1963 MORGAN PLUS FOUR 'LOW LINE' SUPER SPORTS TWO SEATER

1963 MORGAN PLUS FOUR 'LOW LINE' SUPER SPORTS TWO SEATER
Sold for US$ 146,300 Including Commission
Bonhams Auction
Amelia Island, Florida 2015
From the Estate of George Fink
1963 MORGAN PLUS FOUR 'LOW LINE' SUPER SPORTS TWO SEATER
Chassis no. 5322
Engine no. TS 39461E
2,138cc Pushrod Inline 4-Cylinder Triumph TR4 Engine
2 Weber Carburetors
Approximately 125bhp at 5,500rpm
4-Speed Manual Transmission
Sliding King Pin Front Suspension, Solid Rear Axle
Front Disc - Rear Drum Brakes
*One of four Super Sports built by Morgan to full race specifications
*Former Sebring and Daytona entry
*Four owners from new
*The ultimate Morgan
THE MOTORCAR OFFERED
The Super Sports is the 'Holy Grail' of all Morgan production. The model took all of the sporting connotations that had been woven into the breed from its earliest days, reviving the 'Super Sports' title which they had applied to some of the most sporting three-wheelers, moving them to another level. In doing so it provided true international racing success for the brand.
Not surprisingly, its story is linked to the greatest endurance race of all, the Le Mans 24 Hour Race. When Morgan racer and preparer Chris Lawrence elected to contest the 1961 running of this event, it is said that the organizers deemed a Plus Four to be a pre-war car and denied it eligibility. This move incensed Peter Morgan to such a degree that he agreed to provide full Works support for Lawrence, guaranteeing acceptance for the '62 edition. Lawrence brought his Super Sports home to a class win that year earning the model its place in history and arguably perpetuating the company to this day. That car, known simply as 'TOK', referring to its British license plate number, led to production versions and countless replicas of the famed Super Sports.
As ever with Morgan, there was some variety and differentiation between the original Le Mans car and those that the public had delivered, as customers sometimes chose specifications and the manufacturer worked to supply cars relative to their demand. As John Worrall and Liz Turner state in their book Original Morgan: "The Super Sports model was originally constructed with the standard Plus 4 body style, but with a bonnet scoop. These were the original high-line models. Later, however, the Super Sports models featured the same low-line body as the original 'Le Mans car'."
They record that the production process saw the cars built with their running gear and ash frames. These were then sent to Chris Lawrence workshops in Westerham Motors; from here the engines, the clutch, flywheel, con rods and crankshaft were sent out to Jack Brabham Motors to be balanced. The cylinder head was polished and gas-flowed, and the compression ratio was raised to 9:1'. A high-lift camshaft was fitted and then aspiration would come from 42 or 45 DCOE Webers mounted to a cast alloy manifold, a four branch exhaust system ensuring clear exit. On the later, 'Low Line' cars, with the reduced height of the intake and exhaust set ups, the whole profile of the car was able to be lowered, and accordingly its radiator was cut down in height. While this aided the aerodynamics, the reduced radiator aperture had to be compensated for, which was achieved with a header tank set back on the firewall. A small bumper set was fixed to the front of the car while overriders only were fitted to the its tail.
The combined effect of all of these improvements was to push the horsepower out from roughly 100bhp on standard TR4 engined cars to north of 125bhp, while its weight was shaved down from nearly 1,900lbs to 1,736lbs and allowed a 0-60mph of 7.6 seconds.
All told, production of the Super Sports tallied 101 cars only, a small fraction of the more than 4,500 Plus Four cars built. According to the Original Morgan book, among even this modest number some were more sporting than others, as a result of requirements offering one year guarantees on the enhanced specifications. Some arrived in this country un-tuned, and one was even delivered as a four seater.
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Robert Myrick Photography