A13

Bill Sherk

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Danny Bateman was born in 1944 and lives in Leamington, Ontario. He and his wife Jan own and operate Bateman Stationery on Erie St. South.

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Photo Contributed

Danny Bateman's Morris Minor with friend Neil Fotheringham.

In 1965, when Danny started working at his first full-time job, he decided to buy his first car. He found what he was looking for on the used car lot of Wigle Motors: a Morris Minor wood-bodied station wagon. Danny can't remember the year of this exotic vehicle but he can still remember the "exorbitant" price of $250.

It was a handyman's special. To spruce it up (no pun intended), he painted the wood frame on the sides and back a bright red, as well as the wheel rims. The name "Brutus" just seemed to fit and was painted on both sides. Danny and six of his friends wore red sweat shirts with "Brutus" printed on the front.

Mechanically, Brutus had great strengths and weaknesses. On Danny's frequent trips from Leamington to Hamilton to visit his future bride, Brutus would get around 50 miles to the gallon.

However, in trying to pass transport trucks on Hwy. 401, and even with his foot to the floor, Danny could only get as far as alongside the truck driver's window before the wind resistance stalled his ability to pass and he would have to drop back behind the truck. How humiliating!

Also, there were times Brutus refused to start. That's when Danny had to go to the front, undo one of the two bolts holding up the front license plate, and let it hang down while he crank started the engine.

Unfortunately, this procedure was necessary one time when Danny was taking his future wife, Jan, out to eat at a restaurant on Main Street in Hamilton. How embarrassing!

Brutus was sold after about a year to a young fellow who neglected to transfer the ownership. Danny was advised of this by the police after the new owner totalled Brutus against a tree (ashes to ashes, wood to wood) in London, Ontario. The end of a legend. Et tree, Brute!

The first Morris arrived on the automotive scene in 1913 and was named for the man who designed and built it: William Morris. After World War II, he decided to create a small four-passenger car. It was put into production in 1948.

At first, it was going to be called the Morris Mosquito but was then re-named Morris Minor. Danny Bateman thinks the original name more appropriate because, when he drove around in the summer, mosquitoes often flew in through open windows.

* Bill Sherk is an automobile historian who has had a passion for the topic since his days pumping gas as a teenager. We want to say thank you to our readers who send in their stories. We are giving a copy of Bill Sherk's book, 60 Years Behind the Wheel: The Cars We Drove in Canada 1900-1960 to each reader whose story is published in this column. To share your stories or photos e-mail billtsherk@sympatico.ca or write Bill Sherk, 33 Oak St. E., P.O. Box 10012, Leamington, ON N8H 2C3.