Morgan

GB, 1905 – 1906

Morgan and Co Ltd, Leighton Buzzard, Beds.

Made by a well-known firm of coachbuilders, the Morgan car was a conventional shaft-driven car with 5.8-litre T-head 4-cylinder Mutel engine, distinguished only by the Sparks-Boothby hydraulic clutch on the Morgan car, soon abandoned in favour of an ordinary leather cone. Only about five Morgan cars were made and their lack of success resulted in Morgan cars becoming Adler concessionaires in 1907, and abandoning motor manufacture.

GB, 1910 to date

Morgan Motor Co Ltd, Malvern Link, Worcs.

This Morgan car was the best-known, and best, of the British 3-wheelers that were popular while the horsepower tax gave the Morgan cars an advantage. H.F.S. Morgan’s tricycle was also the first of its type, this Morgan car going into production in 1910. At the front of a tubular chassis frame was an sv, air-cooled V-twin motor-cycle engine of 1.100cc by JAP, transversely mounted. Transmission of the Morgan car was by dog clutches and chains, providing two forward speeds. The steering was direct. The front wheels of the Morgan car, had independent front suspension, by sliding pillars and coil springs. There were two seats. A reasonable amount of power plus light weight meant an excellent performance of the Morgan cars. The Morgan car was safer than most 3-wheelers because its road-holding was above average. This recipe made the Morgan car popular with sportsmen, for whom the Morgan Grand Prix model was produced in 1914: the first catalogued competition Morgan car. Soon afterwards, an exiguous four-seater Morgan car, the forerunner of the Morgan Family model of the 1920s, was listed.

After World War 1, Morgan carscontinued to cater for all markets. Names changed, but the Morgan Sports or Morgan Standard model was the normal two-seater, also available in De Luxe form; the Morgan Family model was the more capacious type Morgan car, and the long-tailed Morgan Aero, later the Morgan Super Sports, was the Morgan car intended for serious speed work. Engines of Morgan cars were water- or air-cooled to choice, most being supplied by JAP, or by Blackburne in the case of the competition Morgan cars. From 1925 all the latter’s power units had overhead valves. By 1927 the Super Sports Morgan car could attain 80mph in standard trim, while the less sporting Morgan cars now had internal expanding front wheel brakes and electric starting. Geared-down steering and (if required) three forward speeds followed on Morgan cars in 1929. Even so, Morgan cars were losing customers to new, cheap sports cars such as the M-type MG. Three speeds and reverse in a normal gearbox (though still with chain final drive) were available from 1931 and standard on the Morgan car after 1932, and a modified 8hp Ford 4-cylinder engine could later be had in the Morgan car instead of the twin. Four years later the first 4-wheeled Morgan car was introduced, the excellent little Morgan 4/4. This Morgan car used an 1.122cc 4-cylinder Coventry-Climax engine with overhead inlet valves, developing 34bhp. The Morgan car was still light in weight, and retained the Morgan independent front suspension, so the performance and handling qualities of Morgan cars were well up to form. The Morgan car could attain 75mph. The twins were last catalogued in 1939.

Just before World War 2, a 1.267cc Standard 10hp engine with ohv head was substituted in the Morgan 4/4. When this was no longer available, from 1950, Morgan fitted a tuned Standard Vanguard unit in the Morgan car giving 70bhp. In this Morgan Plus Four, as the Morgan car was renamed, performance became still more lively, and when the 90bhp Triumph TR2 engine became available in 1954, maximum speed of the Morgan car rose to 100mph for the first time. With the advent of the Morgan Plus Four, there was no longer a small Morgan car, but this gap was made good in 1955, when the Morgan Series 2 4/4 arrived. This Morgan car used the very hard-wearing 1.172cc sv Ford Ten engine which had powered F4 Morgan. (The latter was the last 3-wheeler Morgan car, which had been made until 1950.) The result was a cheap, pleasant and reliable sports Morgan car of the old school. Later, the ohv Ford 105E engine was substituted. The latest version Morgan car had a 1.599cc 98bhp engine, a 4-speed all-synchromesh gearbox, front disc brakes, and the traditional Morgan suspension. The Morgan Plus Four kept pace with Triumph’s TR engine development, also acquiring disc brakes and, eventually, the 2.138cc 105bhp TR4 unit. A streamlined coupé, the Morgan Plus Four Plus of 1964, was a brief deviation from the classical Morgan car line which met with little approval and was discontinued after only 50 of these Morgan cars had been sold. When Triumph changed to a six during 1968, Morgan cars adopted a new engine for their bigger Morgan cars, and the Morgan Plus Four became the Morgan Plus Eight, powered by Rover’s 3 ½-litre 160bhp V8 and capable of 125mph. The 1973 versions of the Morgan car use the 4-speed all-synchromesh Rover gearbox in place of the Moss box previously fitted.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS, TRN

