Morgan Motor Company Ltd.

''livslinie''

H.F.S., the founder, in 1913

The man who guided the destinies of the Morgan car for almost fifty years, H.F.S. Morgan, was born at Morton Jeffries Rectory, Herefordshire in 1881. His father was the Reverend Prebendary H G Morgan at Stoke Lacy and he married Ruth, the daughter of the late Reverend Archibald Day, formally vicar of St Matthias, Malvern Link.
 

H.F.S., as his loyal workers and personal friends knew him, was educated at Stone House, Broadstairs, Marlborough College and at the Crystal Palace Engineering College. He began his career as the 18 year-old pupil of William Dean, Chief Engineer of the GWR Railway Works at Swindon, where he worked as a draughtsman in the drawing office of seven years.

Whilst making a modest contribution to the history of steam H.F.S.'s loyalties were divided between the locomotive and the motor car.

After a hair-raising first drive in a 3 _ h.p. Benz that ran away with him down the 1-in-6 gradient of a hill between Bromyard and Hereford, he emerged intact but considerably poorer. Damages to the car cost about £28 for repairs and delayed his ambition of owning his own car.

He left the GWR in 1906 and at the age of 25 opened a garage and motor works in Malvern Link where he ran a most successful bus service with a special 10 hp Wolseley 15 seater. These ran from Malvern Link to the Wells and later from Malvern to Gloucester. He also became the district agent for Wolseley and Darraq.

The original Morgan three-wheeler as shown at Olympia.
 

Eventually he could afford to purchase a motor vehicle an Eagle Tandem. Previously he had hired his cars including the ill-fated Benz, from a Mr Marriot, the first motor trader in Hereford. The Eagle was a three-wheeler fitted with an 8 h.p. water-cooled De Dion engine and it was from his experiences with this machine and a 7 hp. two cylinder car called "The Little Star" that he had the idea of making his own three-wheeler.

He bought a 7 hp Twin-cylinder Peugeot engine and mounted it into a light Three-wheeled tubular chassis. The first Morgan Runabout had been born!

With very little facility for machine work in his garage, help was gratefully received from Mr Stephenson Peach, then Engineering master at Malvern and Repton Colleges and the grandson of the designer of the "Rocket".

The first design was successful due to its rigid frame, light weight and independent front suspension. Another important factor was the unusual power to weight ratio of 90 brake horsepower per ton, which enabled this little vehicle to accelerate as fast as any car being produced at that time.

The patent drawings of the first Morgan three-wheeler drawn by John Black
 

Initially, there was no intention of marketing the vehicle. Only after much favourable comment was the decision made to build a few. With capital for some machine tools and an extension to the Malvern Garage provided by his father the rector, H.F. S. Morgan began manufacture in 1910. A patent was granted, the patent drawings being produced by a bright youth who was later to become famous as Sir John Black of the Standard Motor Company.

The Morgan name made its very first public appearance at the Olympia Motor Show in 1910. Two three-wheelers, both single seaters fitted respectively with 8 hp Twin and 4 hp Single cylinder J.A.P. engines, secured some orders, but it soon became apparent that for the vehicles to be universally popular they would have to become two-seaters.

The chassis erecting shop in 1912
 

It was whilst the two-seater version was in preparation that H.F.S Morgan entered his single-seater in the London-Exeter-London Reliability Trial, gaining a gold medal, the highest possible award. The first two-seaters made their appearance at the 1911 Olympia Show. They were fitted with 8 h.p. engines. They attracted the interest of the managing director of Harrods, Mr Burbridge, and as a result the car appeared in the shop window of the famous store, the only car ever to have done so.

At the 1911 Show the orders received were so many more than Mr Morgan could cope with at Malvern that he approached several large manufacturers to make cars for him. It was fortunate that they turned him down and with the help of deposits on orders he was able to purchase more machine tools and make further extensions to his garage.

