Morgan Story Part 1

Morgan BLK 9 1934 F4.

Part 1

Œ Information of sale at King's Lynn Section meeting after talk on Allen House. After giving the Kings Lynn Section a talk on the workings of Allen House a group of us were having a chat when a local character who has contacts with squirrels said that there was a Morgan for sale in their local area. The owner did not want to advertise it so was there a local buyer. After a chat with Cynth it was decided that my poor old back needed a rest and that realistically the big bikes would have to go. A couple of phone calls later we were off to deepest West Norfolk . A price was agreed and a date for collection arranged. Morgan

Œ Getting it to its temporary home. It was decided to put the Morgan on a hired trailer that was centre-filled to take the back wheel making it secure. This was booked, a back up man, alias Tony Hall, and additional assistance from Richard Bailey were contacted. The day arrived to pick up the trailer; oh dear, the filled in trailer was still in London . Can you use an open car trailer? What a trailer it was - 6” wider than our car and weighed a ton. Tony Hall was waiting by the Wilderbeest as this trailer combo was not going up small lanes. We met up to collect the Morgan and there was much head scratching as to how we should secure the centre rear wheel to the trailer. It was agreed that a plank be tied on and the rear wheel be tied to it and the trailer. Well we were off complete with spare engine and all the spares in the car. A 1 ton trailer with Morgan on top plus car all added up to about 3 ton, you knew it when you put the brakes on!!!

Œ Getting it from its temporary home to 2 Harbord Road . At Ludham, its temporary home for 6 months, the Morgan came off the trailer OK. The local chaps were very interested causing us a few delays as Tony had to be home before 4 o’clock A return visit was required to obtain 6 photographs for the off road insurance, yes the local chaps were back again. Transport was provided by Cox & Perry of Horstead as they will be doing the upholstery at a later date.

Œ Spares and assessment of condition. After redeploying our bikes, Jimmy James to Ludham, Henry to Munford etc., we had room to bring BLK 9 back to home, yes we had obtained its original number from the old logbook. An assessment was carried out to what we had and what we did not have, and this also reviewed the condition of the spares. The majority of the spares were not up to scratch due to corrosion or worn out. A list was made including all the requirements to give it 12volt lights, trafficators, brake lights, stop lights and good front lights, radiator cooling fan, and hydraulic front brakes.

Œ What's missing. The majority of electrical items and cable cotton covered and of the correct colours came from Paul Beck’s of Happisburgh. New carburettor and hydraulic brakes brand new came from Goldendays-parts of Norwich .

Œ Registration number BLK 9. The original registration number was sought as an age related number had been allocated prior to the 1990 change by DVLA, all new numbers being non transferable. The Morgan club verified the car saying that it had been seen in the 60’s by one of its members as the registration number was his mate’s initials. The documentation was put through the VMCC scheme, and it was verified by one of our local machine examiners. 3 weeks later we went to the DVLA Norwich to get its number back.

Œ Paint colours which proved to be deep and light saxe blue. The information received from the Morgan Club stated that BLK 9 was built and sold on the 5^th December 1934 as an F4 Deluxe , with a 10hp engine painted in deep and light saxe blue. On contacting the club again they provided a BS number for deep saxe blue as it is still available today. The alternatives for light saxe blue were given to us and we decided on an aquamarine which is also called light saxe blue in some books. British Standards did not exist in 1934 so we are using past experience of the club and artistic matching of Cynthia to provide a realistic 30’s look. Morgan

Œ Marking up of wheels. During a dry spell BLK 9 was painted according to a trials picture taken from 1934 showing a factory F4 going up a trial hill climb. After painting the body and wings it was decided that the wheels did not match as they were in black. After a while it was decided to paint them all in light saxe blue, wow!!

Œ Electrics. It was decided that originality would have to get the heave-ho as 6 volt electrics would not be able to keep up with the requirements of modern motoring. It was decided to go to12 volt electrics with brake lights, side rear lights, trafficators plus the usual headlights, horn and windscreen wipers. The first group would not have been required on a 1934 car but is advisable now in modern traffic. It was decided to complete the wiring in the original colours using cotton covered cable from Paul Beck.

