AutoPuzzles - The Internet's Museum of Rare Cars!
Puzzles, Games and Name That Car => Solved AutoPuzzles => 2011 => Topic started by: Allemano on May 17, 2011, 05:03:08 AM
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Please respond below if you know the make and model designation of this car and what makes it special.
One point for the right and complete answer!
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Experts!
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Well it's clearly not an Ashley Sportiva because that would be a repost!
A Sportiva body was mated to a Ballamy chassis to make the prototype Israeli Sabra sports car, which then went into production with an uglified nose and also because the Reliant Sabre.
So is it that first Sabra prototype?
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You pointed me out the strong Ashley Sportiva resemblance, but my quite reliable source reports nothing about it.
Neither any Reliant Sabre relation is mentioned.
The brand isn't obsure at all, but this particular car is..
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LMB?
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LMB?
Pardon?
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You heard me!
(as in Debonair )
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Okay okay — not a LMB. ;D
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Morgan Saloon, 1962 - an attempt for a more modern-styled Morgan. First seen at Geneva Auto Show and Triumph-engined - like all the Morgans at that time.
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Well done!
BTW: has it been an official Morgan project? ;)
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Well franck you really do surprise me there.
Below are pictures of the Ashley Sportiva, which you can clearly see is the same body as the puzzle picture. Certainly EB (Edwards Brothers, who had taken over the Ballamy projects) were involved both with Ashley and with Morgan at that time, but I certainly never knew they had actually put an Ashley body on to a Morgan chassis and called it a Morgan!
What they had done with the Ashley body was mated it to an EB chassis to produce the Sabra prototype, as I said in my reply. Also what EB were doing was designing a more up-to-date Morgan for Peter Morgan as an official job, but the result of that, as far as I knew, was the domed-roof Morgan Plus 4 Plus, not this car, which frankly was nothing new having been in production for some years already as an Ashley and was also the basis for the new Sabra and Reliant Sabre sports cars! What were they thinking about?
Whose stand is that then that the puzzle photo depicts? I'll have to do a lot more digging to find out the truth behind this story, because I suspect that some misinformation has spread into the system somewhere and is now accepted fact...
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As I've asked before: was it an official Morgan authorized project? The answer is to find somewhere on the internet...
I give franck.kegelart a point for identifying the right car and give another to the one who tells me the whole story...
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As I've asked before: was it an official Morgan authorized project? The answer is to find somewhere on the internet...
I thought you were asking because you didn't know, but maybe you're asking because you do know?
The only other thing I could think of is that since the new Plus 4 Plus body wasn't ready yet but they had an Ashley body kicking around from other projects they used it to avoid putting a bare chassis on to the show stand? But it was never their intention to actually market this Morgan with this body?
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No, it went different back then..
That it was shown first in Geneva gives something to think about..
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It was actually built by the Swiss Morgan Importer! (sorry don't have the name of that firm)
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It was actually built by the Swiss Morgan Importer! (sorry don't have the name of that firm)
Well done, I don't have the name either.
So, can you tell the whole story now? Locked for you!
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Barrett, I give you another 24h to complete, after that it's open again.
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Open again for all experts. So, what did this Swiss Morgan Importer and what happened, then?
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Apparently it was not an official project, and when Morgan saw this car on display at the Geneva Show they were Not Amused and ordered the Importer to destroy it if they wanted to continue to have any Morgans delivered to them!
They didn't however and I understand the car still survives to this day..
Whether the Importer continued to be allowed to import Morgans I don't know!
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Apparently it was not an official project, and when Morgan saw this car on display at the Geneva Show they were Not Amused and ordered the Importer to destroy it if they wanted to continue to have any Morgans delivered to them!
They didn't however and I understand the car still survives to this day..
Whether the Importer continued to be allowed to import Morgans I don't know!
Well done Carnut!
:drink: :cheer: :applause: I'm very glad to award you the deciding point that finally makes you a Professional Autopuzzler! :applause: :cheer: :drink:
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Congratulations Carnut!
Welcome to the club.
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Congratulations, Carnut! :drink:
The chances of interesting puzzles reaching Pro level has increased a little, I guess. ;D ;D
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Great to have you on the Team Carnut! Well done.
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Thanks guys!
Hope life isn't too miserable from now on!
Maybe I'll see if I can get a life!
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:drink: :cheer: :applause: I'm very glad to award you the deciding point that finally makes you a Professional Autopuzzler! :applause: :cheer: :drink:
Hear, hear!
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:drink: :cheer: :applause: I'm very glad to award you the deciding point that finally makes you a Professional Autopuzzler! :applause: :cheer: :drink:
Hear, hear!
:thumbsup:
Or should that be :thumbsdown: ?
Life has suddendly got very quiet!
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This car still exists and is in the hands of Swiss enthusiast Markus Tanner, who writes:
QUOTE
The Morgan +4 Ashley is based on a Morgan +4 chassis and mechanics from 1954. The ‘54 + 4 had the Triumph TR3 engine and Moss gearbox, the rear axle is Salisbury.
It is absolutely certain that the car was presented on the 1962 Geneva Motor Show - without the Morgan factory knowing that Morgan as a maker took place in this show! Peter Morgan I was told was not amused and told the Swiss Morgan importer to dismantle or scrap the car!
Mr. Wehrlin, the builder, decided to take it apart, but stored it in a barn. Morgan was told it had been broken up for spares.
Wehrlin told me that he pushed Morgan for years to build a proper 2+2 with a fixed roof for customers to use in winter - Peter Morgan refused to do so. This is why the Ashley was built and he based it on a Morgan because he was looking for a Morgan winter car his customers could buy! The interest in this car was huge in Geneva and might be why Peter Morgan instantly began to develop his own - the Plus Four Plus - which failed to attract buyers. Wehrlin for example said that he'd only bought them from Peter (he called him just "Peter" all the time) to do him a favour.
To cope with the increased weight of the Coupé body, they had fitted a Judson supercharger to the engine - it ended up being a lot faster than any Morgan from the production line! And guess what - I got the charger with the rest of the parts. It came with original fitting instructions!
A standard TR3 engine produced about 100hp - a Judson charger was advertised to add up to 40% on top of that. I will start the restoration as soon as I can.
UNQUOTE
Here is another picture from the 1962 Geneva Show:
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It´s been presented at the 1962 Geneve salon as the "Morgan +4b Coupé" with no hint to Ashley: