Morris 10/4 Saloon

The ten horsepower bracket took a large slice of the UK market in the mid ‘30s with Austin, Morris, Ford, Vauxhall and Hillman all selling similar products head-to-head. Morris introduced their medium sized 10/4 in 1933 and it proved a very successful formula with a conventional ladder chassis, side valve 1,292cc 4-cylinder 27bhp engine driving through a 4-speed gearbox (with synchromesh from 1934). The 10/4 was a sturdy if unspectacular performer with excellent brakes through Lockheed hydraulics and some 49,000 examples were sold before it was replaced by the Series II version in 1935. 

This particular car was first registered to Dorothy Gertrude Long of Darlington in September 1934, a school teacher who was to keep the car right up until 1961 when ownership transferred to a William Ivison of Carlisle. According to the original buff log book it then had two further North of England owners up until the 1970s. Letters and a photograph in the history file refer to Ms Long’s 27-year ownership of the car.

In 1989 the car was acquired by another owner who treated it to a substantial restoration that is recorded in photographs and other documents in the history file. The car then appears to have been used on the show circuit and also featured in Catherine Cookson’s “The Man Who Cried” in 1992 (DVD supplied).

In the current ownership since 2008, the car is still in nice condition throughout with a particularly smart interior and is said to drive well, with an MOT until May 2012 and taxed until next April. It comes with the aforementioned history and buff log book plus an original lubrication chart.