Basic English:1961 Morris Minor

Up until 1967, you could be the proud owner of a brand-new 15-year-old car procured from a stateside importer. But back in mid-60's, most English cars still looked like 2/3 scale 1950's American cars. In the land of planned obsolescence and free gas, that sales pitch went over like a rolling unsynchronized first gear downshift.  Find this 1961 Morris Minor for sale in Boise, ID for $4,999 via craigslist.  Tip from FuelTruck

When someone says that a car has been 'renovated' like they're talking about counter tops, it deserves to be approached with a bit of caution. However, left hooking Moggies are somewhat rare around these parts and the body doesn't appear to be rotting off the frame.  At $5k, this is actually looking to be a pretty decent deal, especially if there's wiggle room on the seller's end.

Though you may imagine the driving experience being one of boredom, discomfort, and fear, the Minor was a actually pretty entertaining to drive. Fear and discomfort remain. They made no power whatsoever but they had a lot of gear multiplication and light weight aiding the physics. Steering feel is actually really tight feeling with a quick ratio.

The interior looks a little tired and there's some evidence of failure to mask the inner jams upon the respray, but for the price point things look pretty OK. The seller claims new carpet but it looks a bit like a poorly fitting suit. That's probably not his fault though as most of the replacement parts for these cars are of pretty poor quality.

See a cheaper way to a jolly good time? email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com

Matt, a self-proclaimed bottom-feeder of the classic car market, spends half of his time buying cars, half of his time retrieving them, and the remaining third on keeping them on the road.