Transport nostalgia

   It is a well-known side-effect of getting older that memories of long ago seem sharper than that of the recent past. I find that recollections of events and scenes of half a century ago are as real as they ever were. Wouldn`t it be marvellous if the brain could be made to display some of these scenes, it would be like a time machine or a gateway opening on the past....
   One of the things I recall as if it were yesterday is my first motor-car. I suppose everyone can visualise their first transport, especially if they have had to buy it themselves and not be given it by Daddy, as seems to happen nowadays. And my first car was memorable in itself, being a Morgan Plus Four in sky blue. Morgans have always been a race apart, the factory is still in production, one of the few genuinely British vehicle producers. The cars have, in fact, changed astonishingly little, remaining very similar to my 1952 Plus-Four LWK 813 (I can even recall its registration number) It was a two-seater sports car, a long, long bonnet behind a horseshoe shaped radiator reminiscent of a Bugatti, ending in a VERY low windscreen some 8 inches high  The front wheels stuck out in front of the bonnet and were covered by sweeping mudguards leading down to a running-board below the doors. Behind the low cockpit were TWO spare-wheels surrounded by a tapering bodywork. Unfortunately I don`t have a picture, people were less into photography at the time. The bodywork was of aluminium over an ash frame, Morgans are one of the only cars that can suffer from wood-rot or woodworm! The very light body was driven by a Standard Vanguard engine of 2088 cc`s an unusual capacity. That was not the only unusual feature! The gearbox, for example was situated in the cockpit under a leather-covered hump just in between the driver and passenger`s legs, which ensured a very positive gearchange!, as the short gearstick enters the gearbox direct.  It was driven by a short primary drive shaft from the engine, rather than being directly connected as are all other cars. The front suspension rather resembles a motor-cycles, being a sliding cylinder arrangement. As this requires frequent lubrication, Morgan have included a system where the driver is told to press on a button on the floor of the car next to the clutch. When this is done, the oil-pressure gauge drops a pound or two as a squirt of engine oil is administered to the suspension! Don`t do it too often, though, or the surplus streaks the front tyres.... The doors were topped by flexible perspex windows which could be, and usually were, removed as they were not as transparent as all that til I had them re-done. The hood was the usual canvas job over a tubular frame and took ages to erect, awkward in case of sudden rain. The car did have a heater, which made a whine similar to a supercharger but delivered little heat... All in all a most impractical,uncomfortable uneconomic and thoroughly glamorous machine, capable of some 110 miles per hour for those with nerves of steel. I loved it!
  There was, however, one slight snag after I had bought it;- I did not have a driving licence... I was in the process of taking driving lessons. However, I abandoned the course and determined to continue to learn in my own car. A more unsuitable vehicle for a learner driver would be difficult to imagine than a 2 litre sports car with low visibility. Luckily, I had a secret weapon. In my digs, also lived an intrepid naval lieutenant who liked nothing better at weekends than being taken on long tours in the Portsmouth area at someone else`s expense. So that is what we did. We covered several thousand miles during my apprenticeship, without any accidents, until I was ready to present myself for the dreaded Driving test at the Portsmouth centre. I will, however reserve an account of this eventful occasion for my next blog.

   Bye for now, until we meet again on Test day!