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MAN AND MACHINE
The Minor and the Princess
PRINCE FREDERICK
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Businessman Venkatesh devotes a considerable amount of time to his two vintage cars
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PROUD POSSESSION J. Venkatesh’s Morris Minor with the glowing Semaphore indicator. He also has a spare steering wheel for that rainy day
With a demanding business to attend to, a time-consuming hobby is better avoided. J. Venkatesh does not appreciate this logic.
If he did, he would have resisted the temptation to have a Morris Minor and an Austin Princess in his driveway. Due to these cars, he spends time on mechanics. Time that could have been spent at his factories that churn out corrugated cardboards and offset printers. But then, who can argue with a man’s idea of what’s useful or wasteful expenditure of time?
From what can be gathered, the 1961 Austin Princess has eaten considerably into his time — not that he minds it. The car is in the last stage of restoration and Venkatesh plans to present it to the world at a gathering of vintage and classic car lovers.
He looks forward to the day when his two-door 1949 Morris Minor (of the MM-series) will share the driveway with the Princess.
Not as uncommon as the Princess, the Morris Minor MM is however just as important to Venkatesh. Because, he owned one in the 1980s, but sold it by force of circumstances. He longed to get another, but found the impetus to go for it only four years ago.
His elder son Aditya was then in Kolkata, studying law. Having seen spectacularly beautiful vintage cars in that city, he urged his dad to go for one. Predictably, Venkatesh’s first choice was the Morris Minor.
At that time, an ageing Ernest Durai was looking for someone who would treasure his Minor MM as much as he did. Ernest was happy to sell the car to Venkatesh. The Minor merited a visit to a garage, but did not have to stay there for long. The suspension and brakes were worked upon. The body needed a bit of tinkering. Otherwise, the car was okay.
With some difficulty, Venkatesh procured the taillights and the Semaphore indicators. For the rainy day, he has hoarded spares, including a steering wheel.
Venkatesh’s Minor MM belongs to a group of Minors that bears evidence of having been widened at the last minute. It is most evident in a small patch (hidden by the number plate) between the two sections of the front bumper. The prototype for these cars happened to be narrower than desired.
The headlamps in Venkatesh’s car are integrated into the grille, a characteristic that became conspicuous when MMs with headlamps studded into the wings were exported to the U.S. from 1949.
This Minor MM has a side-valve 918cc engine, which has been trouble-free so far. During its time, the Morris Minor put in the shade many cars of its category, by virtue of its handling and cornering qualities.
Even now, the car is not too far behind the standard. For Venkatesh, the evidence lies in how his younger son Shashank, used to driving modern cars, is comfortable with this Morris too. “He drives without any discomfort,” says the proud dad.
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