Lot 208: c.1923 MORGAN THREE WHEELER DELUXE TWO SEATER

Maroon with black and cream coachlining, black interior

Engine: V twin, watercooled JAP, 85 x 85mm, 961cc; Gearbox: two speed chain drive; Suspension: independent sliding pillar, rear quarter elliptic leaf spring; Brakes: three wheel drum. Right hand drive

H.F.S. Morgan, the founder of the Morgan Motor Company, produced the first of his three-wheeler cars in 1910. This single seater was available with four horsepower and eight horsepower J.A.P. engines and by 1911 a two-seater became the standard model with a choice of De Luxe or sporting bodies.

This is an example of the De Luxe two seater, which in the mid-1920s according to their 1926 catalogue was their most popular model, offering a longer chassis with a 'larger and better finished body, with lower seating and more comfortable upholstery'

The De Luxe was offered with two possible power units, being air-cooled or watercooled variants of the J.A. Prestwick's 8hp twin. The latter, with which this car is equipped, would have cost its original purchaser £125, £10 more than the former, and came complete with a Lucas Electric lighting set. Contemporary publicity stated that 'Standard equipment included 'hood, horn, screen, mats, licence holder, a small Kit of Tools, and ½-gallon Tin of Wakefield's 'Castrol Oil''

This tidily presented example has resided in the collection for many years and in more recent times it has stood on display as part of the feature at Ramsgate Motor Museum. Although not run for some time, the car appears to have been in use until its arrival in the collection and should require basic re-commissioning only to return it to the road.