History

Slim’s interest in cars began as a Salesman for Harold Radford Coachbuilders in the early 1950’s and he attended Earls Court Motor Show alongside the Bentley Countryman; described as a luxurious town car shooting break. Part of Slim’s daily routine would be to check that the cars were immaculate and to make them pristine enough for showing and selling to the public. It was not uncommon for him to deliver cars to customers all over the continent - imagine the buzz of driving a Bentley on country lanes in France and Spain in the 1950s.

This passion for cars grew into Slim’s own crash repair business, repairing or panel beating in its earliest form as spares were expensive and hard to buy. All the cars were cleaned with T-cut, and a polish was applied, ensuring complete customer satisfaction. Slim’s thriving business was always being let down by his paint and consumables supplier who would take up to a week to deliver. This inspired him to set up his own business, taking the ‘M-O-R’ from his surname, Moring, and the ‘E-L-L-I’ from his partner’s surname, Ellis, and forming The Morelli Group in 1957.  His slogan from day one was “your stock is at the end of your telephone” and he immediately offered twice daily deliveries from his North London base in Southgate in Ford Thames vans. The delivery vans were painted in two tone green and black, with hand written gold lettering, immediately identifying them for his customers. 

His passion for cars continued as the business grew and he never forgot the Bentley Countryman, eventually restoring one which remains in the ownership of his eldest son, David. In 2023, the car underwent a full restoration which you can find on our Morelli YouTube Channel and read more on the Slim's blog.

Morelli continued to grow, adding branches across the South East, and Slim finally retired to spend more time restoring Rolls Royce cars that he would detail for weeks before a show. During this process he could often be found raiding the Morelli shelves to get the latest compounds, polishes, and waxes, giving him an edge over his opponents. Morelli is still owned by the Moring family today, and has 13 branches nationwide - from Glasgow down to Bodmin.

Slim’s Detailing has been established in honour of a man whose vision for quality lives on in his cars and his business which started trading over 50 years ago. We have also been inspired by anybody who has a car they love and care for.

Our motto in business remains the same, as Slim would say, "It's all about the details".

Slim’s Detailing operates under Morelli Group Limited (02711932).