The Morgan story · Appendix
Dating a Morgan
Morgans changed in small steps. These are the steps that date a car.
If you have ever wondered just how old your Morgan is, start here! Owners use this to place a car in its year. It comes from Mark Braunstein’s model chart, with brake, axle and chassis-number dates from my friend Lorne Goldman’s GoMoG, and it is part of the Morgan story.
For owners
How to date a Morgan
The production changes that help place a car, in date order, from Mark Braunstein’s chart. The factory phased new parts in gradually, so a car can sit either side of a change.
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c. 1924
First Stork mascot seen
Date on the chart
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c. 1934
Three-wheeler V-twins change from J.A.P. to Matchless
Year read from the chart
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c. 1951
Plus 4 and 4/4 rear axle changes from Moss to Salisbury
Year read from the chart
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c. 1953–1954
Plus 4 interim radiator (the “high cowl”)
Year read from the chart
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c. 1955
Plus 4 chassis changes from trunnion to shackle: the rear springs sit inside a tube, then in shackles
Year read from the chart
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c. 1959
Plus 4 bonnet knobs change from bullseye to smooth
Year read from the chart
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May 1959
Plus 4 11-inch drum brakes offered as an option, with wire wheels GoMoG, brake history
Date on the chart
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Late 1959
Plus 4 disc front brakes offered as an option GoMoG, brake history
Date on the chart
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September 1960
Plus 4 disc front brakes standard (the chart marks them from chassis 4671, about 1960) GoMoG, brake history, Braunstein chart, v139
Date on the chart
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1962–1963
Magnolia gauges change to black
Date on the chart
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c. 1962
Plus 4 toggle switches
Year read from the chart
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c. 1962–1963
Sidescreens change from one piece to sliding; the drophead coupé gets a curved windscreen
Year read from the chart
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1965
Seat belts
Date on the chart
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c. 1967
Generator changes to an alternator (the chart’s estimate)
Date on the chart
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1972
Twin-circuit (tandem) brake master cylinder, standard on the Plus 8 from here. Most major markets required it by 1972, and single-circuit cylinders lingered in the UK and Australia (the chart marks the switch about then) GoMoG, brake history, Braunstein chart, v139
Date on the chart
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May 1972
Plus 8 Moss gearbox replaced by the Rover four-speed; the Rover five-speed follows after 1976 GoMoG, buyers’ guide
Date on the chart
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c. 1972
Smiths heater changes from a circular to a box core
Year read from the chart
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1968–1973
Plus 8 chassis R7001 to R7715 have SU carburettors; from R7716 (1973) to R9066 (1981) a later type of SU GoMoG, Plus 8 confusion
Date on the chart
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c. 1976
Plus 8 body made 4 inches wider
Year read from the chart
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1978
Plus 8 gets a different tandem master cylinder, used until 1993 GoMoG, brake history
Date on the chart
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c. 1978–1995
Cars for the US run on propane. Sources differ: the Isis history has the conversions from 1974 to 1992, and GoMoG has most Plus 8s imported from 1976 to 1991 converted, and the four-cylinder cars until 1996 (Chapter V) Simanaitis Says, GoMoG, Made in the U.S.A.
Year read from the chart
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1976 on
US cars have the front turn signals on the bumper, under it at Isis Imports and at the Canadian agent’s, on top of it at Cantab, so the position tells you which dealer brought the car in GoMoG, Made in the U.S.A.
