Morgan purists might shudder, but in fact this is a story of resurrection rather than desecration
Jim Williams' highly modified 1958 Morgan 4/4.Bob English for The Globe and Mail
The hot-rod Morgan tale unfolded after Williams, who grew up in Malton, Ont. moved in the late 1950s to Stirling, Ont. where his grandfather had been a blacksmith.Bob English for The Globe and Mail
He was 23 in 1963 when he and his father Ray were wandering around a local wrecking yard and he spotted the Morgan in the weeds.Bob English for The Globe and Mail
After dickering with the yard owner, a price of $95 was agreed, which Williams borrowed from his father.Bob English for The Globe and Mail
Williams had allowed, while chatting over the phone to reporter Bob English, that his 1958 4/4 Morgan was “highly modified;” what he hadn't revealed was that it's very possibly the only fully hot-rodded Morgan on the planet.Bob English for The Globe and Mail
The flaring front fenders and fared-in headlamps framing a vertically slatted grille immediately provide the appropriate visual clues, and the personalized licence plate “MORGAN” should have removed any doubt as to what it was. But wait a sec, isn't that grille about half-again as wide as it should be, along with the hood behind it?Bob English for The Globe and Mail
Closer inspection reveals that under the classic Morgan bodywork that's been widened by about a foot, the original wooden cabinetry it was once nailed to, the flimsy chassis that supported it and the small-bore four-cylinder engine that powered it are long gone. Replacing them are a 1951 Ford frame with a straight-up, 400-hp-plus shot of 355-cubic-inch Camaro Z28 V-8 wedged between its rails with a Muncie four-speed back.Bob English for The Globe and Mail