Œ Dashboard. The original style of dashboard on a F4 was a very basic affair sitting in the centre of the bulk head capable of carrying about 3 gauges and 2 switches. This would not be sufficient to include trafficators, ignition switch etc. Some mahogany was bought from a boat builder in Wroxham and 1 large and 2 small dashboards were cut out.

Œ Exhaust and welding. The exhaust manifold on the 100E engine is non standard. A Morgan 4/4 pipes and silencer were bought and much head scratching was required to decide on how to join the 2 systems together. After speaking to Mike (of Mike’s Parts) it was decided to try Exhausts Unlimited where 90° bends could be bought in mild steel. These were cut and shut and then mig’d together to form a devious exhaust header.

Œ Carburettors and brake parts. With the engine electrics in place it was decided to try to get the engine started before Christmas. This had involved rebuilding the fuel pump, stripping and cleaning the carburettor and setting up the ignition. After several attempts it was decided the fuel pump was still faulty and the carburettor had a lot of wear. (Bit like me really, Cynthia). Engine starting got put on the back burner until the carburettor was sorted out. Our contacts again sent us off on a different trail to ‘Goldendays-parts’ at Easton . He said that he had some fuel pump parts. On arriving he eventually supplied a brand new carburettor and after a discussion about brakes a brand new master cylinder and 4 front wheel cylinders were obtained. These will be put to good use as the original equipment was badly corroded.

Œ Windscreen. The original windscreen frame had a bit of a problem as it was 1” narrower than the car. The windscreens are only supported on 2 uprights screwed to the bulk head side therefore the windscreen has to be as wide as the car and follow the profile of the bulk head. On contacting G.E.E. Terry was able to supply a screen of the correct width but the wrong profile – the only answer being to strip the frame, re-profile the bottom rail moving the windscreen wiper boss to the passenger side, brazing the sides of the screen to the base and making the whole thing true. The glass was then cut to size by a firm at Lenwade. The screen was eventually fitted with cling film allowing for future removal of the glass. A pair of mini wipers have been fitted with linking arms.

Œ Clutch. The clutch system caused a bit of a headache as I did not understand the system of working. Underneath the prop tube was a slot which exposed an aluminium sleeve but there was no way that an operating system could be attached to it as the drilling was not lined up. To overcome this problem the only answer was to take out the engine and rotate the sleeve. This became a bigger job as it was decided to check out the whole system and remove the reverse loading of the gearbox with passengers on board. In layman speak what happened was the rear gearbox and prop shaft would not line up with the bell housing to the engine with the chassis jacked up. Shims were placed underneath the gearbox to allow for loading of the system to reduce stresses on the gearbox. The clutch system reverted from its original mechanical system to a hydraulic system borrowed from a Ford 100E. this has resulted in a modified foot pedal system and a slave cylinder clamped to the prop tube. So far the system has worked O.K. but only in the driveway shunting backwards and forwards.

Œ Gear box. With the prop shaft removed it was decided that an overhaul of the gear change mechanism was required as some wear was detected. The internals of the gear box were inspected and all found to be in good condition. The operating rods were welded up and reground to give a nice clean edge as selecting two gears at once can cause serious mechanical problems. All to be proven in action!

Œ Throttle. Several attempts were made to sort out this problem as the original 100E engine had a mechanical linkage with ball joints. It has now been successfully fabricated with Bowden cable running inside hydraulic brake pipe; this allows for the large changes in direction and security at both ends of the outer. Morgan

Œ Brakes. The brakes originally fitted to the front wheels were from a Morris Minor 1000.This provides twin leading shoe front brakes. On speaking to Goldendays about a master cylinder he came up with a brand new cylinder plus four slave cylinders all in their original wrappers which he was going to fit to a Morris Minor standing in his yard – a long-term project which will never be completed. To accommodate the new master cylinder the foot operated system was modified to allow activation of the master cylinder other than the cable operating system which was originally fitted. New cylinders were fitted as the others had corroded. The system now includes a brake light switch not normally required on a 1934 machine.

By the time you read this article we should be on the road. At the moment the seats are away being covered and final checks are being made ready for the dreaded MOT. We have located a man who can do three-wheeler MOTs at Stalham so wish us luck.

Morgan Story Part 2

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