Lot Ended
Description
Fully restored about eight years ago and in regular use since; heavy
duty Morris 'tank' engine; nice original number plate; driven 80 miles to the
sale; a super little Eight that runs like a sewing machine
One of the great
automotive success stories, it is no exaggeration to say that the Eight was the
car that saved Morris, offering a properly tempting alternative to the
all-conquering Austin Seven. Cheap and cheerful with lively road manners and
room for all the family, it was far more suited to Britain's increasingly
crowded roads than the larger models that had formerly underpinned the Morris
range.
Better equipped than most of its 1934 competitors, it boasted
electric wipers, a three-speed box with synchromesh on the top two gears and
effective Lockheed hydraulic brakes. Powered by a 24bhp 918cc four-cylinder
side-valve engine with three-bearing crankshaft and single SU carburettor, it
was good for 60mph and up to 40mpg.
Available as a two- or four-seat
tourer and a two- or four-door saloon, it proved so successful that over 164,000
had been sold by the time it was replaced by the Series II in 1937, around
20,000 of them in open Tourer form.
First
registered in Kent in June 1935, this Four-Seat Tourer was discovered by our
vendor in 2015 languishing in a stone shed in Wiltshire where it had been laying
undisturbed since 1955. Photos on file show that the car was complete but
somewhat dilapidated and the owner spent the next couple of years treating it to
a total body-off rebuild, the whole process documented in an album of photos on
file.
Every part of the car was restored as
required, with no corners cut and no expense spared, the main points being
covered in a note from the vendor (see last photo). As the original engine was
seized, the owner took the opportunity to fit a slightly later Morris ‘tank’
engine, a heavy duty 918cc Series E side-valve unit that was specially built for
the Ministry of Defence to run auxiliary power units in British tanks of the
late-1930s like the Chieftain, Centurion and Conqueror. This is a lot more
robust than the standard UB Series engine.
A few
modern upgrades were incorporated, such as more durable shell bearings rather
than the traditional white metal ones, a spin-on oil filter and modern flashing
indicators in addition to the semaphore trafficators.
Finally
finished and back on the road in 2018, the car has been in regular use since,
attending many shows and club events, clocking up some 8,000 miles over the last
seven years. Driven some 80 miles to Brightwells without drama, we are told that
it pootles along happily at 45mph with another 10mph safely on hand when
required.
As you can see in the photos, this
Morris looks very pretty indeed and has been starting promptly and running like
a sewing machine as we have moved it around on site, with healthy 60psi oil
pressure.
The icing on the cake is the original
Kent-issue number plate, CKE 625, which is transferable according to the V5C and
doubtless has a value of its own.
Consigned
by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com