1966 Morgan 4/4

A totally restored and upgraded 1966 Morgan 4/4 Series V with a Cosworth-spec Ford Kent engine and other period-correct upgrades. If you prefer the circa 1966 as-new appearance the rollbar simply bolts-in and can be easily removed (I believe the rollbar is a necessary safety feature). The original front and rear bumpers and four vertical over riders (no rust and good chrome. with few very minor dents). brackets and hardware are included and are ready to bolt-on.

The car is a joy on twisty mountain roads. it cruises comfortably at 80 mph on the Interstates. and idles smoothly at 1200 rpm. This particular Morgan is as close as we could get to assembling a “Super Sports” style Morgan 4/4 using period correct parts. It is quicker. with smoother steering and handling. than most Morgans but the upgrades are all in keeping with what would have been done in 1966.

The 4/4 is lightest of the four-wheel Morgans and the first to be fitted with the slim "low line" body. The 4/4 Morgans were fitted with contemporary Ford 4-cylinder engines and transmissions. which were much. much lighter than the Triumph engines in the Plus 4 Morgans. According to Road & Track. this series 4/4 weighs just 1542 pounds with 52% on the rear wheels---a typical Morgan Plus 4 weighs over 300 pounds more. the Morgan Plus 8 and the newer Morgans weigh 600 pounds more---and most of that excess weight is in the engine (and the “Moss” crash box transmission). With less weight. the springs can be more compliant for a reasonable ride and the weight distribution is better balanced. When new. the “base” 4/4 was almost as quick as an MGA. the “Competition” option (larger downdraft Weber carburetor---also included with this car---and 9:1 compression) upped the performance so that 4/4 was quicker than a Triumph TR4 or the Morgan Plus 4. Now. with the two dual-throat Weber carburetors (which were painstakingly fitted to allow the stock hood to be used with no unsightly hood scoop) on the mildly-tuned engine this Morgan 4/4 is almost as quick as the racing Morgan Plus 4 Super Sports (the Triumph-engined Morgan. also with a pair of twin-throat Webers)---and this 4/4 has a more ‘comfortable' ride and smoother handling. This is a rare opportunity; I have searched for 20 years and only heard of a half-dozen Morgan 4/4s with ‘Cosworth' spec engines in America or England (only one was for sale) and all but one had an unsightly holes or scoops in the hood.

 This1966 Morgan 4/4 Series V is. essentially. a 47-year-old car that is completely rebuilt (in three stages over the past 18 years). There are hundreds of receipts to document its history. The car has only been driven about 4. 00 miles over that period (with no chance for rust to even begin) and has been meticulously maintained. with 1000-mile oil and filter changes---hand washed top and bottom and the leather treated annually with Hide Food---the restored car has never seen rain or dirt roads.

The restoration of this 1966 4/4 Morgan began in 1994 with a completely new treated hardwood central body frame. and the original steel fenders. hood and cowl were disassembled and taken down to bare metal. rust proofed and refinished (one piece at a time) and reinstalled with new black beading. Inside the new body is a new leather interior. a lovely restored wood dashboard with original instruments. and an electric tachometer and water temperature gauge. The wood and alloy steering wheel is a MotoLita. A complete new wiring harness was installed. The chassis was stripped to bare metal. rust proofed. painted and every screw in the frame and chassis is fresh and most nuts are Nylocks.

The engine and drive train were completely rebuilt to levels beyond the Morgan factory “Competition” specifications and the car was raced in U. S. vintage events in 2000-2001 and. in the process. all the reliability “tweaks” necessary for a race car to survive and thrive (see below) were incorporated into the engine and drive train---if it was reliable and safe enough to race (I did want the safety of a roll bar and a fuel cell that would actually meet race specs). it would be worry-free on the street.

