Sadly, I just don’t have the time to do a Morgan three-wheeler retrospective this morning. It’s always had a special place in my heart, thanks to its brilliant design when it first appeared, giving it lower weight as well as lower center of gravity, which made it highly competitive in sporting events. At Brooklands, it was required to start one lap behind the four-wheeled cars in its class as a handicap.
Hard to imagine, but Morgan was one of the largest car builders in England around the time of WW1. Here’s one (of many histories) of the early days of the firm. You’ll have to add the rest of the commentary, but here’s the new 2011 version:
The three-wheeler is available again, for a price (£30k). DIY kits are much cheaper, of course. Maybe I could adapt my riding-mower engine?
Only one thing comes to mind….Peter Sellers in The Party.
Awesome movie!
These things are great, I love the front-mounted V-Twin. Pretty cool watching the stig do a lap in one on Top Gear a couple weeks ago.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00prnvs
Damn my cap has kicked in so it wont load but we have the TV series on at present Ill watch it there
This looks like the vehicle Kenny Powers drives.
The new models use a Harley Davidson derived engine the originals use a James A Preston V twin other than that there seems little difference COOL.
Shouldn’t that be JA Prestwich (JAP)? Never heard of Preston.
While driving a rented Vauxhall Viva around western England in May of 1969 I stumbled upon a gaggle of these assembled at a rural estate for some kind of meet or club gathering. I had never seen one before, much less the dozen or so vintage machines there assembled. The various owners, dressed as if for a motorcycle ride, were a friendly and outgoing lot and I was immediately smitten with the whole idea of owning one of these things and motoring about the countryside.
Except for a 1/43 model and a 3-wheel repair manual in my collection of books, that dream remains unrealized.
There is a place in northern Virginia, (Purcellville, I believe) where they rebuild old ones and sell new ones, both 3- and 4-wheeler (mostly the latter). Its a down-home kind of place, but as with so much of the rest of our bloated economy, invaded by money and ruined by wealth, commoners should probably not get their hopes up.
Morgan could very well be the solely British owned biggest car company in Britain now. Maybe Caterham is bigger. I dunno.