Morgan 4/4 Buyer's Guide

The 4/4 ran from 1936 to 2020 with the same ash frame, sliding-pillar front suspension and steel chassis philosophy throughout, which makes it less a model than an eighty-year manufacturing habit. Our four sold results run from £6,670 to £11,813 (median £8,135), which for a hand-built British sports car with this much club support is the cheapest route into Morgan ownership by some distance; the live catalogue, with estimates up to £18,500, suggests the trade already knows it.

Know your versions

The family divides by engine. Series I cars (1936–1950) are pre-war collectibles and trade in a different market from everything below. Series II to V (1955–1968) use small Ford sidevalve and Kent units of 1.2 to 1.6 litres and 40 to 65bhp; our £6,670 result for a 1970 car with fifty years of single-family ownership sits at the top of this era's character and the bottom of its pricing. The 4/4 1600 (1968–1982, Ford Kent crossflow, 84bhp) is the volume classic; our £7,875 result for a 1976 car is representative money. The CVH era (1982–1993) brings a more modern Ford engine with no loss of the experience; our top result, £11,813 for a 1991 CVH, belongs here. Zetec cars (1993 on) are the usable moderns: a 2001 example in the current catalogue is estimated at £17,000–£18,000, essentially the same money as a 1958 car at £17,500–£18,500, which tells you age matters less than condition in this market.

What to pay

Four sales: £6,670 (1970), £7,875 (1976), £8,395 (1985), £11,813 (1991), median £8,135. Read the tiers as: usable, honest cars with patina from £6,670 to £8,395; the best presented later cars around our £11,813 result; and restored or low-mileage examples at the £10,000–£12,000 to £18,500 the live estimates span. There is no cheap-project tail in our records; Morgans tend to be kept, not scrapped.

What goes wrong

The ash frame is the item everyone asks about and the sills, wings and wooden body tub around it are where the money goes: rot in the frame or rust where steel meets wood means coachbuilder rates, so probe door posts and sill timbers rather than admiring the paint. The sliding-pillar front suspension needs greasing on a schedule modern owners forget, and wears kingpins when they do. The Ford engines (Kent, CVH, Zetec) are as cheap and well-supported as engines get; drivetrain worries are minor. Club and factory parts support is exceptional for a car this rare, and the Morgan Sports Car Club is one of the most active in Britain.

Our view

A 1600 or CVH 4/4 around our £8,135 median is the most affordable hand-built sports car experience on sale, with parts support most mass-produced classics would envy and a factory that still recognises your chassis number. Check the wood, grease the pillars, and it will outlast you. The gap between our sold results and the live £17,000–£18,500 estimates says the market is repricing the best cars upwards; the honest middle has not moved yet, and that is the buying opportunity.