1. Bullnose Morris Cowley at auction.
Firstly, three Morris pictures kindly sent over by Ray, showing a Cowley tourer at the Ardingly Steam & Transport Spectacular, way back in 1980. It was for sale in the auction that was taking place at the show, but what happened to it after that? apparently the registration number was EC 5264.
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First up, a photo of the car on arrival, being towed by an early Toyota Celica.
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The second photo shows the tourer just after being unloaded from its trailer, complete with straw from the barn in which it was discovered!
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And finally, a photograph showing smartly dressed enthusiasts poring over the vintage Morris, entered as Lot 39 in the Ardingly auction.
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More info on this 11.9hp Cowley four seater open tourer
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| The Bullnose Morris 'as found' and shown in the catalogue |
This 1924 Morris was powered by a 4 cylinder sidevalve engine, rated at 11.9hp (RAC rating). This drove
through a 4 speed gearbox, back to the rear axle, which was of spiral bevel design. The Cowley shown
above was discovered in May 1980, tucked away in a barn up in Cumbria. According to the 1980 sale
blurb, one of the car's owners took it on a lengthy continental trip, even negotiating the Alps in the process.
The car had received a few subtle modifications during its early years, for instance it had been fitted with
front wheel brakes from a contemporary Oxford, and well-based rims (1924 was a changeover year when
a switch from beaded edge tyres was made by the factory anyway).
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If anyone can provide news on what became of this lovely old car, I'd be interested to hear more. I had a look on the RAC website, and the car's registration EC 5264 is still current for a red '24 Morris, so chances are the car is around somewhere.
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A few years back, I wrote a children's story about a Bullnose - you can find it here. A period photograph of the later "flatnose" Morris Cowley can now be found here. In 1924 there was a competition held in Oxford, in which four Morris cars (two Oxfords, two Cowleys) were the star prizes - details on The Oxford Motor Ballot can be found here.
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2. A 'bullnose' Morris Oxford or Cowley seen at Cheddar Gorge.
Now for a proper vintage photograph of a different 1920s Bullnose Morris tourer, either a Cowley or an Oxford. The car is shown parked, with various other vintage motor-cars in the background. This car's registration is DD 7887, a Gloucester area number.
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Back to Car Photographs Page 3.
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