Trevor Wright Morgan 4-4 1100cc 1939 Le Mans Handmade/Painted White Metal Model

Rare, limited run, handmade model of the Morgan 4-4 1100cc race car in the 1939 Le Mans 24 hrs. Cast in white metal in approx 1:43 scale as part of the TW Collection and now out of production.

8.5cm long painted and assembled white metal model. Painted in gloss British Racing Green with silver front grille, headlights, Morgan badge, side-exit exhaust and rear fuel caps. Brown painted bonnet straps and passenger side tonneau cover, glazed windscreen. Rear-mounted spare wheel, bare metal interior and gear lever with dark brown seats and light brown 4-spoke steering wheel. The model rolls on cast bare metal wire wheels with treaded rubber tyres. The base of the model is gloss black with an embossed “TW” logo.

Thanks to mogsport.net for this:

The Morgan 4-4 that raced at Le Mans in 1939 had unique bodywork. The objective was to lighten the car as far as possible. The regulations for Le Mans in 1939 had no weight restriction. The only proviso was that the car that started the race should weigh the same as the car that finished the race. Hence, there are many reports of drivers tying bodywork back onto their cars shaken loose by Le Mans demanding road surface.

To reduce weight, the front wings were discarded and replaced by cycle type wings as fitted to the previously produced TT cars. The rear wings were ‘cut away’ just ahead of the rear wheels. A special body tub was prepared with no doors, as permitted by the Le Mans regulations of the time. A hinged metal ‘half tonneau’ covered the rear parcel shelf. The rear panel was replaced by a sloping deck from which protruded two fuel filler necks. A spare wheel sat snugly in the rear deck – a design that was later adopted by Morgan in the 1950s! The front grill was of the earlier mesh type and sported a wings motif taken directly from the 3 wheelers of the day. A single ‘square’ shaped aero screen was fitted and the car was painted green.

The fuel tank was replaced by a 26 gallon unit repositioned behind the axle – again a design adopted by Morgan for their road cars from the 50’s.

Dick Anthony had been racing Aston Martins for the previous half dozen or so years. Like Morgans, they tended to be overweight but Aston minimised their excesses by clothing all their cars in aluminium. Like the Aero 8 GT(N) reverting to kevlar, Dick Anthony would have insisted on aluminium bodywork for the 1939 car.

The standard offering from Morgan in 1939 for their Morgan 4-4s was the unit from Coventry Climax built under licence by Triumph. The Climax was a four cylinder with overhead inlet and side exhaust – a design that was very dated by 1939. Not helping the unit was its immense weight with its large block and head made from cast iron. Surprisingly, the finned sump and crankcase cover were made from a light alloy!!

The 1939 regulations state that all engine internals, the make and number of carburettors and the make of electric equipment were free. However, the capacity stated on the entry form was carefully checked before the race.

Dick Anthony was a demon engineer of his day. He had quite a reputation for making cars go faster and like all good race engineers, must have stretched the regulations to the full.

The Coventry Climax was quite a challenge to Dick having spent the last half a dozen or so years developing Aston’s ohv unit. On arrival, the engine was stripped and carefully rebuilt to a capacity of 1104cc. This took the Morgan into the under 1500cc category and away from the all conquering Simca FIATs . The head was extensively reworked and additional inlets were created to mount 2 SU carburettors. Interestingly, Aston Martins had starting using SUs in the 1920’s and twin SUs were fitted to their race cars throughout the ‘30s.

A special exhaust system was made that exited through the near side bonnet.

The dynamo was moved away from the top water manifold to a special cradle to minimise the risk of overheating.

The gearbox was a Meadows unit with 4 forward gears and a reverse. The 1939 regulations stated that all internal ratios were free so it is safe to assume that Dick Anthony changed the ratios to gain higher speeds on Le Mans long straights. This is borne out by contemporary reports that state that the little Morgan was reaching speeds close to 100mph.

The axle was a Salisbury but again ratios were free. Again, Dick would have replaced the standard ratio with one more suitable for Le Mans.

Morgan were still offering cable operated brakes in 1939 activating 8” drums. By this time, Girling and Lockheed had been selling hydraulic braking systems for many years.

From 1936, Aston Martin had reverted to hydraulic brakes and MG had adopted them from 1935 on their saloons and from 1936 on their MG TA. Even bread and butter Morris cars were being supplied with hydraulic brakes by 1939. What Dick Anthony thought of the Morgan’s brakes one can only conjecture.

Dick Anthony was very keen on good brakes and went to great lengths to modify the Aston Martins he campaigned each weekend. Examples of his race prepared Aston Martin cars still exist sporting bespoke drums machined by Dick himself.

With nothing in the Le Mans regulations to the contrary, one can assume that Dick Anthony improved the standard Morgan brakes by either converting to a hydraulic system or by increasing the size of the drum or more probably, both.

The wheels remained the 17” ‘easiclean’ type wheels offered by Morgan.

The road going Morgan 4-4 was offered with Morgan’s patented sliding pillar front suspension damped by Newton fully adjustable telescopic shock absorbers. The rear was suspended by leaf spings damped by fully adjustable Andre Hartford friction dampers.

It is likely that the 1939 Le Mans car deviated little from this set up as few road cars of the day were offered with an adjustable suspension.

The Le Mans regulations gave entrants a choice in fuels, the only stipulation that the same fuel should be used throughout the race. The choice was between ‘standard’ touring fuel, benzol, ‘super esso’, ternary fuel (a mix of touring, benzol and ethyl alcohol) and standard gasoil. Oil could be added to the fuel. It is not known what the Morgan used.

