1961 Other Makes Other

-

4 - Cyl.

Manual

4719

Clear

Gasoline

The term "driver" is often applied to a vehicle to hide a multitude of sins. This car is a driver in the true sense, in that it is a fully functioning usable example with a few cosmetic flaws and warts. I bought this car last year out of long term ownership and put it in my tiny stable. I had no intention of selling it but the tax man cometh and something has to go. The previous owner used this car religiously and I have done the same, taking it on many club drives and tours in the last year. The only work performed during my brief ownership has been to improve the cooling system with a re-cored radiator, uprated water pump, new thermostat, and new hoses. Otherwise the car is as I bought it and needs nothing mechanically, functionally, or electrically. It is ready to use and enjoy. It does develop the typical Morgan wheel wobble under certain conditions (55-60 MPH, hit a bump, hang on). I found an article online about fitting a Mercedes steering damper which looked pretty easy. I bought the damper but never put it on, so I will include it for you to install. The weakest part of this car is the paint. As you can see in the pictures, there is lots of cracking to the green on the fenders. There is no rust, this is just the paint coming apart. The yellow portion is in much better shape but is very dull. The car looks good from 25 feet but the closer you get you can see the paint problems. With the current mania for unrestored and patinated cars this may be right up your alley anyway. The chrome is all decent but not perfect. The leather seats are actually very nice with only a little wear up by the top frame pivots. The carpets are pretty shabby. You would vastly improve the interior by doing the rugs. The new wheels and Dunlop radials were installed by the previous owner and the tires are at least 50% worn but still serviceable. The original TR3 engine runs great and pulls strong. The Moss gearbox functions well, or at least as well as they ever did. The rear end is quiet. The previous owner had the brakes rebuilt, invoice included. There is some history and other invoices with the car. A scan of a letter from Morgan is viewable by clicking here. The chassis number is 4719 and the engine number is 80194. The car was originally green. A bit of a mystery is that the car left the factory with disc type wheels and front disc brakes but now has wire wheels and drum front brakes. I can only suspect that someone did some parts swapping in the distant past. The brakes were terrible when I got the car but I found that the front brakes were swapped side to side so instead of twin leading shoe front brakes I had twin trailing shoe front brakes. Once put right they worked fine. Another mystery is that the switchgear is cream colored but the gauges are black faced. It is what it is. The side curtains, top, and tonneau are included but the top and tonneau are pretty petrified and there is a rip in the tonneau. No self respecting Morgan owner would ever put his top up in any case! The doors are pretty floppy due to worn hinges and loose screws but all the wood on the car seems to be super solid. I can find no rotten wood anywhere that I can get to. According to the letter from Morgan and the other documentation this has been a California car from new. No rust and no rot that I can find. In short, a wonderful drivable example of the Morgan that everybody wants, a TR powered 2-seater. Your money will do better in a classic Morgan than at the bank so buy this for yourself just in time for Spring! Please let us know if you have any questions. VIEW ADDITIONAL LARGER PICTURES BY CLICKING HERE!