If you want a taste of what it’s like to drive a 1930s roadster but with modern brakes, steering and an engine that can more than keep up with today’s traffic, then a Morgan 4/4 has got to be the answer. This entry-level model has been largely Ford-powered since the late 1960s, making it relatively straightforward to maintain and repair. In fact, the 4/4 model line has been available on and off since 1936 (it stands for four wheels and four cylinders), with a range of engines from Standard, Ford and even Fiat. However, for the purposes of our more affordable buying guide, we’re sticking to the models from the 1970s onwards, which were powered at first by the Ford Kent (crossflow) engine, followed by the CVH (carbs and then fuel injection up until 1993), and then the Zetec, Duratec and Sigma twin-cams. (A 1.6-litre Fiat twin-cam engine was available in 1983 as an alternative to the Ford engine, but is now a rarity).
Owning a Morgan goes beyond the principle of merely having a classic car to drive and becomes a lifestyle choice. There’s an active owners’ club and the knowledge you are buying into a British brand that’s handmade and oozes character. There are numerous cheaper alternatives from the kit car market such as the JBA Falcon, Sabre Royale and Marlin (and other production rivals such as the Panther Kallista), but none of these have the same level of recognition, the same volume of sales (and so the same number of used cars for sale) and retain their secondhand values quite so well.
Values
Roadworthy 4/4s are advertised for sale from around £15,000 upwards, but be aware that anything over 40 years old may be MoT exempt, so always insist on a test certificate before deciding to buy unless you are confident in your own abilities to assess it accordingly. CVHpowered examples are often cheaper, but there’s nothing inferior about this single overhead cam engine – it was good enough for the Ford Escort XR3i of the 1980s, after all.
At the time of writing there were over 80 Morgan 4/4s for sale online
