The Morgan 4/4 Series 5 Sports Car

Morgan 4/4 Series 5

from Classic to Modern

The two seater Morgan 4/4 Series 5 sports car was launched immediately following the end of production of the 4/4 Series 4 in February 1963.

It was powered by the Ford 116E 1498 cc, overhead valve, pushrod engine, as used in the Ford Cortina saloon, and linked to a Ford four speed gearbox.

It developed 65 bhp, 86 ft/lbs of torque, had a compression ratio of 8.3:1, and used a single Stromberg 33VN carburettor.

A remote gear change was offered as an optional extra.

Front disc brakes and rear drums were retained as standard equipment.

When production ended in March 1968, after a run of five years, only 370 units of the Series 5 were built.

Technical Data Series 5 Competition Series 5
Production: 1963-1968 1963-1968
Engine cc 1498 1498
Cylinders, bhp 4, 83 4, 65
Top Speed mph 98 85
0-60 mph, secs 11.9 17.0

Competition model

"Standard" model

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Introduced at the same time as the Series 5 was the two seater Series 5 Competition model.

This was powered by the same Ford 1498 cc, 4-cylinder engine as used in the Ford Cortina GT saloon.

This featured:

High compression cylinder head
High lift camshaft
Twin choke Webber carburettor replaced the single Stromberg 33VN
Developed 83 bhp
Compression ratio was increased from 8.3 to 9.0:1
Was fitted with a Ford four speed, close ratio, all synchromesh gearbox, which used a push/pull mechanism
Wire wheels were an optional extra

Up to that time, only the 4/4 Series 2 and 5 featured both a Standard and Competition model.

By March 1968, a total of 270 Series 5 Competition units had been built.

The market awaited the launch, that same month, of the Morgan 4/4 1600 and 4/4 1600 Competition models, both of which offered improved performance.