It’s been a week without any cars here at The Lego Car Blog, but the Elves sure have made amends today. This glorious 1960 Morris Minor 1000 is the work of friend of TLCB and one of our Master MOCer builders, the incredible Nick Barrett. Nick’s work has featured here countless times over the last two years, and today’s creation takes Lego vehicles to a new level of realism.

Months in the making, Nick’s latest creation is based upon a real 1960 Morris Minor 1000 nicknamed ‘Bluebell’ that he used to own in the 1990s. Under the unusually textured – and incredibly accurate – full-stud bodywork lies some truly inspirational Lego engineering. Working steering, suspension (live axel four link at the rear), opening (and locking) doors, bonnet and boot-lid, a working handbrake, adjustable seats, four speed gearbox and even motorised operational windscreen wipers all feature in a triumph of clever packaging.

Underneath the beautifully curved bonnet sits a fully detailed Austin/Morris A-Series engine operated by a Power Functions motor that drives the rear wheels through the four speed gearbox. Featuring a working crank and pistons, camshaft, pushrods, rockers and valves it’s undoubtedly one of the greatest engines ever built from Lego. Nick has even made it easily removable so it can function as model and educational aid in its own right.

Nick has included a wealth of photos and further information on this astonishing build at both his Flickr and MOCpages accounts. You can see all the images and join in the discussion by visiting either of the pages linked above, plus you can read what happened when we interviewed Nick earlier in the year for The Lego Car Blog’s Master MOCers Series by clicking here.