In for the long haul

A FINAL CRY OF ‘TIMBER!’ ENDS THE 84-YEAR RUN OF THIS ENGLISH ICON

MUSING ON THE Morgan 4/4, this tweedy, time-trapped sports car looks to be more English Setter than record-setter. But oh, is it ever: the 4/4 was introduced in 1936 and, but for a fiveyear nameplate hiatus filled by its sister variant the Plus 4, the base-model Morgan continued in production until 2019.

Only in July of last year (2020) did the final Plus 4 farewell the 4/4’s antiquated architecture, after an astonishing 84 years.

In 1905, at age 24, former railway apprentice HFS (Harry) Morgan opened a motor garage and dealership. In 1910 he produced a lightweight, three-wheeled car, the Morgan Runabout. A V-twin engine ahead of the front axle took drive via a prop shaft to a rear-mounted gearbox, thence by chain to the single rear wheel. Also novel was the independent ‘sliding pillar’ front suspension, a design using kingpins with coilsprung sliding axles.

By the 1930s, Morgan was developing increasingly sophisticated road versions of its ‘cyclecar’. The F-type four-seater of 1933 accommodated a Ford four-cylinder engine behind the radiator and introduced a Z-section steel ladder chassis that clearly pointed to what should come next.

The 4/4 (indicating four wheels and four cylinders), topped the revised Z-section chassis with an ash body frame, clothed in hand-formed steel and aluminium panels. The two- and four-seaters were strong, light and lively enough, with (initially) a 1.1-litre Coventry Climax 1.1 and soon after, a 1.2-litre Standard engine.

World War Two halted production until 1946. Four years later, a ‘one engine’ policy at Standard forced Morgan to develop the beefed-up Plus 4 to accept a 2.1-litre four, but in 1955 the base-model 4/4 returned in a ‘Series 2’, with the Plus 4’s more rounded lines and a 1.2-litre Ford engine. The Plus 4 gained a broader and better-equipped cockpit and Triumph’s 2.0-litre TR2 engine.

In a sense, that’s where the story ends ... except it didn’t. The 4/4 slowly and subtly evolved, adopting a succession of new Ford engines (and briefly, Fiat) through the years, disc brakes in 1961, a low-line body for two-seaters from 1966, and airbags in 1997. However, the anachronistic chassis, suspensions and traditional handcrafting remained to the end.

At the 2020 conclusion of an extraordinary life, a total of about 31,500 steel-chassis Morgan 4/4 and Plus 4 four-cylinder models (and another 3500 of the V8-engined Plus 8 variant) had been built.

CLIMAX; NO ‘ANTI’ ABOUT IT

The 1122cc Coventry Climax ‘OC’ engine had overhead inlet and side exhaust valves, and produced an adequate 25kW, good for a top speed of 120km/h. A 1098cc version was soon offered for sub-1100cc class racing; likewise a 1267cc ohv Standard Special (29kW) .The Series 2 (1955) replaced this with an 1172cc Ford unit; a series of Ford fours would follow.

CHOOSE YOUR BODY

The 4/4 debuted with the options of two-seat roadster, drophead coupe or open four-seater. You’d be forgiven for not noticing, but they have evolved since. Peter Morgan, son of HFS, styled the ’55 Series 2, which dispensed with the flat radiator and folding windscreen. A low-line ‘super sports’ body graced twoseaters from 1966. Bucket seats replaced the standard bench in 1971.

INITIAL NAME OF THE 4/4, UNTIL 1945

4-4

697

TOTAL MORGAN PRODUCTION IN 2019

NUMBER OF ASH TIMBER FRAME PIECES (TWO- AND FOUR-SEATER, RESPECTIVELY)

94/114

200

KM/H TOP SPEED OF MORGAN PLUS 8 (3.5-LITRE V8, 1968)