"Our first was Monty, a 1952 Morris Minor four door sedan that we bought from one careful lady owner who had it hidden in her garage for over 10 years in Halswell," the Rangiora resident said.
"He’s my husband Brian’s car and he’s powered by a side valve 918cc four cylinder engine.
"Next came Shrek, a 1952 two door saloon with a larger 948cc four cylinder motor that Brian had bought literally from a couple of houses down the road in Rangiora.
"It’s his car and he drives him everywhere.
"He was a project car painted bright green.
"We pushed him home and got him going again, and he’s still painted in the V Drink green, making him very visible everywhere you go,’’ she says.
Anita’s baby is Audrey, a 1959 Morris Minor 1000 four door sedan.
"I went for a drive with my friend Jane who has a convertible Morris Minor and she invited me as her navigator on a road trip to Rotorua for the Morris convention being held up there.
"I went home and told Brian I was going on a road trip and he said ‘what about me?’
"So I worked out that I had the funds, which I was saving up for a new kitchen, which I still haven’t got, and we decided to buy another Morris Minor and use that to go up to the convention, then sell it when we got back.
"But we didn’t and now she’s mine.
"He found Audrey in Oamaru.
"He drove her home back firing and carrying on all the way back. She needed a lot of work and so we worked on her for the next five months to get her ready.
"While I acted as navigator in Jane’s Morris Minor called Myrtle, Brian and my son drove Audrey to Rotorua.
"We did a fundraising project on the way there called Audrey and Myrtle’s North Island Hurtle fundraiser, which was heaps of fun and we raised $5000 for the NZ Spinal Trust."
The couple’s latest car is George, a 1961 Morris 1100 van.
It was a former MED electrician’s van and still carries the original paint colour. The hand-painted MED emblem is still visible under the overcoat.
"We were later told that the most common thing to break on these vans was the axle because drivers overloaded them regularly."
When asked why Minors, she says Brian loved them before they were together and that’s why he brought Monty.
"I love anything retro and love dressing up in period 60/70s costumes.
"We love these cars because they are so easy to work on. We work on them together, it’s our thing. He works on the engine, while I work on the interior. It works out very well for us as a couple."
She says Morris Minors are a very nice car to drive, as they put a smile on people’s faces.
"Whenever we park up, people come around and chat about learning to drive in a Morris Minor or how it was their first car.
"Everyone has a story to tell us about their time driving Morris Minors.
"Audrey does leak in the rain which is common for a Morris.
"The passengers’ left leg cops most of the run off in their shoes,’’ Anita says.
