Lot Ended
Description
Only 90 miles since total nut-and-bolt restoration, fully documented
with hundreds of photos; Coventry Climax engine and Meadows gearbox; very smart
indeed
An island of
constancy in an automotive sea of change, the Morgan Motor Company looks set to
continue building its unique Vintage-style cars well into the 21st
Century.
Morgan’s first four-wheeler, the two-seater 4/4, appeared in
1936 and was initially fitted with a relatively long-stroke Coventry Climax
1,122cc inlet-over-exhaust engine developing 34bhp and mated to a four-speed
Meadows gearbox. In 1937 a four-seater was introduced and from 1939 a more
powerful 39bhp Standard Special 1,267cc overhead-valve engine was adopted, mated
to a four-speed Moss gearbox.
The 4/4 gained an
excellent reputation for its spirited performance with notable success on the
track. Around 900 were made before war broke out in 1939, with a further 250
Series 1 'Flat Rad' cars finding customers post-war before production came to a
halt in 1950 while Morgan focused on developing the Ford-engined Series 2
which came out in 1955.
As a copy of the Morgan
factory chassis record confirms, this 4/4 Two-Seater left the works in March
1938 for delivery to the Ron Harris dealership somewhere in UK (the record
doesn’t name a town and AI might be clever but that drew a blank too).
Nothing is known of the early history of the car
but our vendor acquired it in a fairly dilapidated state about 10 years ago. He
has since treated it to a total nut-and-bolt restoration as detailed in copious
notes on file and hundreds of photos on a USB stick (a tiny selection of which
are reproduced here).
The Coventry Climax engine
was stripped and rebuilt, as was the Meadows gearbox, along with the brakes,
steering, suspension etc. The ash frame was repaired as required with new marine
ply floor boards etc. The bodywork was also restored and fibreglass front wings
fitted as the steel ones were beyond repair (the rear wings are steel). The
bonnet is a new aluminium item supplied by VSM.
Other highlights
include: new wiring loom; dash instruments refurbished; flashing indicators and
hazard lights incorporated; new radiator surround and modern core; dynamotor in
place of dynamo; accelerator linkage changed from rods to Bowman cable, plus
much else besides.
Since the restoration was completed, the
car has only covered 90 miles and will require a gentle running-in period before
the performance is exploited to the full.
The
vendor states that there are still a couple of little things required to finish
the job off: there is no hood but the frame is in good shape with new stainless
steel bolts etc; the side-screens need restoring (the frames are good); the time
clock fitted to the speedo needs attention; he also states that the paintwork is
not up to the standard he would like as the finish is more ‘eggshell’ than ‘high
gloss’ but we actually think it looks fine as it is.
Starting promptly and running nicely as we have driven it around on
site, with healthy 60psi oil pressure, this freshly rejuvenated Morgan is on
offer here at a modest guide price and now only needs an enthusiastic new owner
who can reap the rewards of all the good work carried out.
Consigned by
James Dennison – 07970 309907 – [email protected]