Date on the chart
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c. 1981
Coloured wing beading available
Year read from the chart
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1981–1987
Plus 8 Stromberg carburettors, from chassis R9067. Sources differ: GoMoG’s own list has the UK Plus 8’s Strombergs only from 1984 to 1986, and fuel injection standard from 1986 to 1990, where the forum list has it from 1987 GoMoG, Plus 8 confusion, GoMoG, 4.0 difference
Date on the chart
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c. 1982
Plus 8 rack-and-pinion steering (GoMoG: designed by Jack Knight Ltd, first fitted in 1983, with fuel injection only from 1984 to 1986, standard from 1987) GoMoG, steering systems
Year read from the chart
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1986
4/4 and Plus 4 Cam Gears steering box replaced by a Gemmer box made for Morgan GoMoG, steering systems
Date on the chart
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1990–2000
Plus 8 Hotwire fuel injection for the UK and Europe; for the US and Australia Morgan’s own GEMS map from 1998 to 2000, and Land Rover’s GEMS on every car from 2000 to 2004 GoMoG, Plus 8 confusion, GoMoG, 4.0 difference
Date on the chart
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During the 1980’s
Government rules require a minimum alphanumeric number in an easily reached place: the bulkhead, the bulkhead toolbox or the bonnet hinge GoMoG, chassis numbers
Date on the chart
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1986 on
Wood preservative on all cars; the wings are painted before they are fitted, not after, so rust behind them is a pre-1986 problem GoMoG, buyers’ guide
Date on the chart
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1951–2002
One-shot oiler for the sliding pillars on every car GoMoG, buyers’ guide
Date on the chart
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1995 and 1996
Salisbury axles to 1995 and BTR axles from 1996, on the 4/4, Plus 4, Plus 8 and Roadster. The two are very different. (The Plus 8’s last Salisbury, the 12HA of 1994–95, had a Quaife differential.) GoMoG, axles
Date on the chart
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c. 1990–1992
4/4 narrow body changes to the wide Plus 8 body (4 inches wider); servo-assisted brakes standard
Year read from the chart
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1997 on
Superform on all cars (the chart’s term). Sources differ: GoMoG dates Superform wings “post-1998” GoMoG, Superform wings, Braunstein chart, v139
Date on the chart
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End of 2001
The traditional hood is dropped for a more modern one GoMoG, hoods
Date on the chart
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1998 on
Long door and electric demisters on all cars
Date on the chart
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No date given
Chassis numbers change from 5 to 17 digits (VIN)
No date on the chart — between 1998 and 2000
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2000 on
Galvanised chassis on all cars
Date on the chart
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End of 2004
One chassis for every “classic” model, with one set of spring rates GoMoG, spring rates
Date on the chart
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No date given
Plastic radiators. GoMoG dates the change to 2008 GoMoG, radiators
No date on the chart — between 2000 and 2008
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No date given
Steering bearings replace damper blades
No date on the chart — between 2000 and 2008
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c. 2006
Easy-up hood on the Plus 4
Year read from the chart
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2008–2009
New winged logo
Date on the chart
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No date given
Spare wheel optional; parcel-shelf pass-through available
No date on the chart — around 2010
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Late 2011
Mazda MX-5 gearbox standard on the Plus 4
Date on the chart
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2012 on
Mazda MX-5 gearbox on all cars except the Roadster
Date on the chart
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c. 2016
The galvanised chassis ends; chassis are painted instead
Year read from the chart
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No date given
Power steering on the 3.7-litre Roadster
No date on the chart — late in the Roadster’s run
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No date given
Roadster CX announced
No date on the chart — late in the Roadster’s run
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April 2018
Roadster Series 4 rear suspension changes from leaf springs to a five-link coil-sprung rear
Date on the chart
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c. 2020
The ladder frame with sliding-pillar front suspension ends
Year read from the chart
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9 November 2022
Plus Four and Plus Six rebranded for the 2023 model year
Date on the chart
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Model year 2023
Electronic stability control on the Plus Four
Date on the chart
Plus 4 engine numbers
Read the prefix
- V
- Standard Vanguard
- TS
- Triumph TR2 and TR3
- CT
- Triumph TR4
Every TR2–TR4 engine fitted to a Morgan ends in ME.
From Braunstein chart, v139.
