Morgan

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	Morgan


	In 1906 H. F.S Morgan opened a garage and motor works in

Malvern. (UK). At the time H.F.S Morgan was a district agent for Wolseleys and Darracqs and he also started one of the first bus services in the country, running a 15 seater Wolseley from Malvern Link to Malvern Wells and, later, from Malvern to Gloucester.

In 1909 Morgan created his first 3-wheeler which he called the Morgan Runabout. Powered by a 7 hp twin-cylinder Peugeot engine Morgan had intended to build a motorcycle but changed his mind and built a single seater 3-wheeler. The chassis was built at the Malvern College work shop by Stephenson Peach, then engineering master at Malvern and Repton.

With its light weight the Morgan Runabout had a power weight ratio of approximately 90 hp per ton, and as a result of its high performance became very popular. In 1910 Morgan obtained his first patent for his design and after exibiting two Morgan Runabouts at the Olympia Show in 1911 Morgan went into production. Now powered by a single cylinder 4 hp and twin cylinder 8 hp JAP engine, Morgan in 1912 advanced the design by creating a new chassis with a two-seater body and several models were exhibited at Olympia in that year.

In 1912 Morgan became a Limited Company and during the next few years the Morgan was successfully collected numerous gold medals, first class wards and trophys in trials, hill climbs and races. The Morgan became advertised as "The Fastest 3-wheeler in the World".

Morgans first attempt at Brooklands was in the International Cyclecar Race when a Morgan driven by Mr. Harry Martin easily came first.




		A 1929 Morgan Super Sports Aero. (My thanks to Gerhard Kiessling for allowing me to use this image from his web site)



		The 1930 Morgan Family Runabout. (My thanks to Gerhard Kiessling for allowing me to use this image from his web site)



			A 1949 Morgan F-Super. (My thanks to Henk Tappel for allowing me to use this image of his Morgan from his web site)

H.F.S. Morgan then broke the 1100 c.c. Hour Record at a speed of nearly 60 m.p.h. and as a result became the first holder of "The Light Car and Cyclecar" Challenge Trophy. Morgan then went on to produce racing cars in 1913 that had a longer chassis and O.H.V. JAP engines. The vehicle won the Grand Prix with ease and the racong model then became knowm as the Grand Prix. The successes of the Morgan Motor Company were soon to prove essential as when the first world war broke out in 1914, Morgan's sales had never been higher. Despite the fact that part of the factory had to be converted to producing shells and other munitions for the war effort, limited production of the Morgans was able to continue through out the war. H.F.S.Morgan realised the sooner he could get his factory back into full production after the war, he could sell many cars in the post-war rush. This he managed to do as at the end of the war most manufacturers were unable to switch to full production for nearly a year due to the lack of materials. lt was in the two years after the war record sales and profits were bestowed upon the Morgan Motor Company.

Morgan had built a four- seater model for his own persoanl use in 1915. This later became succesfully marketed as the Family Runabout. Towards the end of the 1920's and into the 1930's, it was the General strike and depression that changed Morgans advertising to emphasis 'tax, economy, comfort and cost', but Morgan realised to beat this depression and to prevent going into liquidation like many other companies, he had to introduce a 4-wheeler car. This it did in 1936,and continued to produce 3/4-wheelers up until the second world war The 'Lightcar and Cyclecar' magazine wrote in 1925;

"were it not for the dogged and justly well rewarded persistence of one manufacture it is doubtful whether the great mass of the motoring public would not regard the 3-wheeler as a freak and nothing more.

(Lightcar and Cyclecar magazine.25th September 1925.)

In 1935 Morgan produced the F series of Morgans that was classed as the best Morgan to date. Powered by Ford 8hp and 10hp engines Morgan continued to produce 3-wheelers slowly until July 29, 1952 when the last 3-wheeler, a Ford-engined "F"-Super left the Morgan Works. Morgan were then to concentrate solely on 4-wheeler models. To date the 3-wheeler Morgan is one of the most emulated of 3-wheelers with many 3-wheeler kit cars being built on the Morgan design.


	Left: A late 1920's advertisement for the Morgan Super Sports Aero. Click image for a bigger picture.


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	Further Information and related Web Sites:

	Morgan Motor Company: http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk Morgan 3-wheeler: http://home.t-online.de/home/gerhard.kiessling/homepage.htm Morgan Beetleback Replica: http://members.nbci.com/lifevestxom/TRI2_INDEX.html Morgan "GoMog" : http://www.gomog.com Official Morgan 3-wheeler web site: http://www.mtwc.co.uk/ Only Morgan 3-wheeler images: http://www.users.bigpond.com/johncoom/mtw/ Private Morgan Site: http://members.brabant.chello.nl/~h.tappel/morgan/index.htm Three-Wheelin Soul: http://www.interactual.com.au/threewheelin/threewheelin/contents.html .