Lot 726: 1926 Morris Cowley Tourer

A reputation for quality and a drop in price saw the ‘Bullnose’ Cowley established as Britain’s most popular car by the early 1920s. The adoption of a flat radiator and an increase in engine capacity to 1,548cc were the biggest changes made for 1927, the mechanicals continuing much as before apart from a new semi-elliptically sprung chassis. All-steel bodies began to be phased in and four-wheel brakes became standard equipment after 1927. Testing a Cowley that year, The Autocar found it necessary to bear the price in mind: ‘This is not so much because it is necessary to make allowances, but because the performance and general manners of the car would do credit to a much more costly and ambitious production.’
Accompanying correspondence (dated June 1996) from The Bullnose Morris Club reveals that this Cowley is the tenth ‘flat nose’ model off the production line and the oldest of the 140 survivors known to the Club at that time. Its ‘transitional’ design of radiator is of particular interest. In single family ownership from new, the Cowley was exported to Kenya in the early 1950s by its engineer owner, who made several useful modifications including strengthening the chassis to cope with the poor-quality African roads. The car was used in Kenya until 1992 when it returned to the UK where a full restoration commenced. Completed in 1996, it has been used regularly since restoration and retains its original Inverness registration mark, retrieved with the assistance of Bonhams consultant and motoring historian, Michael Worthington-Williams. This historic Cowley is offered with restoration invoices, current MoT and Swansea V5 registration document.