1964 Morgan 4/4

Suns Out – Some of Our Projects Waiting to Go Home

With the weather being perfect last week, we thought we would snap some photos of a handful of classic cars lounging in the sun. Some waiting for collection, some just arrived.

Our restoration workshops at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ are always busy. A constant stream of cars coming in for our team to work on or going back to their owners to be enjoyed so as Nick walked past the eclectic row of cars lining the side of our workshop, he thought he’d grab a few photos to show them off.

Details – Inspecting and Servicing the 1964 Morgan 4/4

The technicians in the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ have been busy inspecting and servicing the 1964 Morgan 4/4 in with us.

The team have begun the service on the classic Morgan, this also involved the inspection and adjustment of the drum brakes.

Then, the team began to look into a couple of issues noted on the car by its owner. Firstly, the team looked into an issue with the car starting. Although some of the connections were slightly loose from the battery, the team have put on order several new parts for the ignition system to try and fix the issue.

Along with that, the team found a split radiator hose in the car.

When the new pieces arrive and are fitted to the car, the team can begin the process of reinstalling and retesting the car to make sure it starts consistently and perfectly each time.

This Just In – 1964 Morgan 4/4

This beautiful 1964 Morgan 4/4 has just arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ. We’ve previously worked on this classic Morgan late last year, fitting a new exhaust manifold and before that fitted a new wiring harness to the car.

This time, the car has come to our technicians for them to complete a list of jobs on the classic sportscar. Firstly, the team will complete a service on the car whilst looking into a couple of issues. The owner has noted the car has been struggling to start occasionally and the temperature gauge seems to not be working correctly either. The team will get this completed to make sure this stunning classic Morgan is in the best shape possible.

Running Rough – Running Issue on a 1964 Morgan 4/4

This beautiful 1964 Morgan 4/4 has been in with us at Bridge Classic Cars for a couple of issues.

Most notably is the rough running from the 1600cc engine. After inspection, our in-house technician Ady discovered there was an issue with the manifold that was causing the exhaust to blow and therefore the engine to run poorly.

With this information, we managed to source a replacement manifold for the car and fit it. However, the replacement manifold didn’t quite line up with the threaded hole on the cylinder head. So, carefully Ady elongated the holes to allow it to bolt up while also keeping the gaskets perfectly in place to achieve the correct seal.

After this had been done and the manifold connected back up to the exhaust system. Our in-house team went through the entire system from engine to exhaust box to check everything was working exactly as it should on the Morgan.

Morgan Plus 4’s 70th Anniversary

In our new feature, Thursday Time capsule, we look at classic cars celebrating significant birthdays in 2020.

2020 marks the 70th anniversary of the classic Morgan Plus 4, a classic that was developed and released in 1950. This highly sought after sports car graced the scene with its 2088cc standard Vanguard engine which was installed on a 4/4 chassis.

To mark its 70th anniversary, Morgan released 20 special edition Plus 4’s in March which sport a Platinum Metallic paint to promote the nuances in Morgan’s iconic visual design. What is particularly unique about this limited edition model is the gold chassis. It is the first time they’ve been developed in this colour, and will also be the last as they commemorate the end of their steel chassis production that has been going since the original Morgan 4/4 in 1936.

These rare models were handcrafted in Morgan’s workshop in Malvern, the UK, which we visited back in September.

Morgan Plus 4’s have been in and out of production since 1950 but were most recently revived after a break in 2005. The new production Plus 4’s feature a BMW powered engine instead of the popular Ford engine.

Our Morgan 4/4

Although we haven’t had the pleasure of working on a Plus 4, we have had several 4/4’s in, which are the older model to the Plus 4. Morgan released their 4/4 as a groundbreaking vehicle in 1936 which premiered their steel chassis technology and have been in production, without breaks since.

The 4/4 is the worlds longest running production car, with the 4/4 standing for ‘4 cylinder, 4 wheel’ as it was the first of its kind in Morgan’s development as they moved away from the bike powered 3 wheels.

Although there’s little difference between the 4/4 and the Plus 4, the latter of the two was developed to be faster and more powerful, making it less mainstream and typically a touring option.

Fitting new wiring loom in 1964 Morgan 4/4

Our 1964 Morgan 4/4 wiring loom is one of the select few that Autosparks hold on the shelf. So expecting to be ordering the loom for a 6 to 8 week delivery we were over the moon to receive the complete loom within a matter of days.

It meant we could crack on with the task sooner that expected. The questionable wiring has now gone completely and our car is now running on brand new, guaranteed and safe wiring.

Morgan 4/4 running issues

Our 1964 Morgan 4/4 is in the workshops for a service and to look into an over-heating issue that has developed. Whilst in we need to look at running issues that looks to be coming from low compression on No3 and a possible problem with the clutch.

Finally, the wiring under the dash is very untidy and certain areas are a little questionable so this will need to be addressed too. This may result in a new wiring loom being manufactured.