I can see how Jay Leno ended up with so many vehicles, I want pretty much every one that I run across here at One Barn Finds Tower. This 1962 Morris J2 van is especially intriguing, and not just because I’m also a 1962 model with a slightly awkward look. This cool project is found on Craigslist, or here on the CL archive. It’s located in Duncan, British Columbia, Canada with an asking price of $2,700 or offer.
U.S. car makers didn’t have a lock on forward-control trucks and vans and I could pretty easily say that this Morris J2 is much cooler than a Corvair Greenbriar or Dodge A100 or any of the others. This is one unique and some (me) would say super cool looking van. Come on, it has sliding front doors for cryin’ out loud! They say that the “Metal and bones are good on this one..Glass too!”
This example looks pretty good in the overall photos but it’s a little rugged around the edges. The seller says that it was “Last registered in BC as a FARM vehicle in 1973.” And that it’s a “Perfect Movie vehicle!” I agree, just think how many people you could sneak into the drive-in with this van! Wait, I think they mean that the next owner could rent it out to movie companies, yeah, that’s more like it. I have a friend who has done that with a couple of his vintage Japanese cars they have come back trashed, I would not let a movie company use my vehicles for any amount of money. Or, almost any amount.
You do not want to meet a Peterbilt with this J2, not that you want to meet one in anything this side of a Kenworth if even that. As rough as this van looks we all know that any tv reality show worth their salt could nut-and-bolt restore it to perfection in three days, there’s just no question about that. (crickets).. Seriously, though, this would be such a unique van to restore and use for advertising a business. I don’t know if it would be a good daily driver or a decent delivery van in 2018 Manhattan but I guess it could probably do either of those things. There’s a decent amount of hauling space in the back but these weren’t huge vans.
The J2 was made by BMC (British Motor Corporation) from 1956 to 1967 and this one is powered by a 1.5L inline-four. I’m assuming that this is a single-carb version which would have had around 55 hp or so, give or take. Have any of you owned a Morris J2?
Wow, you guys have your own tower!! All this time I thought it was a couple of car guys working out of their mom’s garage.
Love the site, keep it up. Where is the tower?? Can we visit??
sd
I think that is a take on the Car Talk “tower” mentioned on public radio. Alas, no more Bob and Tom.
Why it’s the Cam Tower of course.
The last time I saw one of these it came out of a match box..
Yes!!! This is what I had when these were new
http://mrmercury.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=3990555
Damn. Now I have to go open up my Matchbox storage box to see if I have one of those.
If Nash made a Rambler van in the 1950’s it would have this syling with hidden front wheels.
Perfect promotional piece for a bread company. 2 slices of bread coming out the roof.
Something like this?
Sure is ugly. The people are going to love it.
Those sliding front doors are the business
Hey I thought this looked familiar, I have the Matchbox version. So cool to finally see a real one!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=osiu7C8wHcA
Yep, was the Matchbox J2 also a milk delivery truck? Or was that a Corgi Commer 1/43?
My school had an old sliding door van (think it was a Bedford, though). Our History teacher took a group up to the Lake District (North UK) for hiking, showing surprising and reckless speed for a quiet and studious man. Almost certainly, it was revenge…..
I remember how the front doors would slide shut on heavy braking (only kind there was), severing and scattering limbs merrily. The van was a wreck. On so many levels, this wouldn´t happen today. Seemed very risky then, in fact…..
I was transported to and from school in a Morris J2 back in the 1950s, later on when I joined the Royal Air Force it was a vehicle that was extensively used by the RAF.
Speeding is not an issue with these. They’ve got either the 5.625 to 1 or the 4.88 rear gear. And most likely the 7.2:1 low compression 1489cc B Series which has a whopping 50 Horses at 4200 rpm. And a stump pulling 74 ft.lbs of torque. These have Solex Type 30 AHG downdraft carbs on them due to the space being limited under the “hood” and I don’t think an SU will fit. I maybe wrong but that’s probably why its got a downdraft rather than the typical side draft SU on it.
Either way, the top speed is about 60 and that would be pushing it of course.
Body panels and parts except for the engine and some of the suspension components are non existent.
I think the Beatles toured the UK in one of these before they broke big with the help of Brian Epstein. I think the Matchbox is a Commer Milk Truck, but I’m sure Matchbox made some form of this van too.