1913 - Sports Runabout

The Morgan Motor Company was formed as a private Limited Company in 1912 with the Reverend H.G. Morgan as Chairman and his son as Managing Director. The site of the first factory was on the Worcester road leading into Great Malvern. H.F.S. and his wife Ruth lived next door in a small terraced house.

During this period the Morgan name was heard for the very first time in racing circles when a Mr Henry Martin easily won an International Cyclecar Race at Brooklands. In 1912 H.F.S. Morgan broke the 1100 cc. One-hour Record travelling at a fraction short of 60 mph for one hour at Brooklands. His father the Prebendary H.G Morgan was present and this is probably the only time a top hat has ever been worn at the popular circuit.

From the start it was very much a family business and Mr H.F.S Morgan's sister, Miss Dorothy Morgan, was a regular entrant in reliability trials gaining many first class awards in a Morgan three-wheeler. In 1913 a Morgan made the fastest time at the celebrated Shelsey Walsh Hill Climb at an average speed of 22 mph. And at the end of the year the Morgan Runabout had gained a greater number of awards for reliability and speed than any other Cyclecar or Light Car.

W.G. McMinnies with passenger on the tail.
 

At this time a Morgan three-wheeler seating two people could be bought for 85 guineas, and one of them entered in the Cyclecar Club's "Fuel Consumption Trial" won the event with an average consumption of 69.4 mpg.

In 1913 the company produced some racing cars with longer chassis and lower seating with o.h.v. J.A.P. engines. One of them was entered in the French Grand Prix at Amiens and won against strong opposition from many continental four-wheelers. This in spite of an enforced stop to change an inner tube in one of the front tyres!

W.G. McMinnies and his mechanic Frank Thomas, after winning the French Cyclecar Grand Prix.

The driver of the car, Mr McMinnies was the editor of the "Cyclecar" and his success gave Morgan a great deal of publicity. After the event he christened his particular car "jabberwocky of Picardy", but the car became officially known as the "Grand Prix" and one contemporary owner, Captain Ball, the First World War flying ace, said to drive this car was the nearest thing to flying on the ground.

During the First World War only a small number of cars were produced and the works manufactured munitions and machinery for the war effort.

After the outstanding success of 1913 it was unfortunate that in 1914 the Morgan was excluded from the RAC Lightcar and Cyclecar Trial because it had only three wheels instead of four. This was a portent too significant to go unnoticed, A four-wheeler was designed to be fitted with a Diorman four-cylinder engine but the model never went into production. It was to be twenty-two years before the first four wheeler was introduced.

Prototype Four-seater

The evolution of the Morgan with a model of family dimensions (designed in 1912) came in 1915 when a four-seater was produced for Mr Morgan and his family. After the Great War this model was marketed as the Family Runabout and sold in large numbers.

The demand for inexpensive transport was great and a new factory was built at Pickersleigh Road to enable production to reach fifty cars a week. This made Morgan one of the largest British car producers at the time.

The Pickersleigh Road Factory

Situated on the Madresfield estate, the new factory was opened in 1918 and H.F.S. Morgan's daughter, Sylvia laid the cornerstone. This is now the site of the present factory, which has traditionally been known as the "Works".

Mr George Goodall joined the firm in 1925, taking over the position of General Manager from Mr A Hales who had been with H.F.S since 1911. George went on to become Managing Director of the Company, a position from which he retired at the end of 1958 whilst still retaining a seat on the Board.

1920 The cover of the Morgan catalogue

So advanced had been H.F.S. Morgan's first designs that little alteration, apart from bodywork modifications, were required for some years. Electric lamps and starters were added and as a result of Trials experience front wheel brakes were installed. The Morgan car became one of the first in the field to enjoy this innovation.

1925 - H.Beart in the record breaking Morgan with Blackbourne engine
 

The Morgan continued to have success after success in racing and was so fast that at Brooklands it was required to start a lap behind fourwheeled cars in the same class.