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com

Stoewer

D, 1899 – 1939

(1) Gebrüder Stoewer, Fabrik für Motorfahrzeuge, Stettin, 1899 – 1916

(2) Stoewer-Werke AG vorm. Gebr. Stoewer, Stettin, 1916 – 1939

The Stoewer car factory developed out of the Stoewer ironworks and was among the pioneers of the German car industry. After manufacturing motor cycles, tricycles and quadricycles for two years, Stoewer turned to cars in 1899. The first Stoewer car had a rear-mounted 2-cylinder engine. 4-cylinder Stoewer cars followed in 1901, and electric Stoewer cars were also produced. Best known were the 2-cylinder Type T Stoewer car (2.280cc and 3/12PS), the 4-cylinder Stoewer P4 (3.052cc and 11/22PS), the Stoewer G4 (1.500cc and 6/12PS) and the 6-cylinder Stoewer P6 (8.820cc and 34/60PS), evolved in the 1905-1907 period all Stoewer cars with shaft-drive. The Stoewer B1 of 6/16PS and the Stoewer B6 of 9/22PS which appeared in 1910 were also built by Mathis under licence. The G4 Stoewer car was the basis for the Stoewer B5, which Stoewer car in 1912 became famous by setting up a record at Brooklands with 67.7mph. The new range of Stoewer cars which appeared in 1913 was also based on successful earlier cars. They were the Stoewer C1 (6/18PS), Stoewer C2 (10/28PS) and C3 Stoewer car (6-cylinder and 19/45PS). Shortly before the outbreak of World War 1 the Stoewer car range was headed by the F4 Stoewer car with a 4-cylinder, 8.8-litre 33/100PS ohc engine. After the war an enormous Stoewer car appeared, the Stoewer D7, using a 6-cylinder 11.2-litre 42/120PS aero engine, as well as some conservative sv 4- and 6-cylinder Stoewer cars with rear wheel and transmission brakes. Front wheel brakes appeared on Stoewer cars in 1925. Stoewer introduced 8-cylinder Stoewer cars in 1928. These were the Stoewer Superior, Stoewer Marschall, Stoewer Gigant and Stoewer Repräsentant with engines ranging from 2-litres and 45bhp to 4.9-litres and 100bhp. The Stoewer car firm re-entered the economy class in 1931 with the V5, a front-driven Stoewer car with a V4 1.188cc engine, followed by the front-drive models R140 (1.369cc), R150 (1.488cc) and R180 (1.769cc). Another 8-cylinder was the front wheel drive Greif V8 with a 2.488cc engine, which was replaced by the conventional 6-cylinder 3.609cc Arcona Stoewer car in 1938. In 1934 the 1½-litre 4-cylinder Stoewer car and 2½-litre V8 Stoewer car were shown at the Brussels Salon by Monsieur Dewaet under the name D.S. (Dewaet-Stoewer). The Greif Junior was built under Tatra licence with an opposed 4-cylinder 1.474cc engine. It succeeded the Röhr Junior. In the middle of the range was the Stoewer Sedina with a 4-cylinder engine of 2.4-litres.

Production of private Stoewer cars was given up at the outbreak of World War 2 in 1939. The Stoewer car factory was destroyed during the war and production of Stoewer cars was not resumed.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; HON   

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com