The restoration was completed over the past two years. The car has been thoroughly “civilized” to be a practical “daily driver”. with a complete new clutch. new pistons and a thicker head gasket installed (to lower the compression ratio from 11. 25:1 to 9. 5:1 so the car can run reliably on 91 octane pump gasoline). The stock front and lever rear shocks were replaced with four new adjustable Spax shocks to smooth-out the ride and five 165R15 Dayton tires were fitted and balanced and have less than 2. 00 miles of wear. Five new (still in the wrappers) 155R-15 Avon tires are also included. The engine was brought up to ‘Cosworth' specs with a pair of new dual-throat Weber 40 DCOE 151 side-draft carburetors. new intake manifolds. air filters. fuel lines and linkage and a ‘Cosworth' valve cover. The speedometer is rebuilt and all the instruments (except the fuel gauge) function. The horn honks. Supplemental LED rear turn indicators and brake light are fitted. The full tonneau fits around the roll bar and zips down the middle for use by only the driver. If you want to drive it all year. the top and side curtains are behind the seats. There are two outside rear view mirrors and a car cover. Two Brooklands folding glass windscreens can be installed in minutes and the windshield itself slips in or out with just four bolts. The original front and rear bumpers are here. complete with brackets and bolts. but they were always too low to provide any protection.

CHASSIS:  A new Morgan-option Gemmer precision steering gearbox provides light and direct modern era steering feel. The car has four new adjustable Spax shocks. The front suspension is decambered for optimum front suspension control. The rear axle is fitted with a rose-jointed Panard rod for optimum rear suspension control. The rear axle is MGB for wider gear ratio choices (3. 90:1 now) and it has been Magnafluxed. The front disc brakes have competition pads as do the rear MGB drum brakes. Four of the wheels are 15 x 6 with 72 stainless spokes and chrome rims (essentially the same wheels that were fitted to the 289 Cobras). the spare is a 15 x 5 ½ 60-spoke painted wheel.

ENGINE:  This Morgan 4/4 Series V's original Ford ‘Kent' (also used in the Cortina) 1499cc non-cross-flow four-cylinder engine has been upgraded  with optional Cosworth-spec engine components that Morgan buyers could specify when the car was new---the same specs as the engines that were fitted to the Lotus Super 7 1500 from 1962-1968. The engine has been rebuilt from valve cover to drain plug. balanced and blueprinted. for the reliability and power needed for vintage racing. The crankshaft and connecting rods are balanced and blueprinted. The intake and exhaust ports have been enlarged. profiled and polished. a Cosworth A2-spec high-lift “street” cam is fitted. with 1. 44-inch intake valves. racing valve springs. and high compression pistons. The engine also has an Accusump (acts like a dry sump to maintain oil pressure regardless of oil surge but is legal for most vintage racing). vented block and valve cover breather hoses with catch tank. tuned tubular exhaust manifold with special “Jet-Hot” heat-resistant ceramic coating. a ‘Cosworth' alloy valve cover. electric fan. heavy-duty aluminum radiator. oil cooler and Aeroquip braided hoses. The car is fitted with a new high-output fuel pump and 8 gallon ATL racing fuel cell with a fresh foam liner.

Two choices of carburetors are included: 

            Currently the engine is fitted with a pair of dual-throat Weber 40 DCOE 151 side-draft carburetors with air filters that (just) clear the stock hood with no hood scoop.

            A single downdraft dual-throat Weber 28/36 DCO23 carburetor (that was optional on the “Competition” 1966 Morgan 4/4 and are nearly impossible to find today) is also included with intake manifold and air cleaner that (again. just) clears the hood (the Morgans with the single Weber 28/36 DCO23 carburetor were not delivered from the factory with air cleaners!). Many vintage racing groups only allow 1966 and earlier Morgan 4/4s with this carburetor and this non-crossflow 1499cc engine.

