Family Morgan
Unusual for a interchangeable roadster, the 1961 Morgan Plus 4 offered four seats however despite its racy looks had sole an anemic engine
by dint of. Gary Anderson
In 1936, the Morgan 4/4 debuted as the crew’s first four-wheeled car. The designation 4/4 stood for four cylinders and four wheels. The vehicles that Morgan had produced prior to the 4/4 were three-wheelers with V-twin engines, hence the need to differentiate. Production of the 4/4 continued for over 70 years, except because a short halt during World War II and any other in the early 1950s.
After WWII, the Morgan company was faced with a problem, which it surmounted in a sporting manner. In 1947, the Standard Motor Company informed Morgan that on the model of 1949, the little 1,267-cc engine would not be available, due to their new “one-engine policy.”
That “one-engine” was a bigger 1.8-liter, 4-cylinder that Morgan bought, to its everlasting benefit. More powerful, it powered the new-for-1950 Plus 4 in various displacements for the next 20 years, as well as Triumph TR2s, TR3s, and TR4s.
In 1956, the Plus 4 received a Triumph TR3 implement with 100 horsepower. The Plus 4 could be ordered by dint of. lightweight aluminum bodies and was excellent for competition. In 1959, performance and security were enhanced by the addition of Girling disc brakes.
In 1961, the Plus 4 Super Sport was introduced. With the highly-tuned Triumph engine producing 116 horsepower, speeds exceeding 115 mph were easily achieved. The Morgan Plus 4 Super Sport owes its existence to the tuning and driving skills of Chris Lawrence, who prepared, tuned, and flock his Morgan Plus 4 to resounding success in the 1959 season in England. In 1960, Lawrence entered the full 22-race schedule on the side of the Freddie Dixon Trophy; he won 21 of them and finished third in the other.
Completely restored only three years past in Houston, Texas, this four-seat Plus 4 has been carefully maintained since and shows singly 1,000 miles onward the odometer since coming out of the recovery. The paint and chrome both still appear as new. Likewise, the red interior, top, and tonneau cover are all in top condition. The car is mechanically sound, with a rebuilt weapon, and the walnut trim has been refinished.
The SCM Analysis
This Morgan Plus 4 sold for $38,500 at the Worldwide Group’s Houston Classic vendue in Seabrook, Texas, on May 3, 2008.
It’s always disappointing when an auction sale catalog simply paraphrases a standard reference source and includes little intelligence about the actual car during sale. Not only does the potential buyer learn little about what he is bidding on, but the notice may also be irrelevant at best or misleading at worst.
For example, the catalog devotes a abounding paragraph to Chris Lawrence and the genesis of the Super Sport competition version of the Morgan, when the without more kindred between this car and the SS is that they were the pair produced in the same year, and the pair had the new 2,138-cc version of the Triumph engine.
In fact, as famous earlier in the report, the earliest Plus 4 was introduced in 1950, whereas Standard discontinued the 1.3-liter engine it had been supplying to Morgan. Morgan agreed to accept the 2.1-liter Vanguard engine later used in the TR2 (and which incidentally was also used in Ferguson tractors; hence the “tractor weapon” insult often thrown at British cars). With the added power, Morgan wanted to differentiate the new model from the old 4/4, so they called it the Plus 4.
It’s nice, but it’s no Super Sport
So what were the bidders looking at in Houston? Certainly, with the 2,138-cc Triumph engine, that had rightful been introduced in the Triumph TR3B in the U.S. and at that time in the TR4 globally, this is a 1961 Plus 4.
However, unlike the Super Sport, with its Weber carbureted-engine producing 115 hp, this Morgan has the much more habitual version of the Triumph engine with dual SUs, capable in the day of producing 100-105 hp.
The Plus 4 was available in three body styles: a roadster, a drophead coupe, and a four-seat convertible. The Super Sport was made in the roadster material substance style only and used pounded aluminum for key components such as the fenders, rather than the heavier stamped steel components of the basic Morgan.
