On August 11, 1881, Henry Frederick Stanley Morgan was born to Florence and the Reverend Prebendary Henry George Morgan, in the Manor House of the village of Morton Jeffries, in Herefordshire, England.
Interested in art and engineering at a young age, Morgan awas allowed by his parents to follow his muse. He studied at the Crystal Palace Engineering College. After graduation, his father got him a job as an apprentice to William Dean, and then CJ Churchyard, the chief engineers of the Great Western Railway at Swindon. This type of work was the starting point for other automotive luminaries—W.O. Bentley and Henry Royce came from similar training.
When finished with his apprenticeship, he struck out on his own and opened a garage selling Wolseleys and Darracas. With business doing well Morgan was able to concentrate on his own automotive designs. His first creation was a three-wheeled cyclecar powered by a 7-hp Peugeot engine. On its debut, in 1909, at Shelsley Walsh it created quite a stir. Morgan was besieged with requests to build similar cars. He began to think about actually becoming an automotive manufacturer. Over the ensuing years, his three-wheel design was refined and became a more powerful machine. By 1929, though, sales of the various models were down and continued to drop through 1935, but around Christmas of ’35, the announcement was made that there would soon be a four-wheeled Morgan motorcar.
In 1936, a four-wheeled Morgan was on display at the London and Paris Exhibitions. To differentiate it from the three-wheeled models it was called the 4-4 (4-wheels, 4-cylinders). Morgan quickly had another success on his hands.
The car soon proved itself in racing. In 1938, Miss Prudence Fawcett, a novice driver, entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans with co-driver Geoff White and placed 13th overall. White came back a year later with co-driver Dick Anthony and came in 15th overall and 2nd in class.
During the war years, Morgan’s machine shops built precision parts for the Oerlikon gun, as well as hydraulic undercarriage parts for warplanes. Post-war Morgan took a while to start production again. A few cars were built from spare parts stored during the war, while bodies were supplied by whomever bought the rolling chassis.
Morgans continued their racing successes all through the ’40s and ’50s, but the car was starting to look dated. So, in 1953, an interim change to the cowl and headlamps gave it a more modern appearance, and by ’54 the design was more refined. Not much has changed since.
This +4 Competition was dispatched from the factory on March 2, 1967. Almost identical to the Super Sport, it had the SS’s radiator and cowl, as well as the Laurence-tuned exhaust system, Weber carburetors with the bonnet bulge to cover them, and 72-spoke wire wheels. Where the Super Sport had a body clad in aluminum, the Competition was a steel-bodied car. Interestingly, the Competition is actually a more rare machine then the SS as only 42 were built, compared to the “massive” 104 production run of its lightweight brother.
Climbing into this car is stepping back in time. Not just to 1967, but further back. As I said, not a lot changed over the many years of +4 production. Among the Competition’s little extras are Armstrong Selectaride rear lever arm shock absorbers. They are adjustable from a knob on the dash, in Morgan-speak, from soft to hard, in real world speak from rock hard to bone shattering. If that is not enough, the banjo-style wheel and bladder-filled seat cushion will help to protect your delicate constitution.
The steering wheel separates the Smiths tachometer and speedometer, then to the left are all the necessary switches, further left a multi-gauge handles amps, oil, fuel and water. The “Moggy” fires up willingly on the key and all kinds of wonderful sounds dump out just under your right elbow. Heading out onto the open road, the car is nimble and light. It handles like it’s on rails—“Morgan rails”—but rails nonetheless.
Apply your “Welly” to the loud pedal and it moves like the proverbial scalded cat! You can hear the Webers sucking in air for all they are worth. Hopefully your quest takes you on glass smooth roads. If not your dentist will be able to add that new extension on his or her weekend home. However, that all fades away as you put miles behind you, because even though this is an ancient agricultural design it just works. And it transports you to a bygone era that’s nice to still have around.
To quote a notorious Top Gear presenter in reference to these cars, “As fine a British institution as cold showers and buggery, and about as comfortable, the Morgan Plus 4 is an antiquated indulgence that you shouldn’t want, but absolutely wil,l the second you step aboard.”
Case closed.
My thanks to Bob Millstein and Briarcliff Classic & Imported Car Service for allowing me to beat myself up with a smile on my face in this car.
Specifications
Length 144 inches
Width 56 inches
Front track 47 inches
Rear track 47 inches
Wheelbase 96 inches
Weight 1847 pounds
Engine Triumph built, inline 4, twin Weber carburetors
Displacement 130.7 cubic inches
Bore 3.39 inches
Stroke 3.62 inches
Horsepower 115
Gearbox 4 speed, non-synchro first
Valuation
Excellent: $80,000
Good: $65,000
Average: $40,000
Poor: $20,000
