A very rare Morgan Development Car
1953 Morgan Plus 4 2-seater
Chassis number P3000
Morgan Motor Company experimental car
This is a very significant developmental car, designed by HFS Morgan himself with input from his son, Peter Morgan. P3000 was the very first Morgan to be fitted with a cowled radiator, together with more streamlined front wings incorporating low-set headlamp units and a flat chrome radiator grille. Fewer than twenty cars were made in this configuration before the later more familiar style with raised headlamp units and a curved grille was adopted soon afterwards.
P3000, an experimental model, was initially fitted with the first Triumph TR2 engine built by Triumph to Morgan’s specification, numbered TS1ME (TS being Triumph Sports and ME being Morgan specification Engine). Later, it was fitted with Engine X540, another special engine taken from Peter Morgan’s competition car. Both engines have long since disappeared.
The car was first registered by the Morgan Motor Company in November 1953 as MNP189.
It was exported in April 1954 to to a Morgan dealership in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where there are two recorded owners.
It was re-imported to England in June 1958 and re-registered as VCR352.
All original buff and green log books, together with the Morgan Motor Company chassis record certificate, are present.
The car has been in the same UK family ownership since 1970. It is on its original chassis and has been well maintained but never restored. It is fully roadworthy but tired.
The car is currently fitted with a TR4 engine and there is also a TR2 engine available if required.
It is currently fitted with front disc brakes and telescopic rear dampers but drum brakes and lever-arm units are available; currently on 15” wheels with radial tyres with the original 16” wheels also available.
Offers in the region of £25, 000
Its extensive competition history in the hands of Mary Lindsay and John Smith during the 1970s and 80s is fully documented with all programmes and results and many photographs. The car raced in numerous Birkett six-hour relays, UK club events and also in 1980 at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium.
The car features in many Morgan books, including those by Gregory Houston Bowden written in collaboration with the Morgan Motor Company, and in various publications including MOG magazine. It featured on the Morgan stand at the NEC Classic Car Show in 2009.