Plus 4 speedometers
- 1950–1958
- 110 mph, cream, with a clock
- 1959–1960
- 110 mph, cream, without a clock
- 1961–1962
- 120 mph, cream, with toggles
- c. 1963–1964
- 120 mph, black
- c. 1965–1969
- 140 mph, black
Chassis numbers that mark a change
- 4671
- Plus 4: disc brakes from here
- R7475
- Plus 8: Rover four-speed gearbox from here
- R7494
- Plus 8: the last Moss gearbox
- R8151
- Plus 8: Rover five-speed gearbox from here
- R7001–R7715
- Plus 8: SU carburettors (1968–73) GoMoG, Plus 8 confusion
- R7716–R9066
- Plus 8: the later SU carburettors (1973–81) GoMoG, Plus 8 confusion
- R9067 on
- Plus 8: Stromberg carburettors (from 1981) GoMoG, Plus 8 confusion
- 3544
- Plus 4: the Moss “high ratio” gearbox from here, marked HR after the gearbox number (five earlier chassis had it too) GoMoG, Moss gearboxes
- 606
- Plus 4 two-seaters with the flat radiator, as the chart counts them
- 117
- Plus 4 drophead coupés with the flat radiator
- 433
- Plus 4 drophead coupés with the cowled radiator
Plus 8 engine numbers GoMoG, Rover and Land Rover block numbers
- 36A
- 3.5 V8 with fuel injection, North American specification: made specially for Morgan
- 37A
- 3.5 V8 with fuel injection, manual, supplied to Morgan with the gearbox loose (the same prefix went to TVR with the gearbox fitted)
- 46A
- 3.9 V8 with fuel injection, low compression, catalysed: for TVR and Morgan
- 47A
- 3.9 V8 with fuel injection, high compression, without a catalyst: for TVR and Morgan
Where to find the number GoMoG, chassis numbers
- Older cars
- The number is scratched or stamped on the crossmember behind the seats. Time and paint can hide it, but it is there.
- The bonnet hinge
- Open the bonnet fully and look at the inside of the hinge. You will often find the number and a name: the nickname of the man who made your bonnet.
- Cars from the 1980’s
- A longer number, on the bulkhead, the bulkhead toolbox or the hidden part of the bonnet hinge. In the Morgan world only the few Morgan digits at the end of the long VIN matter.
- Plus 8s
- The numbers start with R.
- A watch point
- At one point in the 1990’s a VIN plaque carried an extra number, to meet North American law. In some countries that makes re-registering the car from another country very hard, and a new plaque needs papers from the factory.
- The workers’ marks
- Workers used to put their nicknames in hidden places as a sign of pride. When the works rebuilt the GoMoG webmaster’s own car, the whole staff signed the floors under the seats.
From the factory: a chassis record for your car (opens in a new tab), at £80 for a digital copy or £100 on paper, in two to four weeks, as quoted in October 2026. Morgan, chassis records
More on GoMoG: chassis numbers (opens in a new tab), the history of the brakes (opens in a new tab) and which Plus 8 fuelling you have (opens in a new tab).
The rest is from Braunstein chart, v139.
Words owners use
A short glossary
The terms that turn up when people talk about a Morgan’s age and parts, in plain English.
- Sliding pillar
- The front suspension HFS Morgan designed for his first car. Each front wheel rides on a stub axle that slides up and down a fixed vertical pillar, against a coil spring. He patented it in 1910, and the idea itself is older. Morgan stopped using it in 2020. Wikipedia, Patent GB 20,986, Braunstein chart, v139 The end of the sliding pillar. The front end, on GoMoG (opens in a new tab).
- Ash frame
- The wooden frame under a Morgan’s body. Morgan says ash is the only wood it uses for frames, designed on a computer today and still made by hand, with aluminium panels over it. The 4-4 of 1936 had an ash frame panelled in steel. Morgan, 21st Century Coachbuilding, Morgan, History (2022) Inside the factory. Building the wooden body frame, step by step, on GoMoG (opens in a new tab).
- Flat, interim and cowled radiators
- The three front ends of the early Plus 4. Until late 1953 the radiator stood upright and flat, as on every four-wheeled Morgan. A short run of cars, about nineteen, had an interim cowl that curved back only at the top. From 1954 the cowl curved at the top and the sides. Wikipedia, gomog.com Flat, interim, cowled.
