1954 Morgan with TR2 Engine (51 Views) M60 Home    Restorations Gallery

An early photo of the original owner seated in the Morgan, ready to race. Ed knew how to appreciate a Morgan. This much driven, often raced, and always cherished Morgan Plus 4 came from its original owner, Ed, A CLOSE FAMILY FRIEND OF ELLIOTT'S FATHER. Wounded by a land mine in WWII, he survived and was clearly a fine fellow.

Ed ordered the Morgan through Windsor Motorcycle Sales in Windsor, Ontario, but the ship arrived at the docks in Toronto. The TR 2 engine is actually the original engine. Ed was considering several other sports cars, but ordered the Morgan because it had the best power to weight ratio in it's class. The car has the Moss 4-speed transmission, similar to what was used in the early Jaguar XK E's.

He purchased and imported the car from England and has entrusted it to Elliott because he knows it will get the attention, care, and use it deserves.

When Ed married, he and his bride not only went on their honeymoon in the Morgan, but they also shared an abiding love of racing and touring the car. Over the years the Morgan saw less and less time on the road and eventually began to vanish into obscurity under the usual odds and ends of garage life.
The Morgan may not have been driven much as time went by, but it was not neglected. Always stored indoors, it gradually became what so many older cars become, a shelf of sorts. With the car loaded on the trailer and almost ready to hit the road to its new home, Ed makes some last minute checks.
While gassing up at the petrol station, other customers got this great view of the Morgan securely strapped to the trailer. A full survey of the Morgan revealed extensive rust, some surface rust blanketing blanketing virtual all exposed surfaces. his pht

The appetite of the tinworm has made a terrible meal of much of the Morgan The grill, hood, engine, fenders and running boards have been removed, leaving the body perched on the frame. There is a large rectangular holed in the firewall, making the spindly frame and gaunt body remains an odd mix of joy and despair in the eye of a restorer.
In this photo, the body has been removed from the frame and becomes part of a pile of metal waiting its turn. The windshield posts, frame and glass are still in place. There is no floor and most of the body frame is either missing, rotted, or borderline for being salvaged. The cowl sides, the doors, and the rear body remain intact, if not in possession of an uncertain future. The seat is out. The dash is hanging by a few wires, and all the wires have been labelled. Frankly, it looks so delicate it is hard to believe this was and will again be a wonderful sports car. This is another view of the body off the frame. Rust at the bottom of the cowl and under the driver door reveals that nothing was safe from the might tin worm. Nothing has been done to the body yet.
With the body off and the engine out, the chassis is reloaded onto the trailer and kept outdoors over the winter. Sections of the unrestored frame show the damage done to the rails by rust. Most of the frame will be replaced with or reinforced by new metal
Though he used the same dimension metal on frame repairs/substitutions, an extra layer of security was added by welding on a second layer of metal to the frame. This is a view along one side of the repaired frame, and looking at the frame photo above you can get a before-and-after view of the frame rails. By building new frame components rather than patching original pieces, the repaired sections look great and will hold up.
The Morgan was and remains a wonderful automobile. Not flashy or glamorous, but a very dependable performer. This photo at the next show the new cross members in place between the new frame rails. Another view of the new frame rails and cross members.
This is a photo of the fully repaired and primed chassis. Quite a lot of damage had been done by the tinworm, requiring fabricating and welding in some new frame rail metal and cross members. It is safe now, durable, and will handle well in road and rally racing. A more detailed look at the restored frame and running gear at the rear of the car. The differential has been painted, the frame is relatively complete, and the brakes have been redone. But what is most interesting to me is the Morgan bracket for the dual spare wheels.
Redone brakes are a thing of beauty, I believe, and this photo of the insides of a restored brake's works certainly reinforce my belief. This is another view of the restored chassis and engine. Lovely.
This photo is of the transmission with shift lever, mounted to the housing connecting it to the flywheel housing. The shift tower and gearshift lever with the shiny black knob are in place. The fender well and lip for the rear fender are formed around a wood panel cut with a triangular opening for the rear axle. This photo shows the pieces being cut from wood stock.
Here we see the rear fender panel (wood) attached to the side body panel (including the fender lip). Just a bit of the fender panel behind the fender can be seen.
This is a view along the whole of the door bottom and up the rear of the opening.
This is a view of the rear side panel
This photo gives a better sense of the side assembly. The cowl, now with the entire firewall housing removed, sweeps down then back about half the width of the door. It is joined to another metal piece that is a transition between the bottom of the door and the rear side panel. These two pieces appear to be welded together. The entire lot is screwed to body wood.
This is a side view of the front of the car as it sits today. Shown are the firewall in brown paper preparatory to painting, the engine in place between the fenders. All is in light grey primer. A side view taken farther back along the passenger side looking at the cockpit. The dark red seat is installed as is the steering wheel. On the seat is the dash panel complete with instruments. More photos are needed to show the running boards, rear fenders and back of the body, but enough is shown to get a bit of the Morgan feel. Also, it appears no upholstery is installed, though a bit of the upper door panel received some grey primer.
The magical part begins: This is a view of the gray primered car with the body on, viewed down the passenger's side. All the fenders and runningboards have been mounted. A spare is sitting upright in one of the two back-to-back spare tire wells at the rear of the body. This is a view of the gray primered car with the body on, looking down the driver's side. The gas tank and cap have been installed, upright and hidden by the body sheet metal behind the seat and cargo area.
At last! We have a lovely coat of a very exciting red! This is a view taken of the body from the front. Another great view, this taken from the rear. The protective running board strips and the rubber welt are in place.
This pic shows the interior with the steering wheel and beautiful dash in (taken from the rear quarter). Almost the same as the previous photo this one is taken over the seat looking toward the front. One can just see the engine.
A dramatic closeup of the interior taken from just above the right passenger door.
Ed Hebb with his Morgan. A fine man.

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