Lot Ended
Description
1978 Morgan Plus 8
A lovely original car with
just 6,846 miles from new; just two owners - the last for 43
years; plenty of bills and history
Introduced
in 1968, the Plus 8 became such an instant and enduring success that it not only
provided the bedrock on which Morgan could build for the future, it quite
possibly saved the company from going under at a difficult time in its long
history.
Morgan’s
first big-engined car, it was powered by the new Rover 3.5-litre all-alloy V8, a
re-engineered version of the Buick 215 block. Race car engineer Maurice Owen was
taken on to develop the Plus 8 which used a widened and strengthened version of
the Plus 4 chassis.
The
Salisbury 7HA axle was uprated with a limited slip differential and a new Moss
4-speed gearbox fitted to cope with the extra power (although from 1972 the
somewhat graunchy Moss ‘box was replaced by a smoother all-synchcro 4-speed unit
from the Rover 3500S). The bodywork was also widened to accommodate the larger
wheels and tyres that were required.
Weighing
only 850kg and with some 170bhp and 210lb/ft of torque on tap, the Plus 8
immediately became Britain’s fastest-accelerating production car, sprinting to
60mph in a shade over 6 seconds. The Plus 8 remained in production until 2004 by
which time some 3,506 examples had been sold, although the model has
subsequently been reintroduced, now sporting a radial aluminium chassis and BMW
V8 engine.
The
original bill of sale tells us that this Plus 8 was sold by Malvern Sports
Cars to Mr Lyons of Liverpool and invoiced on 6th February 1978.
He paid extra for a bonnet strap and stone leather upholstery, the total bill
coming to £6,147.89.
As
was often the case back then, he sold it on almost straight away (presumably for
a nice mark-up), its new owner – our vendor acquiring the vehicle on the
20th February of that year – just 17 days after initial
delivery.
Multiple
invoices on file show regular service and maintenance over the years, with
regular work done to the brakes as is often the case with cars that see such
little use. There are 19 MOTs on file which help corroborate the minimal
mileage, but as its been in the owner’s hands from just a few days old, the
mileage is warranted as genuine at just 6,857miles.
It
has worn a personalised plate for most of its life – 1000K which will be offered
in our December sale should you wish to reunite it with the
car.
Complete
with hood, tonneau, sidescreens and sidescreen bag, it sits on correct Cobra
Slot alloys and is painted in ‘period’ and now very fashionable ‘70s livery.
This incredibly low mileage Plus 8’s most recent MOT expired in 2019 (now exempt
of course) and it certainly looks the part – with just a few blemishes as one
would expect of a 43 year old car that has barely been run
in.
Now
that the factory have stopped making Morgans with traditional chassis’, this
looks like an ideal opportunity to get that ‘new car’ driving experience and
relive the best bits of the 1970s…..
For
more information – contact matthew.parkin@brightwells.com
* All charges are subject to VAT