- Moss gearbox
- A four-speed gearbox made by Moss. The Plus 4 had one from its launch in 1950, and the first Plus 8s had one too; Morgan gives the Plus 8’s four-speed as 1968 to 1977. Wikipedia, Unsigned company history, Morgan, Plus 8 page The V8 years. Moss gearboxes, on GoMoG (opens in a new tab).
- 4-4 and 4/4
- The name means four cylinders and four wheels, chosen in 1936 to tell the car from the three-wheeler. The Series I ran from 1936; the Series II of 1955 brought a Ford engine, and later series followed with new Ford engines: III in 1960, IV in 1961 and V around 1963. Morgan, History (2022), Wikipedia, Braunstein chart, v139 The fourth wheel.
- V-twin and F-type
- The two kinds of vintage three-wheeler. The V-twins, from 1910, had a tubular steel chassis and a J.A.P. V-twin engine at the front. The F-type, from about 1933, had a Ford four-cylinder engine in a conventional bonnet, on a steel ladder-frame chassis. Morgan, History (2022), Wikipedia Three speeds, and a Ford.
- Runabout, Grand Prix, Aero, Super Sports
- Names from the three-wheeler years that came back. Runabout was the first production model. The Grand Prix was named after the 1913 race at Amiens. The Aero, from 1920, was named for aviators and inspired by Albert Ball’s car. The Super Sports name returned for the Aero SuperSports of 2009. Morgan, History (2022), Unsigned company history Amiens.
- Trunnion and shackle chassis
- Two ways of fixing the rear springs. On a trunnion chassis the springs are secured inside a tube that runs between the chassis rails; on a shackle chassis they are held in shackles. Braunstein’s chart marks the Plus 4 changing from trunnion to shackle about 1955. Braunstein chart, v139 Flat, interim, cowled. The rear suspension, on GoMoG (opens in a new tab).
- Beetleback, barrelback and the Flying M
- Two shapes of vintage three-wheeler tail. On Braunstein’s chart the beetleback gives way to the barrelback about 1934, and the “Flying M” radiator mascot arrives with the barrelbacks; the Stork, first seen about 1924, had been used before it. Braunstein chart, v139 Three speeds, and a Ford.
- Bustle back
- A Plus 4 body style named on Braunstein’s chart, running from about 1954 to 1958. The chart ends its line at chassis 4023 and does not describe the shape. Braunstein chart, v139
- Standard Special
- The 4/4 of 1939 and after with Standard’s 1,267 cc engine in place of the Coventry Climax. Braunstein’s chart counts between 539 and 700 Standard Special engines produced. Braunstein chart, v139, Wikipedia Sir John Black’s engine.
- Wings: steel, aluminium and Superform
- The wings are the most distinctive part of a four-wheeled Morgan, and their shape has hardly changed since 1936. They were first made in steel, by Vintage Wing & Radiator, who supplied Morgan until the Superform wings. Older aluminium wings have a steel wire in the folded edge, and that edge is where they corrode. GoMoG’s explanation of why some Superform wings rub at the crease: until rack-and-pinion steering every Morgan had steering stops on the frame, as the law required, and the factory dropped them when the law no longer asked for them. GoMoG, wing types, GoMoG, steering systems Wing types, on GoMoG (opens in a new tab). Painting Superform wings, on GoMoG (opens in a new tab).
- Steering: Cam Gears, Gemmer and rack and pinion
- The traditional cars steered with a Cam Gears box, “the Malvern dance”, until a Gemmer box made for Morgan replaced it on the 4/4 and Plus 4 in 1986. The Plus 8 got a rack and pinion made for Morgan by Jack Knight Ltd in 1983, optional with fuel injection and standard from 1987. GoMoG, steering systems Morgan steering systems, on GoMoG (opens in a new tab).
- The traditional hood
- GoMoG says the factory stopped using the traditional hood at the end of 2001, for a more modern one that its webmaster thinks leaks as badly as the old kind. GoMoG, hoods Fitting the hood on a classic Morgan, on GoMoG (opens in a new tab).
