The Morris Six Series MS is a six-cylinder

midsize car Mid-size—also known as intermediate—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than compact cars and smaller than full-size cars. "Large family car" is a UK term and a part of the D-segment in ...

from

Morris Motors Limited Morris Motors Limited was a British privately owned motor vehicle manufacturing company formed in 1919 to take over the assets of William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, William Morris's WRM Motors Limited and continue production of the same veh ...

which was produced from 1948 to 1953. Announced with Morris Motors' Minor,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

and Wolseley ranges on Tuesday 26 October 1948, it was Morris's first post-war six-cylinder car. All the new cars were of integral construction of chassis and body and rode on independent front suspension with torsion bars. At launch, the car was priced at £607 (including tax) on the UK market, though the price rose to £671 on 1 March 1949. Under the old system, which was dropped that year, its engine rated at just over 20hp. With a clear external likeness to its pre-war 25hp predecessor, the car was also very similar to the Issigonis-designed Morris Oxford MO, sharing the Oxford's body shell from the scuttle backwards, and was also similar to his Minor MM. The bonnet was longer than the Oxford's single SU carburettor, to accommodate the overhead camshaft, six-cylinder engine, which produced at 4800 rpm. The whole car was longer than the Oxford, having a wheelbase of , compared with the wheelbase of the Oxford. The suspension at the front used independent

torsion bars Torsion may refer to: Science * Torsion (mechanics), the twisting of an object due to an applied torque * Torsion of spacetime, the field used in Einstein–Cartan theory and ** Alternatives to general relativity * Torsion angle, in chemistry ...

, and at the rear there was a conventional live axle and semi elliptic springs. The steering did not use the rack and pinion system fitted to the Oxford, but used a lower-geared Bishop Cam system. The

drum brakes A drum brake is a brake that uses friction caused by a set of shoes or pads that press outward against a rotating cylinder-shaped part called a brake drum. The term ''drum brake'' usually means a brake in which shoes press on the inner surfac ...

were hydraulically operated using Lockheed system. Production was delayed until March 1949 because of difficulties with

metal fatigue In materials science, fatigue is the initiation and propagation of cracks in a material due to cyclic loading. Once a fatigue crack has initiated, it grows a small amount with each loading cycle, typically producing striations on some parts o ...

in the link of the bulkhead "scuttle" to the front suspension. Aside from the grille and identification marks, the whole car was shared with

Nuffield Organization Nuffield Organization was the unincorporated umbrella-name or promotional name used for the charitable and commercial interests of owner and donor, William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield. The name was assumed following Nuffield's gift made to for ...

's more luxuriously finished stable-mate Wolseley as the 6/80. A car tested by the British magazine '' The Motor'' in 1950 had a top speed of and could accelerate from 0- in 22.4 seconds. A fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost £671 including taxes. In 1950, the rear axle ratio was lowered to improve acceleration, and twin dampers were fitted to the front independent torsion bar suspension. A de-luxe version was announced at the 1953 London Motor Show, featuring leather upholstery, a heater, and over-riders on the front bumpers. File:Morris_Six_Series_MS_rear.jpg, Morris Six Series MS File:G_Morris_Six_Series_MS_grille.jpg, Morris Six Series MS grille

References

External links

The 6/80 & MO Club Website
{{British Motor Corporation cars, 1952-1966 Six MS Cars introduced in 1948 1950s cars Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Sedans