1947 Morgan F-Super Roadster

Budding car manufacturer, Henry Francis Stanley Morgan (H.F.S.), was the son of a clergyman and an apprentice engineer with Great Western Railway. He opened a garage in Worcestershire in 1906 and, by 1909, had developed his first car, a single-seater powered by a Peugeot V twin engine. His first production car, a three-wheeled roadster, was produced in 1910. Morgan's production would be exclusively three-wheeled vehicles until after World War II.

His earliest vehicle was a tube-framed three-wheel car, with two wheels in the front and a single wheel behind. It had an independent front suspension, called 'sliding pillar', in which the steering knuckles rode up and down on king pins, suspended against coil springs. This technology and setup would be used by Morgan for over a century.

He received money from his father which allowed H.F.S. to organize the Morgan Motor Company in 1909. The first production model was shown at the First International Cycle and Motor Cycle Exhibition at the Olympia exhibition center in West Kensington, London, in November 1910.

The initial Morgan products had two seats and were powered by a succession of J.A.P., Blumfield, and Precision V-twin engines. In 1923, the Morgans received front brakes. In 1925, a modest rear seat was added to the lineup. A new chassis design was introduced in the autumn of 1931, as well as a three-speed gearbox, this time with reverse. In November of 1933, Morgan introduced a four-cylinder model, this time powered by an 8-horsepower, 933-cubic centimeter Ford engine. A completely new Z-section frame was supplied by Rubery-Owen, Ltd., and the Ford three-speed-with-reverse gearbox was used. It was given the designation as Model F, for Ford, and would remain in production even as a four-wheeled Morgan was introduced in 1935.

At the beginning of World War II, V-twin Morgan production ceased, but the Model F continued until 1952. Both two- and four-seat Fs were built, and from 1937 an F-Super with cycle fenders and 1,172-cubic centimeter engine rated at 10 horsepower (30 brake horsepower).

This particular example, a Model F-Super, is one of 129 built after World War II. Its current owner is a long-time caretaker and restorer, who acquired the car in 2005. It was given a restoration over a two-year period. After the restoration was completed, it was extensively shown at many concours events throughout the country. It is also an AACA Grand National winner.