1927 Morgan Aero Tomtit

Lot details
Registration No: CAS 601
Chassis No: 2308
Mot Expiry: Mar 2007

The Aero was Morgan's top-of-the-range sporting model in 1927. As such, they were raced extensively at Brooklands, as well as being used for hillclimbs, trials and record-breaking. Most Aero models were fitted with JAP engines by the factory. However, Blackburne and Anzani powerplants were also available. This is the smallest aero-engined car registered with the Vintage Sports-Car Club, having a 700cc Blackburne 'Tomtit', air-cooled, V-twin, overhead-valve aeroplane engine, originally fitted to a 1923 DeHavilland DH53 'Hummingbird' (a forerunner of the famous Tiger Moth). The unit is derived from two of the famous 350cc Blackburne racing motorcycle engines, and is very light and smooth. It has a total-loss oil system running on Castrol R, to the olfactory delight of following motorists. The leather-faced cone clutch was professionally relined recently, and the car has not been used since. The Aero was rebuilt some years ago by a previous owner, at which time the DVLA issued its current 'CAS 601' registration number. It was not prepared as a concours car, but one to be driven. It has excellent performance due to its aluminium body and light weight. Acceleration is brisk, and the top speed is in the region of 80mph. The important Vintage Sports-Car Club "Buff Form" eligibility document is present. Its 700cc engine fits nicely into the VSCC's capacity classes for speed events, where it would probably be most competitive. As in the earliest and purest of the Morgan three-wheelers, it is a 2-speeder, the high and low ratios being provided by two separate chains.
Robert Coucher, editor of Octane magazine, fell in love with the car and its patina at a concours at Blenheim Palace in 2005, and awarded it second prize. Morgan three-wheelers are particularly versatile Vintage vehicles, as they are eligible for, and welcomed at Vintage Motor Cycle events as well as VSCC ones. The Morgan Three Wheeler Club is also very enthusiastic and active, organising races, sprints and touring runs, as well as being invited to many other events, both in the UK and throughout Europe. In the hands of the current owner 'CAS 601' has done many miles on the road, competed in a motorcycle sprint meeting, taken part in the A.C.U.'s Sheene Memorial Run around the closed streets of Rugby town centre, and done sterling service giving rides on the Track to visitors at Brooklands Museum. Riding on black painted wire wheels, this exciting Morgan is offered for sale with current MOT test certificate and road fund licence (naturally exempt) until March 2007.