Top speed of 60 maybe if loaded with bricks and going down a steep mountain. Man the English sure made some strange looking ( I’m being kind) vehicles. This thing is cool in it’s own sad ugly underpowered way. I guess the sliding cab doors were allow easy entry and exit in narrow streets and alleys. I hope some Anglophile see this, goes bananas and saves it the name of the Crown.
Yes I remember these, we had a new one in 1964 with 1500 cc Diesel engine. I used to pack it full of potatoes and deliver around the area to fish and chip shops in devon UK. If you had no passengers we could if packed correctly get 59 bags in the back and one on the front seat making 1.5 long tons ( they were 56 lb bags,). We also hauled sheep, pigs, and on any given Sunday a family trip 6 kids and our parents. I am restoring 1953 Morris “J” Type van just about complete, with three speed tranny flat four motor, and yes fully sliding doors up here in Canada.
http://forums.aeva.asn.au/viewtopic.php?t=2224
Check out what this guy in Sydney Australia.
Seen it around, brilliant.
Wonder if I could do that to my 67 Commer?
I’m perfectly astonished BMC found an export market for their J2 vans as far away as British Columbia, let alone anywhere nearer to Britain. One wonders how they were actually delivered to Western Canada…..! ?
Fred Deeley BMC of Vancouver was Canada’s largest BMC dealership. They are still in business but now a Harley dealer. (Theyve been bought out now I think) Vancouver is the place to find weird and wonderful BMC cars. This is the 2nd Austin J2 I’ve seen in BC in the last couple of months. And since Vancouver is a port…that’s how they came in. Long way from Birmingham but I imagine that they came in via ship rather than being shipped by rail from Montreal. Anything is possible though.
Hi King Brude,
After seeing the electric J2 running around Sydney Australia so reliably here for the last few years I was considering doing something similar to the 1949 Dodge Route Van I have here.
Either that or small hemi….
This J2 has been looking for a new owner here in New Zealand for the last year or so, The owner also has a 62 VW bus which he also can’t sell
Last time i saw an actual driving one of these was about 30 years ago haven’t seen one since well until now lol
I seem to remember the J2 used the close ratio MGA / twincam gearbox, some of it may live on!
Why don’t I have time nor money?!
Yes it’s about as ugly as they get. But for some reason I absolutely love it! I can see its marketing value to any advertiser worth it’s weight in gold or at least silver. Well worth the $ 2700.00 asking price in uniqueness alone.
Had the Austin version which I got to save it.
Did up the engine and brakes to make it a runner.
Found a what I though was a good care taker. He lost interest and it was sold to repower a Metropolitan .
Hmmm. If you can put 11/2 tons of potatoes in this thing, I guess running it
on a paper route wouldn’t hurt it much.
Sure would like to try it! Those sliding
doors would sure make it easy to put
the customer’s paper in the tube eith
no trouble at all. Would need a larger
engine though–say something from a
Hillman Avenger or Plymouth Cricket. .
That should give it more oomph so that
you could use it on Amrrican roads.
Can always count on you guys to show me something wild or weird!
Can’t get much lazier than painting over the headlights.
https://www.engineswapdepot.com/?p=7965
This is how the Aussies get more power into the J2…..
(also on you tube running)
Had a lot of these over the years
I have only seen one of these and I am a Morris fan. I was told about a stash of Morrii for sale in E Texas. This guy, recently deceased, had 43 Morrii of almost every description. For some reason, he had pulled all the engines and had them all lined up in the barn. It looked as if he never did anything else with them other than pulling the engines. He had a J2 [there may have been 2] that I really wanted. However, the heirs wanted to sell everything as a lot. Now I like Morrii, but 40+?? I left my number, but I heard someone from Conn. bought the collection. I’ve heard nothing since–that was 10 or so years ago.
My pet peeve is a painter that doesn’t know what masking tape is.
It is a cheap way to keep paint off the things that shouldn’t be painted, but a lot of painters don’t know what it is.
I am referring to the headlights and whatever else shouldn’t have been painted.
Some ada dors slide some ada dors swing…this is the best since the Loyd 600!
Strange door setup but cool!
Excellent runaround I miss the one our family had until the mid 80s it fell to bits and my father scrapped it I had left home and still mourn the sad loss