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1955 Morgan Found In A Horse Barn

high-cowl-1955-morgan-plus-4

This 1955 Morgan Plus 4 was discovered in an old horse barn, where it has been parked for nearly 20 years. The seller pulled it from the barn with the intention of restoring it, but has decided that they don’t have time, so they are letting it go. It is now in dry storage awaiting a new home. Find it here on eBay out of Barrington, Rhode Island.

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While this Plus 4 was built in 1955, it featured Morgan’s new for ’56 high cowl front end. The rounded and curved grill has become one of the characteristics that Morgan has kept throughout the past 57 years, granted they haven’t changed much else either. The photos of the underside aren’t the best, but it appears that it is structurally sound. The interior photos aren’t great either, but from what we can tell it looks complete. We would guess it has been restored t some point, but then again it only has 40k miles on the odometer.

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This Morgan would make a great candidate for a concourse level restoration, but we think it might actually be more interesting left as is. Obviously we would want to go through the mechanical systems, brakes, and electronics to make sure it’s safe and reliable. What would you do with it? Restore or drive?

Comments

  1. Avatar Bernie H.

    Man, leave this old girl as found!!! It wll be much more appealing (and valuable) as a survivor car. It looks fairly presentable, clean everything up PROPERLY, repair as required and drive it!!. Their only original once, and this one as that look. ‘my 2 cents worth’

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  2. Avatar Trickie Dickie Member

    First of all…. better to do a complete body survey for Termites, seriously, as the Morgan body is largely made of wood. I love these old Morgans, and even the new ones. Morgan owners/drivers have to be the most devout sports car folks in the world. If you have ever driven one, you will understand! The seat cushions are very soft as the ….uh…”suspension” is not. But as I said, I still love them!

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  3. Avatar Carguy

    That would be one tough termite as the wood frames are Belgian Ash, one very hard wood. It would be a real temptation to get it running and leave the body as is, if possible. We have a restored 1965 Morgan Plus 4 at the Classic Car Collection in Kearney, NE. that is a real crowd favorite. Buy this one, get it running and drive it like ya stole it!

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    • Avatar scot

      ~ ash = solid. if it rots because it was stored wet, parts only.
      .

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  4. Avatar Dolphin Member

    I prefer the look of the 2-seater, but I’d guess that providing you don’t fill up the rear seats on this car with children, animals, or too much stuff you wouldn’t feel much difference on the road. And it’s definitely the right color!

    This looks to be one of the better Plus 4s that have come out of barns lately, and if the wood and chassis check out it could be an easy restoration, or even a clean-and-drive once the under-dash wiring is sorted out..

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  5. Avatar Catfish Phil

    Electronics? What electronics? :)

    This would be an absolutely marvelous car to bring back to safe running condition and enjoy it pretty much as it is now.

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  6. Avatar Austin Healey afficiando

    Great looking car and one that should be bought up to snuff mechanically then driven and left in survivor state. They are only original once!! Don’t believe the sellers line about not having time to do a restoration, would bet that it was bought and hauled straight to the shop for pictures.. Can u say professional flipper

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    • Avatar Horse Radish

      may I add:
      “although I have done two concourse restorations on these…..NO ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO START IT….”
      I think that says it all……….
      I would say, let somebody else pay this seller for his valuable f***ing time and move on….

      Like 0
      • Avatar paul

        Exactly, for a guy who has so much knowledge & he doesn’t even bother to see if the thing turns over & he can’t be bothered to throw 4 plugs a cap, rotor, wires, & some fresh oil oh & a battery, come on.

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  7. Avatar John Cargill

    Too busy trying to get one English car on the road.

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  8. Avatar Charles

    That is seriously cool!

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  9. Avatar Denny

    I owned one just like this in 1966-68 in Des Moines, IA. I sold it through a Road & Track ad to Capt. Morgan Jones in Fort Belvoir, VA in 1969. He flew out and said he was going to drive it home. I wonder if this is the one? Mine was a cream color with a white top and tonneau and same color interior as above. I drove it to ISU-Ames and back often in the cold winter without an effective heater!