1930 The patent drawings of the first Morgan three-wheeler drawn by John Black

Morgan threewheelers sold well abroad. In France a Monsieur Darmont bought a patent from H.F.S. Morgan to manufacture the car as the Darmont Morgan

Mrs Gwenda Stewart in her record breaking Morgan with J.A.P. engine at Monthlery.

During 1930 Mrs Gwenda Stewart broke the one hour Record at Monthlery at a speed of over 100 mph. She was later to achieve 117 mp.h. in a single seater Morgan on the long straight at Arpajon nearby.

1931 brought a new model with three forward speeds and a reverse, a single chain and detachable wheels.

The rugged strength of the Morgan and its excellent traction meant that it performed well on muddy hills when taking part in reliability trials.

1933 "F" Super Two-seater with Ford 10 h.p engine

1933 was a vintage year for Morgan, bringing in its train a large number of world records and the advent of a new model fitted with a Ford engine. With its flat radiator this was the most popular three-wheeler ever produced and encouraged a number of firms to copy the idea.

In 1936, after a prototype had been tested in trials and on the track, a four-wheeler was exhibited at the London and Paris Exhibitions. The new model was called the Morgan Four Four to differentiate it from the three-wheeler, indicating four cylinders and four wheels. The car had a Z section full width steel chassis with boxed cross members and the body was an ash frame panelled in aluminium. The combination provided the durability of a coachbuilt car with the lightness required for a sports car. The car was an immediate success.

George Morgan, in top hat, wishing H.F.S. good luck on his record attempt

In 1937 H.F.S's father Prebendary George Morgan died peacefully at home. Mr H.F.S. Morgan became Chairman and Governing Director and his board included Mrs H.F.S. Morgan. Mr George Goodall and Mr T.H. Jones who had been with the firm since 1912.

After the success of the Morgan Four Four roadster a four-seater was introduced, followed in quick succession by a Drophead Coupe in 1938.

The Four Four 4 seater.

In 1937 a few special sports models were built for racing fitted with 1098 c.c. Coventry Climax engines developing 42 b.h.p. with balanced crankshafts. Prudence Fawcett competed at Le Mans in 1938 and qualified for the Biennial Cup. White and Anthony again came first in class at Le Mans in 1939 and one of these cars was very successful after the war in the hands of Geoff Sparrowe in club racing.

The old association formed at the very beginning of the Morgan story was revived with the introduction of a Standard engine in 1938. This power unit developed from the 9 h.p. side valve engine, was specially built for Morgan at the express wish of Sir John Black. The new engine was linked to a Moss gearbox mounted centrally in the chassis and connected to the 5-1 rear axle by a short propeller shaft. The chassis were fitted with rod and cable 8" diameter Girling brakes. Morgan continued to produce three-wheelers (mainly the F4 four-seater and F Super two-seater models) as well as four-wheelers.

1940 Four Four 4 seater

In this period some interesting experiments were made. A Ford 22 horsepower V8 Pilot engine was fitted to the Morgan chassis, which gave a most vivid performance. Due to a taxation increase from 15 shillings to 25 shillings per horsepower, this project was abandoned at the prototype stage. This second experiment was to fit a car with A Anott supercharger. This vehicle, although only 1000 cc. was capable of over 80 mph.

During the Second World War car manufacture ceased and only two departments were retained by the Company for repairs. These were the Service shop and the Spares department. The remainder of the factory manufactured a variety of components for the war effort, which included parts for the Oerlikon anti-Aircraft gun, aircraft undercarriage and other precision engineering work.

Assembly of wooden chassis frame

Half way through the war the wood shop and mill was leased to the team developing in-flight refuelling. Sir Alan Cobham, who invented the process, modified a Handley Page "Hereford" Bomber at the factory to take on fuel whilst airborne.

In 1945 many skilled employees came back from the Forces and rejoined the factory. Access to steel was difficult but the fact that the cars could easily be coachbuilt from aluminium helped Morgan become one of the first British car factories to resume building cars.

Reproduction of original Plus 4 catalogue

Production was restarted with the Four Four fitted with the 1267 cc. Special Standard engine.