- Superform
- The chart’s word for a way of shaping the aluminium body panels, which it marks on all cars from 1997. GoMoG dates Superform wings “post-1998”, so the sources differ by about a year. Braunstein chart, v139, GoMoG, Superform wings
- Flapper, Hotwire and GEMS
- The names the chart gives to stages of the Plus 8’s Rover V8. The “Flapper” is the SD1 3.5-litre with fuel injection, about 204 bhp, from about 1984; the “Hotwire” is the 3.9-litre (about 190 bhp) and then the 4.6-litre (about 215 bhp); and GEMS is a 4.0-litre of about 190 bhp. Braunstein chart, v139 The V8 years.
- CX, CXV and CX-T
- CX is the bonded-aluminium platform that arrived with the Plus Six in 2019 and carries the Plus Four from 2020. The Supersport of 2025 is on a developed platform, the CXV. The CX-T is the off-road Plus Four of July 2021, which the chart says was limited. Wikipedia, Braunstein chart, v139 Today.
Looking for a Morgan you once owned? GoMoG keeps a Lost & Found board of chassis numbers, with owners hoping to hear where their old cars went. Morgans, Lost & Found (opens in a new tab) GoMoG, Morgans Lost & Found
Sources
Where this comes from
Where every fact on this page that is not from the Registry itself comes from.
Show all 32 sources
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Braunstein chart, v139
Not an official Morgan Motor Company publication; its author notes it may contain errors, and that new technology reached some cars of a model year before others. Where the chart gives no date, the year shown here is read from the item’s position on the chart and marked “c.”.
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GoMoG, Morgans Lost & Found
“Morgans, Lost & Found”, gomog.com. Checked 13 October 2026.
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GoMoG, chassis numbers
Lorne Goldman, “Morgan chassis numbers” and “Personal marks from the works”, gomog.com. Checked 13 October 2026.
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GoMoG, Rover and Land Rover block numbers
“Rover, Land Rover, Marcos, Morgan, TVR block numbers”, gomog.com. Checked 13 October 2026.
A list of Rover’s own block prefixes; the Morgan entries are among them.
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Morgan, chassis records
Morgan Motor Company, “Chassis Records”, morgan-motor.com. Checked 13 October 2026.
The price and the waiting time are as quoted on 13 October 2026 and may change.
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GoMoG, brake history
Lorne Goldman, “Morgan brake history”, gomog.com. Checked 13 October 2026.
The author says the page is still being written, and that supplier catalogues are more accurate than Morgan’s own manuals.
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GoMoG, buyers’ guide
“Morgan Buyers’ Guide” (updated January 2020), gomog.com. Checked 13 October 2026.
An owners’ guide, not a factory record.
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GoMoG, Plus 8 confusion
Lorne Goldman, “Morgan Plus 8 Confusion”, gomog.com, quoting a list of fuelling systems by chassis number from the OMA Forum (translated from French). Checked 13 October 2026.
A forum member’s list, translated. The carburettor names on it are mis-spelt, so I give them as “SU” and “Stromberg” only, and its end date for Strombergs differs from GoMoG’s own list.
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Simanaitis Says
Dennis Simanaitis, “Happy 50th, Isis Imports! Congratulations, Bill Fink!”, simanaitissays.com, 1 March 2018. Checked 4 October 2026.
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GoMoG, Made in the U.S.A.
Lorne Goldman and Bill Fink, “Made in the U.S.A. (1971–1996)”, gomog.com. Checked 13 October 2026.
Written by Isis Imports’ own proprietor with the webmaster, so it is the importer’s account. It dates the return of Morgans to America to 1976 here and to 1974 on the Experts Panel’s page for the same man.
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GoMoG, 4.0 difference
Lorne Goldman, “Buick 215, Rover 3.5, Land Rover 4.0 and 4.6 differences”, gomog.com (a January 2026 note on the page). Checked 13 October 2026.
The page says itself that it cannot be made rigorous.
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GoMoG, steering systems
Lorne Goldman, “Morgan steering systems”, gomog.com. Checked 13 October 2026.
The page’s early dates for the 4/4 and Plus 4 boxes read as mis-typed, so I use only its dates from 1983.
