1932 Morris Oxford

Ordered new by a keen motorcar collector of the period, enjoyed for a handful of years before being stowed away in an outbuilding until the owner passed away in the late 90s. A friend of the family purchased and began a 13yr restoration of this extremely original, rare car. (There are just three survivors known to the club)

The majority of the interior was retained and cleaned. It remains in a wonderful, used (and usable) but complete condition. Carpets have been remade and fitted, in my opinion replacing these would perfect the interior but they're absolutely fine as is. Headlining and original Pytchley roof is beautiful. A more powerful (extra couple of horsepower) engine from a later Cowley was fitted, whilst the car's original engine was rebuilt separately. Everything else was stripped to bare metal, treated and sealed, painted and carefully reassembled.

As the car was built prior to a convention being agreed, the pedal orientation is different from the modern norm. The throttle is central, with the brake pedal on the right. This initially worried me, but honestly is not a problem if you are able to not think about it and just get on with driving! Double de-clutching, on a downward hill, at a junction is a bit of a dance but it's honestly doable, if you can pat your head and rub your stomach you'll be fine, if you can't please give learning a go! I am told this can easily and reversibly be converted to conform with the modern standard layout. Personally I don't agree with that kind of defeatist modification, modernising a classic to shoe-horn it into modern conformity for the sake of it, so I've never explored it.

Hand throttle, ignition advance, charge and lighting controls are all easily accessed on the bakelite steering wheel hub, all work perfectly. The hydraulic 4 wheel brakes are impressive given the gargantuan proportions of the car and the fact it will gladly barrel along at (indicated) 50mph, a full-stop is reassuringly prompt.
Bodywork is overall presentable, having had a good quality respray prior to assembly. There are a few areas which require touching-up, with minor faults being present. A tin of the paint is included in the spares package. Brightwork is all good, I purchased a set of the correct oblong mirrors to replace the round ones currently fitted but have not yet got around to fitting them.

As is often the case with vehicles of this age/ type, included with it is a reasonably extensive spares package. This includes numerous difficult to find but potentially consumable or damageable parts, Headlamps, a radiator, gearbox, half shafts, brakes, numerous wheels. The original engine previously mentioned, having inspected this prior to refitting, there are three cracks between the water jacket and crank case. These could probably be cold stitched (requiring full strip-down) but in my opinion, the water jacket could be 'tanked' using a specialist epoxy resin, requiring no further strip-down and leaving an invisible but watertight barrier. It is my opinion that the car should be reunited with its original engine, the one fitted currently is fine as a stop-gap to keep the car mobile, but the car deserves its original.