Lot 710: 1928 Morris Oxford 13.9hp Saloon

�Very few new cars find a way straight to the heart of the motor user with the speed and completeness that attended the debut of the original Morris Oxford and later the Morris Cowley cars.� - Autocar, 2nd August 1919.
One of the best known and most readily recognised vintage cars, the �Bullnose� Oxford had its roots in the Edwardian era. The first examples, fitted with 8.9hp White & Poppe engines, were manufactured in 1913, embodying Morris� successful formula of offering technically unexciting but well built and well equipped cars at a bargain price. The Oxford and its close relation, the Continental-engined Cowley, evolved gradually, both models switching to engines made by Hotchkiss� Coventry subsidiary in 1919. A close copy of the Continental, the Hotchkiss engine was made in 1,495cc, 11.9hp form initially, a larger (1,802cc) 13.9hp version becoming available in 1923. A more conventional flat-fronted radiator replaced the distinctive �Bullnose� type in late 1926, by which time four-wheel brakes had become standardised on the Oxford chassis. All-steel bodies, built under licence granted by the American Budd concern, were another new introduction that year. Easy to drive and maintain, the Bullnose Oxford was Britain�s most popular car prior to the arrival of the Austin Seven.
Finished in blue with matching leather-upholstered interior, this vintage Oxford has the all-steel saloon coachwork with beaded wings and is reported as completely original apart from a repaint carried out in 1967. The car comes with two old-style logbooks, the earliest of which (issued in 1946) records that it came into the ownership of Gardner Bros Motors in 1967. Last MoT�d in November 1991, �OT 9235� displays a total of 46,767 miles on the odometer and is offered with a quantity of expired MoTs for the period 1965 to 1990, Swansea V5 registration document and an original copy of The Morris Oxford & Cowley Car Manual. Sold without reserve, the car will, of course, require re-commissioning after several years off the road.