In 1947, after being demobilised, P.H.G. Morgan joined the firm as Development Engineer and Draughtsman.

After the Government linked steel supplies directly with the number of export customers so there was increased pressure on the company to export. Distributors were appointed in the USA, Canada, South America, Australia, South Africa and Europe. The Four Four was successful in these markets but the three-wheelers did not enjoy this popularity and the decision to discontinue their production was made in 1950. The last twelve twin cylinder three-wheelers were manufactured in 1946 and shipped to Australia.

In 1947 the announcement by the Standard Motor Co. of their "One Engine Policy" meant that no 1267 cc. Units would be available after 1949 and Morgan found it necessary to consider alternative power units. A prototype was built in 1949 with the Vanguard 1.8 litre engine, which gave a much-increased performance.

1952 - Winning Team of the R.A.C. International Rally.

1950 saw the production of this car as the Plus Four. The engine eventually fitted was the 2088 cc. Vanguard 68 bhp. Unit. The chassis frame was strengthened and a four-speed Moss gearbox and a Salisbury 4-1 rear axle was incorporated.

The Plus Four had immediate success in competition, with Morgan winning the team award in the RAC Rally in 1951 and 1952. H.F.S's son Peter Morgan was a driver in both teams. These rally successes were to be repeated in 1990 when the Plus Four enjoyed a strong revival in classic car rallying.

1956 - P.H.G Morgan and R.Meredith in final driving test at Hastings during M.C.C. National Rally

Front suspension was also strengthened with longer coil springs giving increased wheel movement. Larger nine-inch diameter hydraulic brakes were fitted. The body styles adopted were an open two-seater, a four seater and a Drophead Coupe. Due to its very high power to weight ratio the Plus Four also began to have many successes on the track.

Lessons learnt from racing were passed on to the production of the car offered to the public and Peter Morgan, the development engineer, regularly drove the cars in competition

1957 - Plus Fours at Silverstone

In 1954 the radiator was hidden beneath the bodywork to improve aerodynamics and the following year the TR2 engine was fitted, raising the power to 90bhp

The prototype series Four Four

In 1954 the Morgan Four Four was reintroduced as the Series Two. This was a car of similar design to the Plus Four but fitted with a Ford engine and integral gear box, the object being to provide a sports car of first-class performance and appearance for the enthusiast with modest means.

During 1956 the TR3 engine was fitted to the Plus Four, increasing the power to 100 bhp. When built with lightweight aluminium bodies, these models were extremely fast, capable of covering the standard quarter-mile in 16 seconds. Plus Fours won many production sports car braces, particularly in the USA, where they dominated SCCS. Class D for many years. Lew Spencer was a familiar figure on the winners' rostrum and his car "Baby Doll" built up a huge following. 11 inch disc brakes and knock-on wire wheels were fitted in 1957.

1957 - Plus 4 four-seater touring in Colorado, U.S.A

Morgan owner's clubs expanded their membership throughout the 1950s. This helped make sure damaged cars were rebuilt and helped owners find original spare parts. As they say in America a Morgan may be "totalled" but will never be thrown away. In Britain the Morgan Three-wheeler Club formed by a small band of enthusiasts in 1945 grew in spite of the demise of the three-wheeler. The Morgan Sports Car Club formed in July 1951 with thirty members now claims a membership of over 3000. There are also national Morgan clubs in the USA, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and it is possible to meet a vast network of friends simply by expressing an interest in the Morgan car.

1962 - First at Le Mans in the 2 litre Grand Touring Cars Class.

In 1962 success was achieved again at the 24 hours endurance race at Le Mans. A Plus Four Super Sports prepared by the company and Christopher Lawrence competed and won the 2 litre class. The car was driven by Lawrence and Richard Sheppard-Baron and covered a total distance of 2,261 miles at an average speed of 94 mph. Driver changes, refuelling and adjustment took a total of 32 minutes, so the actual running speed of the car was 97 mph. After the race the car was happily driven back to England on public roads.

The Morgan SLR