Beschreibung:

Its superior power-to-weight ratio enabled H F S Morgan’s humble, three-wheeled cyclecar to outperform many a larger engined four-wheeler, and its maker was not slow to capitalise on his creation’s competition potential. A Gold Medal in the 1911 London-Exeter-London Reliability Trial with Morgan himself driving was followed by victory in the inaugural cyclecar race at Brooklands the following year, Harry Martin taking the chequered flag three minutes ahead of the field. Racetrack successes led directly to road-going spin-off in the form of the Grand Prix model, introduced for 1914. The first Aero sports model, inspired by the Grand Prix, followed immediately after WWI. Subsequent technological developments included the fitting of front brakes, operated by hand lever, from 1924 and the adoption of a new chassis - the M-type - on the new Super Sports model in 1928. This new chassis was some 2½” lower than its predecessor and undoubtedly helped Morgans trounce the opposition at the New Cyclecar Club’s meeting at Brooklands later that year. In 1931 a conventional three-speeds-plus-reverse gearbox was introduced and the model name abbreviated to simply ‘Super Sports’, the old two-speed transmission disappearing soon after. Today, the early two-speed Sports models, with their distinctive ‘beetle back’ coachwork and spare wheel carried atop the tail, are among the most sought after of all Morgan three-wheelers. This particular example incorporates the body from one of the most famous of all Morgan three-wheelers, ‘Johnny Yellow’, which was owned and campaigned during the 1930s by Henry Laird, one of the marque’s foremost practitioners. Henry Laird was the grandson of the founder of shipbuilder Cammell Laird but chose to pursue a career working with high-performance cars and motorcycles rather than the world of commerce. Laird worked for Michael McEvoy and owned a succession of Morgans, each of which received the nickname ‘Johnny’. A Super Sports Aero model, ‘Johnny V’ was also known as ‘Johnny Yellow’ or simple ‘Yellow’ on account of its colour scheme, and served the Lairds (Henry’s wife Barbara was his usual passenger) as a trials car while ‘Johnny Red’ was the circuit racer and record breaker. During Laird’s ownership, ‘Yellow’ was returned to the factory for extensive modifications, the most radical of which was the removal and replacement of the original body with one adapted specifically for trials use. A regular competitor at Brooklands, Laird scored his first win with ‘Red’ at Donington Park in 1934 while later that same year ‘Yellow’ rewarded him by securing a Gold Medal at the ISDT in Bavaria. Both cars were ‘retired’ in 1937 when Laird was appointed Midlands Editor of Motor Cycling. He died in a motorcycle accident in 1941. The current owner acquired the Morgan in the 1990s from Derek Evans (since deceased) of Malvern, a lifelong devotee of the marque who worked at the factory during the 1930s and had purchased it from his employers at that time. The car consists of a 1929 M-type chassis (almost certainly intended to house a Blackburne motor); a 1,096cc water-cooled JAP overhead-valve v-twin engine dating from approximately the same year; the two-speed transmission; and the original body from Henry Laird’s ‘Yellow’. It is accompanied by a substantial quantity of photographs - close inspection of which is recommended - recording its exhumation from Derek Evans’ shed; its ‘as found’ condition; traces of the original yellow paintwork and Union Jack emblems; and various stages of its restoration in 2000 by Tony Morton. Work carried out included a full engine rebuild; fitting a new clutch; refurbishing the splitter box; and overhauling the magneto. A starter ring gear was fitted to the flywheel during restoration, while other noteworthy features include a lowered chassis and wider than standard front track. Interestingly, the modified brakes and suspension appear virtually identical to those of Laird’s original ‘Yellow’. It shou