Do you know which is the world’s oldest family owned motor car maker still in production and which, for decades has had customers queuing up, often for years?
If your answer was Morgan, then it is pretty certain that you are a keen motoring enthusiast.
When HFS Morgan (known as HFS) built his first three-wheeler machine way back in 1910 he hit on precisely the right formula, keep it light, simple and with adequate power; something that applies to this day with the firm headed very effectively by the founder’s grandson, Charles Morgan.
Based in the splendidly scenic area of the Malverns, the factory comes as a surprise to anyone visualising a vast car plant that turns out models by the million. What looks in part rather like a collection of not very big sheds, houses a workforce of around two hundred annually producing fewer than 800 cars.
Each one though is painstakingly assembled by hand, using many of the techniques that HFS would still find familiar, including separate steel chassis and wooden frames covered in hand-beaten aluminium panels. There are also some state of the art techniques such as the Super Sports models which use a bonded-aluminium chassis and super-formed aluminium body panels.
The production of the Classic range of traditional two-seater open sports cars with their long, multi-louvered bonnets, cut-away doors and low, stylish looks is particularly interesting. Each galvanized steel chassis frame is fitted with all its mechanical parts such as engine, gearbox, steering, etc to become a drivable chassis by one man in about a day.
Interestingly the solid rear axles with their old fashioned leaf springs have to be sourced from GM Holden in Australia, the only place where they are now made. Engines outsourced from such as Ford are of 1.6, 2.0 or 3.0 litre with respective power outputs of 110, 145 and 226 bhp.
Each one though is painstakingly assembled by hand, using many of the techniques that HFS would still find familiar, including separate steel chassis and wooden frames covered in hand-beaten aluminium panels. There are also some state of the art techniques such as the Super Sports models which use a bonded-aluminium chassis and super-formed aluminium body panels.
The production of the Classic range of traditional two-seater open sports cars with their long, multi-louvered bonnets, cut-away doors and low, stylish looks is particularly interesting. Each galvanized steel chassis frame is fitted with all its mechanical parts such as engine, gearbox, steering, etc to become a drivable chassis by one man in about a day.
Interestingly the solid rear axles with their old fashioned leaf springs have to be sourced from GM Holden in Australia, the only place where they are now made. Engines outsourced from such as Ford are of 1.6, 2.0 or 3.0 litre with respective power outputs of 110, 145 and 226 bhp.
It is in the body and wood shops where traditional hand skills are most evident. The ash body frame is made up of 95 individual pieces of wood, all cut out on the premises, glued and screwed together and the whole dipped in preservative.
The curved wooden wheel arches are produced using a wooden jig that dates back to the 1950s. It is worth knowing that in the obligatory crash safety tests these Morgan bodies perform outstandingly well because of the ability of the wood to absorb energy in a crash.
Another group of skilled workers conjure-up bonnets, wings and the like from large sheets of aluminium using the sort of panel-beating tools that were in use a century ago. Throughout the factory the work pace seems positive but unhurried with everyone seeming to take an interest in what they were doing.
Painting and trim come towards the end of the process. According to model, one can choose from a virtually unlimited range of paints and leather, whilst the option list even includes a bonnet strap of the type beloved by racing cars in days of yore. This is one of the very few factories where an owner can see their car during construction and collect it from the factory.
An unusual feature that new owners might notice in the delivery bay is a large stuffed owl mounted in the rafters; its function is said to be to deter smaller birds flying in through the big doors and settling on the clean cars.
The curved wooden wheel arches are produced using a wooden jig that dates back to the 1950s. It is worth knowing that in the obligatory crash safety tests these Morgan bodies perform outstandingly well because of the ability of the wood to absorb energy in a crash.
Another group of skilled workers conjure-up bonnets, wings and the like from large sheets of aluminium using the sort of panel-beating tools that were in use a century ago. Throughout the factory the work pace seems positive but unhurried with everyone seeming to take an interest in what they were doing.
Painting and trim come towards the end of the process. According to model, one can choose from a virtually unlimited range of paints and leather, whilst the option list even includes a bonnet strap of the type beloved by racing cars in days of yore. This is one of the very few factories where an owner can see their car during construction and collect it from the factory.
An unusual feature that new owners might notice in the delivery bay is a large stuffed owl mounted in the rafters; its function is said to be to deter smaller birds flying in through the big doors and settling on the clean cars.
As well as the production area, the Morgan museum and well stocked gift shop are well worth visiting. Most unusually no formality is needed to join a conducted tour of the factory, simply check in advance by telephone, 01684 584580, that space is available and book your place. The cost is a modest £10 and well worth it.
I rounded off my visit with a run out in Classic 2.0 litre 4/4 Sport fitted with a Ford Duratec engine. For lovers of nostalgia such a machine provides an exhilarating experience. The ride is decidedly hard, the steering direct but wonderfully responsive (no power steering) and the gearbox a tad notchy.
At anything above walking pace there is wind in your hair, a feeling of sitting close to the road and all the right noises if you put your foot down. To use one of these cars for fun and holidays would be great, but for commuting or seriously long trips needing more than a modicum of luggage, then one would need to be a real enthusiast – but plenty of them do exist. A real plus is that the depreciation rate of Morgans is splendidly slow, whilst some older models command very substantial prices.
If you do visit Morgan and fancy maybe putting some adventure into your motoring, then take advantage of the very rare facility of hiring a car from the factory. It costs from £130 a day to £795 per week. Put simply, see, try and buy. Prices of new Morgans start around £31,000.
By Roy Brooks
I rounded off my visit with a run out in Classic 2.0 litre 4/4 Sport fitted with a Ford Duratec engine. For lovers of nostalgia such a machine provides an exhilarating experience. The ride is decidedly hard, the steering direct but wonderfully responsive (no power steering) and the gearbox a tad notchy.
At anything above walking pace there is wind in your hair, a feeling of sitting close to the road and all the right noises if you put your foot down. To use one of these cars for fun and holidays would be great, but for commuting or seriously long trips needing more than a modicum of luggage, then one would need to be a real enthusiast – but plenty of them do exist. A real plus is that the depreciation rate of Morgans is splendidly slow, whilst some older models command very substantial prices.
If you do visit Morgan and fancy maybe putting some adventure into your motoring, then take advantage of the very rare facility of hiring a car from the factory. It costs from £130 a day to £795 per week. Put simply, see, try and buy. Prices of new Morgans start around £31,000.
By Roy Brooks
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