The Morris Commercial J4 was a 10 cwt (0.5 ton) forward-control

van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

(driver's controls in front of front wheels) launched by

Morris Commercial Morris Commercial Cars Limited was a British manufacturer of commercial vehicles formed by William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, William Morris, founder of Morris Motors, Morris Motors Limited, to continue the business of E G Wrigley and Com ...

in 1960 and produced with two facelifts until 1974. The van was marketed first as both the Morris J4 and the

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

J4. Following the formation of the

British Leyland Motor Corporation British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partl ...

in 1968, into which

British Motor Corporation The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) was a UK-based vehicle manufacturer, formed in early 1952 to give effect to an agreed merger of the Morris and Austin businesses.Morris-Austin Merger Company Named. ''The Times'', Friday, 29 February ...

(BMC), by then a subsidiary of

British Motor Holdings British Motor Holdings Limited (BMH) was a British vehicle manufacturing company known until 14 December 1966 as British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC). BMH was created as a holding company following BMC's takeover of both Jaguar Cars and th ...

, had been absorbed, the van was branded as the BMC J4.

Description

Engine and running gear

The van was fitted available with the familiar B series petrol engine in 1622cc form and also, at extra cost, with a 1500 cc diesel unit. Stopping power came from drum brakes all round; there was no servo assistance. Suspension was similar to that on the

Austin Cambridge :''See Austin 10 for the Cambridge models of 1937 to 1947.'' :''See Austin A40 for other A40 models.'' The Austin Cambridge (sold as A40, A50, A55, and A60) is a medium-sized motor car range produced by the Austin Motor Company, in several ge ...

Morris Oxford Morris Oxford is a series of motor car models produced by Morris of the United Kingdom, from the 1913 ''bullnose'' Oxford to the ''Farina'' Oxfords V and VI. Named by W R Morris after ''the city of dreaming spires'', the university town in which ...

of the time: the front independent suspension incorporated coil springs and hydraulic "Lever-type" shock absorbers while the rear springing was achieved by semi-elliptic leaf springs.

Naming and capacity

In the 1960s light vans were often named simply by their load capacity, and the van at the time was often called simply the Morris 10/12 cwt.

Developments

During its life the van underwent minor improvements under the metal. However, even in 1967 the vans were still shipped with synchromesh on the top three forward gears only. The engine lived in the driver's cabin between the two seats: the van was considered unusually noisy, even in the 1960s. A J4-based petrol-engined motor caravan was tested by Britain's '' Autocar'' magazine in 1967. It managed a maximum speed of 63 mph (101 km/h) and a time from 0–50 mph (80 km/h) of 20.2 seconds. The vehicle as tested weighed and overall petrol consumption for the test came in at . This van became a familiar sight on British streets collecting and delivering mail in the

Royal Mail , kw, Postya Riel, ga, An Post Ríoga , logo = Royal Mail.svg , logo_size = 250px , type = Public limited company , traded_as = , foundation = , founder = Henry VIII , location = London, England, UK , key_people = * Keith Williams ...

livery of the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

. Although quite a successful light commercial, it sold mainly by virtue of keen pricing to large fleets, living after 1965 in the shadow of the all conquering front engined

Ford Transit The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1965, primarily as a cargo van, but also available in other configurations including a large passenger van (marketed as the Ford Tourneo in ...

, as did several other British built 60s/70s light commercials such as the

Standard Atlas The Standard Atlas is a light van which was produced and sold under various names between 1958 and 1980, initially in Britain and Europe, and subsequently in India. Standard Atlas, Standard Atlas Major and Standard 15/20 (1958–1968) In 1958 ...

Commer FC The Commer FC was a forward control commercial vehicle produced by Commer from 1960 to 1976. During its lifespan, it was developed into the Commer PB in 1967, and the Commer SpaceVan in 1974. After the Rootes Group, which owned Commer, was purcha ...

and the formerly class-leading but now ageing

Bedford CA The Bedford CA was a distinctive pug-nosed light commercial vehicle produced between 1952 and 1969 by Bedford in Luton, England. It was manufactured in short-wheelbase and long-wheelbase forms, each form available in either a 10–12 ...

. Whilst competent as a van, the Morris J4 offered a rather poor driving experience even by the standards of the day. The sliding front doors were replaced by a pair of conventional front-hinged doors for the last model year (1973-74).

Replacement

The J4 was replaced in 1974 by the front-engined Sherpa van, which utilised the rear panel work of the J4 virtually unchanged. The Sherpa remained in production in various forms until 2006. During this time, in various wheel-bases and track widths, it became The Freight Rover, LDV 200, LDV Pilot. The LDV Maxus was a completely new development produced jointly with Daewoo. During much of this time it also became available as a chassis-cab, pickup, tipper, Luton, Mini-bus and Camper (Motor Caravan.)

Spain

A diesel-powered version of the van was produced in

Valladolid Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...

, Spain by SAVA (''"Sociedad Anónima de Vehículos Automóviles"''), between 1965 and 1989 and sold successively under several names including SAVA J4 and Pegaso J4.

Popular culture

A London

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

J4 (usually referred to as a

Black Maria Black Maria may refer to: Art and literature *Black Mariah (comics), a character in the Luke Cage comics series *List of One Piece characters#Animal Kingdom Pirates, Black Maria, a character in the manga series ''One Piece'' *Black Maria (nove ...

) appears parked in the street on the cover of the

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

Abbey Road ''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It is the last album the group started recording, although ''Let It Be'' was the last album completed before the band's break-up in April 1970. It was mostly re ...

''. The van had been driven down by the policeman who came to stop the traffic behind the camera during the photo shoot. There was a second police officer out of sight further ahead up the road stopping any oncoming traffic. The Beatles also were transported in an Austin J4 minibus owned by their then manager

Allan Williams Allan Richard Williams (21 February 1930 – 30 December 2016) was a British businessman and promoter who was the original booking agent and first manager of the Beatles. He personally drove the van to take the young band to Hamburg, Germany, in ...

when playing clubs in Hamburg Germany around 1960-1962 era. In the film

Withnail and I ''Withnail and I'' is a 1987 British black comedy film written and directed by Bruce Robinson. Loosely based on Robinson's life in London in the late 1960s, the plot follows two unemployed actors, Withnail and "I" (portrayed by Richard E. Gran ...

a London

J4 van overtakes Withnail and Marwood in their

Jaguar Mark 2 The Jaguar Mark 2 is a mid-sized luxury sports saloon built from late 1959 to 1967 by Jaguar in Coventry, England. The previous Jaguar 2.4 Litre and 3.4 Litre models made between 1955 and 1959 are identified as Mark 1 Jaguars.Eric Dymock, The ...

. One of the police officers slides back the door of the van, motioning Withnail to pull over, before ordering him to "get in the back of the van!"