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    • Avatar scot

      ~ as quickly as i saw ‘Author: Denny’ i knew i was reading your remarks.
      . i guess i had forgotten yours being a four-place, Denny. but then i only vaguely remember the car at all… or the sixties after 50 intervening years. did the Corvette replace the Morgan? post your pictures if you have them handy, here or fb.

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      • Avatar Denny

        Posted to FB… :-)

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  10. Avatar jim

    do the repairs that are needed to make it a daily driver. then enjoy the drive. great find. be interesting to see where the bidding goes on this one.

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  11. Avatar sunbeamdon

    The four seater is one of the ugliest cars to come out of jolly-old England; god loves ’em anyway, otherwise why wood he “bless my ash”?

    This is keeper as-is, just safety check it, put the top down and drive her!

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    • Avatar paul

      Love Mogys hate the backend of these.

      Like 0
  12. Avatar Wagoner

    I agree with the sort-and-drive approach on this one, as long as it’s structurally sound and it hasn’t been through a poor restoration already. The upholstery looks un-original and I wonder about paint and bondo. Body’s pretty straight though… maybe one repaint in its history? But if those things are okay, then a steam cleaning and freshening of the systems would result in an appealing, useable classic and you wouldn’t have worry about wear and tear as on a fully restored car.

    This car could easily have a club competition history and it would be worth investigating.

    And no, there are no microprocessors, so no “electronics”!

    Like 0
  13. Avatar rusty

    Why not simply a barn? Hee hee

    Why a horse barn isn’t that a stable?

    What next a car barn?

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  14. Avatar Chris A.

    Well you could always stuff that ugly top in the space behind the seats. I don’t think I’ve actually seen a Morgan on the road with a top up, it just isn’t done. Would any of the body panels be aluminum on this or was alloy just for the 2 seaters?

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    • Avatar Denny

      The space behind the seats was barely room for my tonneau. I usually left the top in the garage except when I was driving it in the Iowa winters to ISU and back! The side curtains barely kept the snow out! But I was a young college student with a “sports car!” :-)

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  15. Avatar tom

    A 1955 +4 will have cream colored instruments in the dash and the seats should be vertically pleated. It appears that the fold-down windscreen is from a two-seater…the four seat cars have a taller version. Changes have been made here, probably for the better, but its not an original car.
    The four seater has some fore and aft seat adjustment and the seat bottom is sprung, making it much more comfortable (or less worse) than the two-seater. Tall drivers have difficulty driving a two-seater. Most change to wires but its a costly conversion and I like the steel wheels, though the missing hubcaps are hard to find.

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  16. Avatar Trickie Dickie Member

    Zero Bids, didnt sell

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    • Avatar Horse Radish

      you have to read the small print:
      top line on a pale yellow bar reads:
      “This listing was ended by the seller because the item is no longer available.”
      Which translates into buyer knew to pull the auction 12+ hours before end.
      Click on zero bids and scroll down that page, It will show the bids and that they were cancelled when the auction was ended early.
      So not only did he not even bother trying to start this, he also stiffed E-bay for their commission.
      Great guy.
      Would you buy a car from him ??
      ….oooh and that spiel about how he has bought and sold 4,200 cars……….

      Like 0
  17. Avatar JP

    2 seaters are pretty but the 4’s are much more useful. Just ask my boys…

    Like 0
  18. Avatar Hack Chappel

    My 1st Morgan was a 2 seater Plus 4 , # 3265. I had a lot of help restoring/making it
    road worthy. I loved that car, and of course wished I still had it. I traded it in on a 1977
    4/4, and eventually that left my possession also. The twin spare ’55, actually was the
    one that I now crave and dream about. That 4 speed Moss gear-box was something
    to feel and hear, coupled with the Triumph engine. Alas, we grow old !!

    Cheers,

    Hack

    Like 1

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