As we know, Morris Minors were exported all over the world, particularly in the 1950s. New Zealand was no exception and indeed the very last Minors to be assembled anywhere in the world were vans and utilities (pick-ups) at Dominion Motors’ Panmure plant in New Zealand in late 1973.

The regime of import duties in New Zealand (and several other countries) meant that manufacturers paid less duty if their cars were assembled locally to create local jobs and if they included a percentage of NZ content.

To satisfy the legislation while keeping prices competitive, BMC reached agreement with local companies to supply cars in kit form which would then be assembled in the destination country. In New Zealand this was a company called Dominion Motors Ltd who were the main Morris dealers in the country. Dominion Motors built a new purpose-built plant for the assembly of CKD (Complete Knocked Down) Morris cars in Newmarket, Auckland in 1939. In 1954 a second plant was opened in Panmure, Auckland for the assembly of CKD light commercial vehicles.

Thousands of CKD Minors were assembled in NZ, but from the mid 1950s only four-door saloons and LCVs were built locally. If a customer wanted a two-door, a convertible or a Traveller, these would be imported fully built up and of course would cost more!

CKD production at Cowley was in full swing in 1962 when the 1098 Minor was launched and the first batch of cars left the factory at the end of September at the same time as the first UK cars. However, that year BMC made the decision to cease production of CKD Minor saloons, presumably so that they could concentrate on producing CKD Austin/Morris 1100s which were hugely popular from the moment of their launch in August 1962. However, there was no van version of the new 1100 and so CKD Minor Light Commercials carried on as usual .

As a result the last CKD Minors left Cowley in November 1962 by which time only 385 kits had been sent to New Zealand, all four-door saloons. After assembly they were all registered and on the road either in very late 1962 or during 1963. This means that all 1098cc CKD cars are dual personality ones.

Of course, there are dual personality cars that would have been imported fully built-up, though only in very small numbers. Unfortunately, Nuffield Exports records have not survived and so we do not know how many fully built-up cars came to a particular country as the factory production records simply say “Export RHD” or “Export LHD” and not a destination country. Neither have Light Commercial Vehicle records survived and so we have no records of the number of these either.

So, what are the differences between an NZ assembled DP Minor and a UK assembled one? Mechanically they were identical to UK cars, but bodies differed in quite a few respects:-

1. Body Style – All cars are four-door saloons.
2. Colours – Paint was sourced locally and Dominion Motors had a different colour range.
3. Radiator Grilles – Painted in Body Colour, not Old English White as in the UK.
4. Door Kick Plates – Painted in Body Colour, not Silver as in the UK.
5. Wheels – Painted in a pale cream colour, different to all previous NZ cars which had body colour wheels.
6. Wing Piping – the piping between the rear guards (wings) and the body is black, not body colour as in UK.
7. Heaters – Were optional extras and if specified by the customer were supplied by a local company NATRA (National Radiators) and looked different to UK heaters.
8. Interior – Upholstery and carpets were locally sourced. Some DP cars have duotone upholstery where others have plain mottled grey seat covers with matching grey carpet.
9. Other items – Radiators, tyres, light bulbs etc were all locally sourced, but with no noticeable difference from UK cars.

So what of survivors? Research with the New Zealand Transport Agency suggests that about 50 of the 385 CKD cars have survived and are either on the road or have “registration on hold”, the equivalent of SORN. Of course, there may be more examples in sheds or barns where the registration has expired. So far the group is aware of eight survivors and so the search is on for more!

Andrew Dyer