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GoMoG, axles
Lorne Goldman, “Morgan axles and propshafts” and “BTR notes” (with David Gray), gomog.com, updated to 2026. Checked 13 October 2026.
The dates are the author’s, given in passing; the page marks some as work in progress.
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GoMoG, Superform wings
“Superform wing bubbling”, gomog.com, May 2003. Checked 13 October 2026.
Dates Superform wings “post-1998” in passing.
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GoMoG, hoods
Lorne Goldman, “Hoods on classics (to 2001)”, September 2015, gomog.com. Checked 13 October 2026.
The webmaster’s own comment on the factory, not a factory statement.
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GoMoG, spring rates
“Main spring rates (1950–2004)”, gomog.com. Checked 13 October 2026.
The webmaster’s own notes, with later additions.
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GoMoG, radiators
“A radiator for your Morgan”, GoMoG, revisited March 2026. Checked 13 October 2026.
The webmaster’s own recommendation and opinion; the date it gives for plastic radiators is his.
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GoMoG, Moss gearboxes
“Moss gearboxes and using Jaguar parts”, a reprint of a 1975 article by Tim Cree on gomog.com. Checked 13 October 2026.
The page also gives July 1936 for the change to the high-ratio box, which cannot be right for the Plus 4; I use only its chassis numbers.
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Wikipedia
Wikipedia, “Sliding pillar suspension” (text CC BY-SA 4.0; facts cited, not reproduced). Checked 4 October 2026.
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Patent GB 20,986
H. F. S. Morgan, “Improvements in the Design and Construction of Tri-cars or other Light Automobile Vehicles”, British patent 20,986 (applied 8 September 1910, accepted 17 August 1911), via Google Patents. Checked 4 October 2026.
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Morgan, 21st Century Coachbuilding
Morgan Motor Company, “21st Century Coachbuilding”, morgan-motor.com (read 4 October 2026). Checked 4 October 2026.
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Morgan, History (2022)
Morgan Motor Company, “Morgan History”, morgan-motor.com/history/, as archived by the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine on 22 May 2022. Checked 4 October 2026.
The company’s own account. The live page no longer exists, and the archived copy shows only the opening of each paragraph.
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Wikipedia
Wikipedia, “Morgan +4” (text CC BY-SA 4.0; facts cited, not reproduced). Checked 23 September 2026.
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gomog.com
Blair, “Morgan four-wheeled cars 1936–1995”, gomog.com. Checked 4 October 2026.
An enthusiast’s page. Its production figures differ from Wikipedia’s in places.
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Unsigned company history
“Morgan Motor Company History”, an unsigned history in the company’s voice (about 2006), copied as a PDF by a Norwegian Morgan club. Checked 4 October 2026.
Origin unconfirmed. It reads as Morgan’s own website history, but the original page has not been found. It has errors (it puts the 1939 Le Mans car first in class, when the results say second), so nothing here rests on it alone where it matters.
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Wikipedia
Wikipedia, “Morgan Plus 8” (text CC BY-SA 4.0; facts cited, not reproduced). Checked 4 October 2026.
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Morgan, Plus 8 page
Morgan Motor Company, “Plus 8”, past models, morgan-motor.com (read 4 October 2026). Checked 4 October 2026.
Morgan’s own summary page: it lists the versions as “76-04” and “12-19” and a four-speed gearbox for “1968–77”, with no day or month.
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Wikipedia
Wikipedia, “Morgan 4/4” (text CC BY-SA 4.0; facts cited, not reproduced). Checked 4 October 2026.
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Wikipedia
Wikipedia, “Morgan 3-Wheeler” (text CC BY-SA 4.0; facts cited, not reproduced). Checked 4 October 2026.
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GoMoG, wing types
Lorne Goldman, “Morgan wing types”, gomog.com. Checked 13 October 2026.
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Wikipedia
Wikipedia, “Morgan Plus Six” (text CC BY-SA 4.0; facts cited, not reproduced). Checked 4 October 2026.
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Wikipedia
Wikipedia, “Morgan Supersport” (text CC BY-SA 4.0; facts cited, not reproduced). Checked 4 October 2026.