Historic racing has grown enormously in popularity over the last decade or so, and potential owners are clamoring to get their hands on these cars to restore and enjoy. Our feature car is one such car. For sale here on eBay, it is located in La Habra, California, and is offered with a clear title. Bidding has seen the price reach $3,550 but the reserve hasn’t been met.

The original Morgan Plus 4 was in production from 1950 to 1969. It has returned to production on two further occasions, but our car is part of that original first series of cars. This car was owned by racing driver Dougall Reith who used it to compete in the E Production class, racing at such illustrious tracks as Santa Barbara, Willow Springs and Riverside. The competition that Mr Reith raced against was no less illustrious. This included drivers of the caliber of Dick Barbour, Bob Grifiths, Lee Midgley, John Ecketeins, Don Moss and Jack Brabham. Our car and driver featured numerous times in Gridline Magazine which revealed that the combination was very competitive.

There is some work to be undertaken on this car as befits a car that has been stored away since the early 1980s. The chassis is solid except for a section that is approximately 8 inches long on both sides that will require repair.

The body is complete. There is some dry rot in the timber but the seller believes that it can be restored. Personally, I like the fact that it appears to be exactly as it last raced sporting those racing numbers on the side. Compare those with the ones that you see on cars today and they speak of a simpler time.

The interior blends a  combination of traditional Morgan components with racing equipment. The gauges are the correct Morgan items, but the seats and steering wheel are non-genuine, although the wheel is a period-correct racing item. The seats have me a bit confused because they are not genuine Morgan seats, but they appear to be too heavy to be used in a racing car where every ounce of excess weight has to be considered and removed. Perhaps the little Morgan saw some street use after it’s racing career ended, and the owner tried to utilize something which offered a bit more comfort to the occupants. This Morgan also comes with a roll bar fitted, and the seller is including a full windshield and side brackets.

Mechanically it’s all fairly promising for our little Plus 4. It rolls on new tires, and the suspension is in good condition featuring front disc brakes. The car sports a motor from an MG of around 1800cc capacity backed by an MG transmission. The engine looks really clean as you would expect in a racing car. The seller doesn’t actually give any indication of whether this car runs or not, but if appearances count for anything I’d be pretty confident. My own experience suggests that the vast majority of racing car owners tend to be pretty thorough when moth-balling a car, whether for the off-season or for the longer term. If our man is typical of the breed then I suspect that a fresh load of gas will have this racing veteran purring like a kitten.

To my mind this is a pretty easy decision. Historic racing cars of all types will almost certainly continue to be sought after in coming years, and as a result, they will also continue to increase in value. I don’t look at this car and wonder how its price compares with other regular Plus 4s that are on the market, but how it compares with other similar historic racing cars. This one needs some work, but I suspect that it will be a fun little device to drive when it’s restored….and that’s what I would be inclined to do. If I bought it I would undertake a sympathetic restoration to return it to how it looked and ran the last time that it hit the track.