“Back in the day”, in the post war years (which war was that Daddy ?) we used to go to the motoring events attainable from where we lived. Inevitably therefore, these consisted of the Veteran Car run from London to Brighton, and the Veteran Motorcycle run from Tattenham Corner to Brighton. There were probably others too, but I cannot now remember what they were. These events drew many spectators and people turned up in all sorts of vehicles other than the actual entrants and you would see lovely old Bentleys, Rolls-Royces, sports cars of all sorts, Frazer-Nashs, HRG, Aston-Martin and so on – and always there would be some well wrapped up drivers and passengers in Morgan three wheelers.
I had by this time read and bought a good many books as they became available on veteran and vintage cars so I knew about the cycle cars which came into existence after the First World War as a being cheap, and a way for people to get on the road. The Morgan was one of these and always seemed to me to be the most sensible and practical solution, and many times I have wondered why other manufacturers since have not explored the idea more.. There was also the BSA three wheeler but they didn’t seem to catch on or catch the imagination in quite the same way.
For me the Morgan was the epitome of desirability and I would dearly have liked one, but of course by that time the only one still in existence were old, and preserved, and changed hands in frequently at prices way beyond the means of a boy, and later the young man. And from a practical point of view they would need to be stored carefully, under cover, and since I proceeded into the fluid life of a Royal Air Force aircrew person that was really an impossibility. So, I made do with more practical transport and worshipped from afar, and continue to do so.
Should you wish, you can still buy a new Morgan Three Wheeler – the Morgan Super 3 – but you will need to be very well off to do so. Like, you will need well over £40,000 sitting in your spending money account.
