Aladdin’s cave reveals rare Plus 4 Drophead
Roger Burns from Pembroke Dock, Wales, is a keen Morgan Sports Car Club member and owns a 1988 Morgan Plus 8. While out in it on a local narrow road, he pulled into a passing place to let an oncoming car go by. The car’s driver, John Bentley, wound down his window and said: “I’ve got one of those I wouldn’t mind swapping for yours!”
The car in question turned out to be an unusual 1953 Morgan Plus 4 Drophead Coupé, registered FCK 717 and one of just 117 two-seater versions built. Burns went to see it, but the idea of a swap was soon off the table because Bentley, in his 80s, couldn’t get into the Plus 8. He did say, however, that his Morgan could be for sale. It took a year to settle on a price before Bentley changed his mind, and it was then another year before he finally agreed to let it go.
“John is a hoarder and the garage was an Aladdin’s cave of treasures,” says Burns. “The car was at the back and access was gained by climbing over a multitude of defunct electronic equipment. About ton of it went into a pre-arranged skip, and another ton went on to the street before later being returned to the garage.”
Removal was hampered further by the rear wheels being seized, so the car had to be taken out on a pair of furniture dollies. It appears to be largely complete, but much of the wooden frame needs replacement. The restoration is now under way.
The early history of FCK 717 is not known, but Bentley bought the car in 1970 from a Roger Phillips, then of the Brynhir Country Club, and learned that it had previously suffered a front-end accident. He used it for five years before putting it into his garage in 1975.