The Le Mans regulations stated that a minimum of 30 “replicas” of the car must have been “sold, manufactured or stocked” by the time of the race – a statement to this fact had to be signed by the Managing Director – then HFS Morgan. It can only be assumed that this was taken as relating to the chassis – as no other car was ever produced to the same specification as the 1939 Le Mans car.

On finishing the race, the 1939 Le Mans car was whisked back to the factory and hidden out of sight under a cover. There the car remained throughout the next decade.

In 1950, the car was sold to Jeff Sparrowe in recognition of the competition success he had achieved in his white Morgan 4-4 Le Mans Replica (JUO 177). Jeff continued to campaign his Le Mans Replica but on the odd occasion, brought out the 1939 Le Mans car. In 1951, the Le Mans car competed at the BARC Brunton hill climb where it temporarily sported the ‘JUO 177’ number plate.

Today, the car is either in the UK or in the USA – the name of the owner is a well kept secret!!!

Trevor Wright

Responding to the needs of amateur builders, Trevor Wright’s TW range has contributed to the revival of the craft side of the industry, whereby he has developed simple artisan examples produced in his own home. Wasn’t that where the early pioneers came in?

Trevor’s childhood recollections are not so much of Dinky Toys to start with, but of military figures. He recalls that soon after the Second World War, his parents took him to the renowned Hamleys toy shop in Regents Street, and he fell in love with the Skybirds range of soldiers. They were all made to 1:72 scale; a six foot man then becomes 1”. Skybirds had originally started manufacture in the 1930s.

In due course, Trevor’s most treasured possessions became his Dinky Toys, but as he approached entry into National Service, his toys were all packed away, and largely forgotten about. However, he does recall a visit to Ireland with Royal Air Force colleagues, and spotting a Dinky Toys military Quad field gun set, and with heavy encouragement from his friends, he bought it for 12/6d.

On returning to ‘civvy street’ Trevor took his experience in Air Traffic Control from Germany to Gatwick, and finally switched to the commercial operator, British United Airways, followed by British Caledonian Airways.

Come 1969, Trevor had begun selling military Dinky Toys, and he recalls being contacted by the Army who were seeking a wider range of military recognition models. In the training room at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, tables were laid out with sand, and he recognised dozens of Denzil Skinner’s tanks of all nations. Trevor agreed to supply the army with chipped Dinky military vehicles, which they then sprayed all over with desert sand paint.

In due course, he found that he had amassed a considerable collection. He had discovered the model car press, replied to 3 advertisements, and realised that there was money to be made from prudent purchasing. He borrowed £200 from his father, and with this backing, in six months had built up a 5 page list, and repaid the loan. His trading included regular advertisements in Modellers’ World magazine, and the swapping of 45 RPM records with a French dealer in French Dinky Toys.

Trevor soon became friends with dealer Bryan Garfield Jones, and together they would visit the Windsor swapmeet, where he met Mike and Sue Richardson. As Bryan’s range of Motorkits took off, Trevor was able to supply him with a few diecast models from European makers to be used as patterns for his white metal ranges. These included the Tekno MGA coupe, Volvo PV544, and others.

During the 1970s Trevor was writing regularly for Modellers’ World, and Model Collector, on military vehicles, his first love.

By 1980 he decided that he wanted to make models for his own collection. He then set about teaching himself to cast using rubber moulds, and passed on much of his knowledge to friend Ian Law, founder of PP Copy Models, making replicas of earlier toys. Retirement from his job as an aviation overseas manager arrived in 1986, and Trevor began his creative work with a number of 1:76 scale trucks, including the Canadian pattern Chevrolet, calling them Military Motors. A few years later, he was approached by Chris Fruin, of London Toy Soldiers, asking if he would make a range of soldiers for him. Trevor switched to 1:32 scale, and at his request, focussed on the Royal Medical Corps, creating a number of boxed sets of figures in action, all depicting First World War poses. These included rather large military vehicles, such as tanks, ambulances, etc.

Post retirement business blossomed, and a strong association was built up with London Toy Soldiers. Unfortunately, in 1993, financial difficulties caused Chris Fruin’s business to close down, leaving Trevor with many unsold kits.

However, another love for Trevor, came to the rescue. At a Kempton Park toy fair his interest in racing cars, led him to spot that the Dinky 23 series and Crescent ranges omitted some important historic cars, such as the Ferrari Squalo, and Alfa Romeo Bimotore.

Using his innovative approach, he first took moulds from existing castings, and then adapted them, with plasticene, cardboard, paper clips, and matchsticks and in true ‘Blue Peter’ fashion, any other materials that would create the desired effect. This provided the masters, from which moulds could then be used to cast new models in white metal. And so a Ferrari Squallo was born, and 5 were sold very quickly!

Through the 1990s, and with the assistance of publicity in journals such as Classic & Sports Car, Trevor realised that 1:43 scale was the universally recognised scale for model cars, and in 2000 talked with Mike and Sue Richardson about their views on him reproducing copies of some of the cars they had modelled in their ranges. Using their original as a pattern, he first made the Squire.

Further exposure in Octane magazine, and Rev Counter, the journal of the Austin Healey club, led Trevor to create new subjects of cars never before modelled, including the range of Healeys made by the Healey Motor Company.

A few famous people have models in their collections made from Trevor’s kits, including the late American singer Frankie Laine, David Coulthard and Sir Stirling Moss.

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