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MAN AND MACHINE
45, but still a Minor
PRINCE FREDERICK
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Subhash Chandra Bose majors in Minor 1000. The way he has maintained this 1962 example is testimony
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MINOR SHARE Leela Bose gets to drive this car during the weekend
Ironically, the most conscientious follower of traffic rules I have met is a racer. Subash Chandra Bose’s Minor 1000 chunters along at an amiable pace as he drives me around town. I had assumed he had modified the car for speed. Since Morris Mi
nor models are a popular choice for building hot-rods, the assumption was not unreasonable.
But this 1962 Minor 1000 has not undergone any radical change. This man hates to meddle with the past. Oh yes, with changes from nose to tail, he did make his 1960 Bullet almost two times more powerful (from 18bhp, this racing bike leaped to 30 bhp). But by and large, Bose prefers to let his vehicles remain classic.
He has gone an extra mile with the Minor 1000, taking the trouble to rid the car of spurious parts it had when he acquired it. To most eyes, a Minor 1000 looks like any Morris Minor until you park it next to one.
Cars in the Morris Minor MM Series (1948-53) and the Morris Series II (1952-56) that can be compared with Bose’s Minor 1000 have smaller taillights. And while the Minor 1000 has a plain, one-part windshield, older Minors have a two-part windshield. But, many parts can be used interchangeably between these models. Local mechanics often exploit this flexibility.
Bose’s Minor 1000 was getting by on a borrowed steering. After unsuccessful attempts to locate the right steering and a pair of Morris 1000 taillights, he got them both as surprise gifts from the TTK family. While T.T. Arun Vasu got him the steering from England, T.T Raghunathan procured the taillights from Down Under.
Bose goes through so much trouble because he regards the 1000 the best of the Minors. This view is bound to be challenged by owners of other Minor models. It is a group that is sensitive to criticism and tends see these vintage and classic vehicles as children. But the Minor 1000s made after 1962 (a bracket that Bose’s car falls into) clearly received the biggest and possibly the most efficient engines.
The 1098 cc overhead valve engine gave these Minors more strength in the legs. The cars were capable of a top speed of 124 kmph, and at 6.2 litres for every 100km, did not guzzle too much petrol for all that work.
From Monday to Friday, Bose keeps the Minor 1000 at his UCAL office in Ambattur. During the weekend, his wife Leela drives this old British vehicle; on Saturdays, she takes it to St. Michael’s where she is a teacher and on most Sundays, she chauffeurs the family to the beach.
The lady celebrated her fiftieth birthday on December 25, 2007. And as an expression of love for his 50-year-old wife and 45-year-old car, Bose insisted that they pose together for the camera.
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