A 1930 Morgan Super Sports Aero
The car was bought in June 1997. It was blue, with red wheels and all sorts of other things painted red. Looking like this:
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Owing to storage difficulties it was not used much at first. I competed in the 1998 Prescott Classic and was the slowest car there (by 100th of a second). In early July having successfully completed the Kickstart run in Torbay, it broke down with a rather nasty bang from the transmission. As the driving chains were still attached, and the engine still ran – but no drive, it was a job for the RAC. After I finally managed to persuade the RAC that it was no a task for a man in a van (however nice) and that I would not under any circumstances accept a tow, it was trailered away.
Later investigation revealed the cause of the failure to be the muff coupling at the rear of the prop-shaft. This is what passes for a universal joint on these cars. However on removal of the prop it became apparent that the tube was welded in the middle. After much head scratching and professional consultation the ugly truth emerged: This Morgan was 4 inches too short!
There are many possible reasons as to why this was done, including a short driver and a short garage. However lengthening a garage or modifying the seat, would have been far easier than cutting four inches out of the middle.
I cannot be sure who perpetrated the deed, although the likely culprit is that the coal board welder who had the car in the early 1960’s. It is very probable that the original engine also disappeared around this time. (Perhaps he crashed it, the brakes were terrible).
As bought in 1968 by the previous owner, it had no engine, but was otherwise complete. He assembled a 1927 LTOW JAP, fitted it and ran it for some time. The car was partially “rebuilt” in the early 1980’s.
When I was faced with a car that was 4 inches too short, a completely unoriginal body frame and a very bodged chassis, the decision was taken to fix everything, rather that just mend the prop shaft. Restoration work started late in 1998 and proceeded rather slowly (not many parts at Halfords – although they did supply some of the grease nipples!)
The early history of the car has been pieced together from the continuation log book, Morgan factory records, and the Glamorgan Record Office. I present it as fact but recognise that some of it is conjecture.
History and Data
Chassis Number M182
(Later records of mine say W1182 but no Morgan ever had a number like it –
almost certainly a typo. The number on the car was 199, but this is from an
Aero which has many differences.
Original Engine Number LTOW/3/W/90107
(Factory records indicate that engine LTOW/3/W/90105/S was fitted and this engine
to M181. Since they probably were made and parked alongside each other it is
suspected that Morgan got it wrong – other incidences of similar things
are known. The logbook records the number as LTOW/4/W/90107, but it is likely
that that is confused. However the number at the end is the actual engine number,
the rest refers to the specification.)
Black Body top (scuttle and beetle) and cream skirt panel. Black wings and chassis with cream wheels
M181 was supplied to Alex Thom (Dealer) in Newport, Gwent on 28th May 1930 (factory records). UH8204 was registered very shortly after to Thomas Storm of Macintosh Place, Cardiff in May/June. The record was then transferred (ie he moved or sold the car) to Monmouthshire. The time frame and chassis number on registration documents very strongly suggest this is the same car. SS Aeros were only built to order and total production was very low.
The sister car M181 did not leave the Morgan factory until 9th July 1930. It is a shame the original engine does not survive, and any offers of a LTOW JAP with a /W/ in the number (indicating 1930 manufacture) will be seriously considered. The current engine is a 1927 “Dog Ear” with 1990’s barrels and pistons.
Specification
Top speed: 80mph (claimed)
Brakes: Hand cable operated drums on front, foot pedal to rear drum
(Note, by modern standards these are pathetic – although I have made several
improvements).
Fuel Consumption 45mpg (claimed and achieved!)
Gears: Two forward – no reverse
Weight: Less than 8cwt
When this car was built it could be driven by a 16 year old on a Motorbike licence,
yet up to about 70 mph probably could beat W.O. Bentley’s finest. It has
a better power to weight ratio than some modern vehicles, and apart from the
brakes is capable of surprising many modern cars.
At present, I'm still rebuilding it...