Ian Taylor was holidaying in Italy when he saw a Morgan car and decided that was the car he wanted.
Cambridge resident Ian Taylor with his 2009 Ford powered Connaught Green Morgan with its personalised number plate honouring the car company’s centenary. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
He was attending the Como to Stresa rally, a famous road rally featuring vintage cars that take a scenic route from Lake Como to Lake Maggiore.
Back home in Cambridge, he rang Allan Duffy, then the president of the Morgan Car Club who interviewed him for 15 minutes – presumably to find out if he was worthy of owing a Morgan – and connected him with a woman who had recently been widowed and was selling her husband’s car.
So, he bought the 2009 Connaught Green Morgan in 2012 for $80,000. It is still worth that today, he reckons.
Taylor is on the Morgan Sports Car Club committee with fellow Cambridge resident, club president Paul Street.
The club held its annual meeting and 50th anniversary in the town over three days culminating in a display at Victoria Square on Saturday.
About 240 cars and three wheelers are known to exist in New Zealand. About 140 of them are in the club – 20 cars and 50 members attended the event.
New Plymouth’s Nigel Williams covers up his Morgan as rain sweeps across Victoria Square in Cambridge while the cars were on display. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Morgan Motor Company was founded in 1909 and its first four-wheeler was built in 1936. Its factory is in Malvern, Worcestershire, England where each car is handmade.
The styling has not changed for decades.
Nigel Williams of New Plymouth spent nearly $250,000 on his Morgan following a health scare.
“You can have a car that’s 50 years old and one built today, and they haven’t changed a lot.
“Most people when they buy them, they keep them for a long time.”
They are built low to the ground, which Williams says makes it increasingly difficult for him to get in and out, and he must be careful not to burn himself on the exhaust.
“The suspension’s pretty hard, that’s what makes it stick on the road.
“We all laugh. They leak, they’ve got little characteristics, they’re not perfect.”
Morgans in Morgan Rd.
They use motors from major manufacturers such as BMW, Ford, Cosworth, and Lotus, with older models featuring engines from Triumph, Rover, Fiat, or Ford.
While the annual meeting was on, many of the wives went shopping in town.
“They can’t get too carried away because many of the Morgans don’t have boots, so you learn to travel and pack very light,” said Williams, who took a photo of his car next to a Morgan Rd sign during a run out towards Matamata and Walton.
The Morgan car had developed a reputation as a wonderful car for racing, family and classic touring, said Street.
The club sponsors the Race 4 Life charitable organisation which holds three events a year to provide palliative care patients with the opportunity to drive a Morgan around the racetrack.
Morgans on show in Victoria Square, Cambridge. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Ian Taylor and his Morgan in Victoria Square, Cambridge. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Club treasurer Neil Bendall, right, and his red 2004 Morgan with its Rover five speed engine and Mogman personalised plate, with Ian Taylor, left and Nigel Williams. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
