The Cowley and I after its engine rebuild in 1997.
The Cowley (12/99) Rubbing down is complete.
In September 1996 I was offered a 1954 Morris Cowley. I'd left a small flyer for the Morris Owners Club on it many months before and received no reply, so the call was quite a surprise. However, the call was timely, as I was actively looking for another Oxford to restore for everyday use, and a Cowley isn't much different as it turned out, although it is much rarer.
The paint had been polished through to primer in many places, the headlining scruffy, and the engine was rather sad, but, it was solid and particularly rustfree with nice upholstery. I decided to take it under my wing...
I soon realised, however, that the poor little 1200cc motor running on 3 cylinders just wasn't up to the job, so I took a deep breath, and decided to rebuild the motor (I was a student at the time, so this was an expensive operation!).
After some ferreting around, I obtained some NOS +.020 oversize 1200 pistons and we were away. All the other parts required were standard B-series 1489cc bits.
Interestingly (to me, anyway) my Cowley is a particularly early one - the 176th off the production line. Being this early, it has no timing chain tensioner in the engine, smaller brakes and a less precise gearchange compared to my late series II Oxford.
Once the engine was rebuilt, the Cowley earned its keep as my run-about for a while, but it was clear that other things had to be done to keep it in good order eg. new paint job, some upholstery work and the windscreen rubbers were shot... and the brakes - it ran out of brakes one day in traffic...yikes! Thank goodness for the handbrake.
I started this work, but the painter was taking a very long time; and then unfortunately did his back in a serious way. At this time, a rather nice Oxford (Oxcart) came up for sale... oh no, not another one!
Well, You are only young and foolish once...
The Cowley and I after its engine rebuild in 1997.
The Cowley (12/99) Rubbing down is complete.
A potted history of the Cowley
