crucial to the structure. A £50 weld at a local garage is pointless, far better to spend £200 to replace a whole panel that will still be there in ten years time.”

The problem is that a Minor which looks serviceable enough on the surface is actually rotten underneath and Ware says that no one takes the time to look at the chassis. Indeed, a customer bought a Minor for £5000 on Ebay which still needed £2000 spent in the Minor Centre workshop to make it completely sound.

Prices? In theory you could turn up with a £300 Minor that The Charles Ware Morris Minor Centre will bring back to life for something like £10,000. That’s the cost of a fairly ordinary supermini at the moment. £15,000 gets an as new Minor which really will last you a lifetime. There are cheap Minors around but they may not be the sort of Moggie you can rely on. Charles Ware knows his Minors and that means £3500 for a good saloon whereas Travellers start at £6500.

Let’s leave the final words to our hero Charles Ware who is keen to point out that his business is not some quirky automotive anomaly. “People buy Minors not purely because it is retro, or because they want a slice of olde England, it is because the customers are normal, are from every strata of society and like the idea of a well-designed car that can be modified slightly to suit their needs. Fundamentally the Morris Minor is a brilliant design. All credit to Alec Issigonis. I like to think of the Minor as a room on wheels. Somewhere we would all like to be.”

Postscript: Morris Minors in the United States. This beauty belongs to Karen in California and being a Traveller it is like a baby version of their Woodies... thanks for the pics Karen

Go and have a look at the Chris Barrie page, he’s a Hero of Bangernomics too