A Night On Three Wheels

Water-splashes are a rarity these days and cars seldom get immersed unless on flooded roads or in carwashes. I was reminded of this by a picture of a 1934 MX4 Morgan getting a good ducking in a water-splash, on the cover of the Morgan Three-Wheeler Club’s Bulletin, but the photograph was taken in 1978, during the club’s night trial.

This event took place in much the same format this year and while ‘Moggies’ are just as capable of such punishment as four-wheeled sports cars, they are a thought stark and hairy for such nocturnal adventures. Nevertheless, 14 were entered for the 160-mile trial, which included navigation, timed hilIclimbs and driving tests, clue-hunting, even fun tests like changing two bicycle tyres against the clock. There was only one non-starter, an F-type that had big-end trouble; its owner then marshalled.

Two more F-types retired when their clutches got tired and another Morgan had trouble with its rear forks. Even two-speeder Aeros took part and there were nine finishers, one entrant coming from Norfolk to compete in this Welsh event, which involved 1000 miles of Morganing in two weekends. The winners were J Garside/S Uprichard, whose navigation was faultless. Second came Bill Truer/C Moreton, with slight errors over symbols and in the width-test. The organisation was thorough, with a pneumatic device to indicate roll-back in the restart test, a computer to work out the results, and a meal laid on halfway at the obliging Trofarth Arms. Now they are considering a summer night trial, as well as the winter one. Keen chaps, these Morgan owners. W B

PS: No sooner had I written the above about water-splashes than I came upon a picture, in the always-interesting Journal of the Morris Register, of a Series-E Morris 8 taking a splash during last year’s Michael Sedgwick Memorial Run, followed by a 1934 Hotchkiss saloon and one of the half-dozen A7s that were entered. This issue of Harry Edwards’ magazine also had a piece on owning a Morris Isis, and pictures of a 1929 Morris Minor with a two-door, two-tone pointed-tail body by Marshalsea of Taunton.