Rex and Eddie’s Morris Minor

In my Rex & Eddie Mysteries series the two detectives drive around in a lime-green 1971 Morris Minor 1000 Traveller.

I chose the car because my old English teacher Mr Grant had one which always stood out in the school car park. To me it was funny to give two detectives such a stand out vehicle to do stakeouts. It’s also a British car, and I thought the detectives should drive something specifically British.

Back in May while visiting the Culver City Car Show I actually saw one in the flesh; it was even green. It was a little older than Rex and Eddie’s car but in a far better condition. I took some photos as a writing reference and thought it would be fun to give readers a good look.

Here’s the heroic shot:

A look at the back’s wooden frame. The reason it was called a “woody.” Just to be clear this isn’t just an exterior trim it’s the actual frame. There’s even a company that makes the replacement wood parts. You know, for when your car gets dry rot or termites.
Interior.
Since it’s a British car it is right hand drive. I can’t imagine driving one of these on Los Angeles’ roads. I’d be very disoriented.
I find it interesting that the cars ignition in in the centre of the dashboard below the speedometer. I’ve never been able to fit that detail into a story as Rex and Eddie are always in a hurry to get away and mentioning it slows down the story.  Here’s a picture of me and my daughter enjoying the car.Bonus photo: Also at the car show was the new Ghostbusters vehicle. I love the scenes in the original where the Ghostbusters are setting up their company, buying an eccentric car, and renting a fixer-upper office. They heavily influenced chapters in Catchee Monkey, so I was excited to see the new team’s car on display; right by the Rex and Eddie car.