We’ve vaguely heard of the Morris J2 and J4 commercial vans, but confess never having seen nor heard of the Dormobile variant. Today’s example is very rough, but complete enough to largely serve as its own template for restoration.
This is much like a Westfalia, in that it’s a third party camper conversion. In this case, the conversion was done by Martin and Walker, a coach builder with origins in the 1700s. These were powered either by 1.6L four cylinder gas engines or 1.5L diesel fours. The eBay listing indicates this is a gas version with an unspecified manual trans. These are BMC items which should be easy to fix or source.
The seller provides essentially no information, but makes it clear that this van doesn’t run. That’s not a surprise, based on its appearance. It looks like this needs just about everything to be a driver or functional camper; but, as stated above, everything it there, so new bits can be found or made. The question is what it would cost to buy or make those parts.
If someone’s willing to put in the effort and expense, they’ll have something essentially unique in the US and, hopefully, perfectly functional. The current condition is sad, but cries out for help. As a bonus, one source claims this van was styled by Pininfarina. Surely that’s worth something…
Click for eBay ad
West Linn, OR, USA
$900 with 11 bids and one day to go
Is this a face you could love? We love its weirdness, but won’t call it pretty.
Rear is a bit more conventional. We think the striping on the sides is a nice touch, too.
Cockpit is pretty standard for a 60s “forward control” van. Engine is, of course, between the seats.
The passenger compartment looks tired and dirty, but it does look like everything is present.
Pop top looks frayed, but it’s there.
View from the rear show the cabinetry. It’s not clear what all this does, but it does have an obvious water can piped in, so we assume there’s a sink.
Engine is as dirty as the rest and the seller gives no indication as to why this van isn’t currently running. Hopefully, it’s not seized and can be easily serviced by any British car specialist.
Ad text:
1965 Morris Dormobile
This is an excellent project for someone that wants a unique and rare camper. It is not running, but seems to be very complete. You will need to arrange to have it towed from our location. There is a worldwide following for these Campers because of the small size and Morris history. Very unusual, while you are Glamping, don’t be shy, you get lots of questions!
Good Luck
No Reserve!