Editing Morris Minor (section)

===Pre-production changes===
The engine was to prove a step too far for the Mosquito project. As the car approached completion in 1946, the war was over and secrecy was no longer necessary or possible to maintain, as more and more Morris staff and executives had to be involved to start production. Many were pessimistic about the radical car's prospects and especially the huge cost in tooling up for a design that shared no parts with any existing Morris product. Lord Nuffield himself took a strong dislike to both the Mosquito and Issigonis, famously saying that the prototype resembled a poached egg.<ref name="minorbio"/>{{rp|63}} Nuffield preferred to continue production of the conventional Morris Eight, which succeeded very well before the war, with some minor styling and engineering improvements. He particularly objected to the Mosquito's expensive and unconventional engine design. Whatever Nuffield's personal views, all of the Mosquito's radical features were looking increasingly unlikely to be implemented while maintaining an acceptable final purchase price and without incurring too much setup costs at the Cowley factory. Thomas and Vic Oak drew up a plan to create a three-model range of cars using Issigonis' design – the Mosquito with an 800-cc engine, a mid-sized model (tentatively designated the Minor after a previous [[Morris Minor (1928)|small Morris]] launched in 1928) with an 1100-cc engine, and a new [[Morris Oxford]] with a 1500-cc version of the engine, all sharing different-sized variants of the same [[Car platform|platform]] and with sporting MG and luxury [[Wolseley Motors|Wolseley]] versions to achieve further [[economies of scale]].

There was also the matter of timing –  a big rush existed for British manufacturers to get new models to market following the end of the war. [[Austin Motor Company|Austin]] was known to be working on an all-new but conventional car, the [[Austin A40 Devon]], which would be launched in 1947. The Mosquito was proposed for launch in 1949 and that deadline was appearing increasingly unlikely due to the untried nature of many of the car's features. The Morris board insisted on launching the Mosquito at the first postwar [[British International Motor Show|British Motor Show]] in October 1948.

This meant that several of Issigonis' proposals were reviewed – first the all-independent torsion bar suspension was changed for a torsion-sprung [[Beam axle|live rear axle]] and this was then substituted by a conventional [[leaf spring|leaf-sprung]] arrangement. All of Miles Thomas' suggestions for spreading the cost of developing the new car and broadening the design's appeal were treated sceptically by the Morris board and vetoed by Lord Nuffield. It became clear that the only way to overcome the personal and financial obstacles to the project was to adopt a lightly revised version of the Morris Eight's obsolete [[Flathead engine|side-valve]] engine.<ref name="issigonis"/>{{rp|129}}  Thomas resigned his position at Morris Motors over the debacle.<ref name="minorbio"/>{{rp|66}} Despite the changes the fundamental principles of Issigonis' concept – a spacious cabin, small wheels at each corner, a forward-placed engine, rack and pinion steering, and independent torsion-bar front suspension – remained.

While Thomas had been battling for the Mosquito's future, Issigonis had been settling the car's styling. Although in his later career he became known for very functional designs, Issigonis was heavily influenced by the modern styling of American cars, especially the [[Packard Clipper]] and the [[Buick Super]].<ref name="minorbio"/>{{rp|62}} A new feature was a low-set headlamps, integral with the grille panel (Issigonis had originally sketched [[Hidden headlamp|hidden lamps]] concealed behind sections of the grille, but these were never implemented). The original Mosquito prototype, which drew Lord Nuffield's "poached egg" comment, was designed with similar proportions to prewar cars, being relatively narrow for its length. In late 1947, with Cowley already tooling up for production, Issigonis was unhappy with the appearance of the car. He had the prototype cut lengthways and the two halves moved apart until it looked "right".<ref name="issigonis"/>{{rp|128}} The production model was thus {{convert|4|in|cm}} wider than the prototype, and in keeping with Issigonis' design principles, this further improved interior space and roadholding. It also gave the car distinctive (and recognisably modern) proportions – contrast with the [[Austin A30]], launched in 1952, but still recognisably prewar in size and proportions. The last-minute change to the design required a number of workarounds – [[Bumper (automobile)|bumpers]] had already been produced, so early cars had ones cut in half with a four-inch plate bolted between the joint.<ref name="issigonis"/>{{rp|129}} The bonnet had a flat fillet section added to its centreline and the floorpan had two two-inch sections added either side of the transmission tunnel.<ref name="minorbio"/>{{rp|68}}