 What's wrong with it:  The fuel gauge is not connected because the car is fitted with an eight-gallon safety fuel cell (the factory fuel tank is included) and the handbrake is inoperative. The paint has some checking (on cowl and left door). small stone dimples and chipping with the minor gravel nicks and blemishes you'd expect on any car with. effectively. 4. 00 miles of use. The underside of the fenders and chassis are protected with a thick flexible clear coat and they are only lightly chipped and tar splattered with no rust.

Extras included (if you want  “personalize” the car for your use):

•Original front and rear bumpers. brackets and four vertical over riders—good chrome. few very minor dents with brackets and hardware

•Rollbar removes with bolts and nuts and the plain cover for the inside deck is included (the holes in the cloth tonneau would need to be covered or a second tone made).

•Leather hood strap with brackets

•Rock guards for headlights

•Badge bar

•Five new (still wrapped) Avon 155RS-15 tires

•Stock steel gas tank

•Original heater (yes. a heater!) complete with hoses

•Original “basic” engine-spec 26/27 DCD1 downdraft Weber carburetor

 More Power:  If you want even more power. a pair of longer intake manifolds and two sets of Weber intake bells are included but a hood scoop will be needed to clear the carburetors (if the longer intake manifolds and the deeper intake bells were installed) and a genuine Morgan factory hood scoop is also included (a mirror-image of the one the factory fitted the Plus 4 Super Sports with its two dual-throat Webers on the opposite side of the Triumph engine).

To meet some of the Vintage racing rules:

•The single downdraft dual-throat Weber  28/36 DCO23 carburetor & manifold

•Five-point safety belts.

•Roll bar brace through passenger compartment

•Straight exhaust

•Scuttle (cowl) rollbar (for chassis tuning)

•Original lever shock absorbers

Lots of bearings and pads and other spares.

WAS THERE A MORGAN 4/4 “SUPER SPORTS”?  In a word. no. The Morgan Plus 4 Super Sports was the fastest Morgan of the era. winning its class at LeMans in1961. Morgan cataloged the Plus 4 Super Sports and sold about 100 from 1961-1968 but the engines were actually produced by Lawrencetune (Chris Lawrence drove the 1961 LeMans car). Today the Plus 4 Super Sports are selling in the $200K range with replicas going for six figures. The Morgan factory did not catalog a 4/4 “Super Sports”. There is. however. some anecdotal evidence that you could have had a “Super Sports” 4/4 Series V during the mid sixties: 

1. The Morgan Series V 4/4 was in production in the same period (1963-1968) as the Plus 4 Super Sports and Morgan customers surely knew that most of those 4/4 cars were quicker than a stock Plus 4 so a 4/4 with an engine upgraded like that in the Super Sports should make a 4/4 “Super Sports” a close match for the Plus 4 Super Sports' performance (the Triumph engine in Super Sports was 25% larger than engine in the Morgan 4/4 but the 4/4 was about 25% lighter than Plus 4 Morgan).

2. The Lotus Super 7 1500 was also in production from 1962-1968 and was an obvious (but less practical) alternative to the Morgan 4/4 Series V. The Lotus and Morgan 4/4 used the Ford Kent engine but Lotus used engines rebuilt by Cosworth (and Morgan customers certainly knew that as well). The performance and reliability changes that Cosworth performed on the Ford Kent engine were essentially the same changes Lawrencetune made to the Triumph engines to produce the Plus 4 Super Sports. Even if the Morgan factory would not obtain a Cosworth-spec engine for you. certainly some of the Morgan dealers would be pleased do the conversion. Today. those parts. particularly intake manifolds and Cosworth valve covers. are nearly impossible to find.

3. The “hard” evidence of the possibility of a 4/4 Super Sports is that Morgan made a mirror image of the Plus 4 Super Sports hood scoop. and the only Morgan with an engine with carburetors on the left (that would need that hood scoop) at that time was the 4/4. One of these rare Morgan-made hood scoops is included with the car but we were (just) able to install the Weber carburetors without using the scoop.

Also published at eBay.com

Want to buy this car?