From the estate of the late Roy Jackson
1978 Morgan 4/4 Roadster

• Previous ownership for almost 30 years
• Present ownership since 2019
• Running and driving
• Inspection and shake-down advised

An island of constancy in an automotive sea of change, Morgan looks set to continue building its unique Vintage-style cars well into the 21st Century. Indeed, today's Plus 4 is recognisably the same car as its 1936 forebear, and none the worse for that as the ever-lengthy waiting list would seem to confirm. After formative years spent in the drawing office of the Great Western Railway, engineer H F S Morgan progressed to automobile manufacture, showing his first three-wheeled car at Olympia in 1910. The first four-seater, four-wheeled Morgan appeared in 1937 and a special Coventry Climax-engined sports model competed at Le Mans in 1938, qualifying for the Biennial Cup. A special Standard 1,267cc overhead-valve four-cylinder engine was introduced for the 1939 season and would continue to power the 4/4 model to 1950.

Re-introduced with Ford 100E power in 1955 after a five-year hiatus, the 4/4 was regularly up-dated with more modern power units, adopting Ford's 1,599cc 'Kent' pushrod engine in 1967, initially in either 74bhp or 88bhp 'Competition' forms, the latter being standardised from 1970. The chassis, with its sliding-pillar independent front suspension and leaf-sprung live rear axle, remained much as before and the 4/4 continued in this vein until the arrival of Ford's CVH engine for 1982.

According to the Morgan chassis record on file, this 4/4 was first dispatched on the 31st March 1978 to a Mr Hanagan via John Britten Garages in Hertfordshire. The Morgan is finished in Deep Brunswick Green with stone leather upholstery, and is powered by the 1,599cc cross-flow Kent engine. Notable features include wire wheels, tonneau cover, door handles, luggage carrier, spare wheel cover, locking fuel cap, and stone-coloured hood and side screens. In addition, the front wings have been uprated to Plus 8 specification. The car also benefits from a scuttle roll bar kit and the plywood floors have been replaced with 6mm thick aluminium plating. Most of the ash frame was also replaced with new wood between 2019-2022.

According to an advertisement (copy on file) relating to the late Mr Jackson's purchase in 2019, the previous keeper had owned the Morgan for almost 30 years. Restoration works were undertaken during Mr Jacksons ownership, and some bills are available on file. Running and driving, this Morgan will need an inspection and shake-down before any extended road use.

Roy Jackson was born in the middle of WW2 in the North West of England near Lancaster. He spent his boyhood fishing the local rivers and lakes and shooting. His father was also a car enthusiast and Roy's formative years were spent watching him race his Triumph and Lagonda in local races such as the Barbon Hill-Climb. He was always involved in his dad's motoring escapades, learning to drive in cars considered classics today on the driveway of the family home. Roy's first car restoral was a 1932 Alvis Firefly which he worked on in his father's building yard when he was a teenager. This project ignited in him an ambition to become a fully-fledged mechanic. However, his father had other ideas and wanted him to enter the family construction business, so Roy went and studied Civil Engineering. This was a profession he grew to love and he became managing director of the company at a young age, successfully running it until his retirement in 2013.

Since 2013 Roy had no wish to live the life of a regular retiree. Rather he saw this as the opportunity to resurrect the dreams of his youth and to start to restore classic cars as he had wanted to in his younger days. His home, a converted Cumbrian farm, was the perfect venue for his new career and these restorations became his life. Working together with his son-in-law Seb Morgan, what started as a dream quickly evolved. The workshop they built together became renowned locally and further afield. Roy and Seb rebuilt 26 classic cars and military vehicles over the 11 years they were working together, including the vehicles listed by Bonhams in this auction which are offered from his estate.