International Alliance of Morris Owners

....................Home | About Us | Contact Us

Bhp graphs

MORRIS TWELVE-FOUR Series II/III

By 1935 the Cowley based Twelve horsepower car was looking decidedly outdated. Following "Specialisation" in 1934 which produced the Eight in that year the opportunity was taken to produce amore modern looking car as the first of the Series cars. Launched in mid 1935 the Series II (there never was a Series I apart from the Eight) range of cars started with rakish looking saloons available in 10 and 12 hp form. The engines continued more or less unchanged from the earlier models (now called thepre-Series cars) but the overall product was a much better car which handled and performance well up to its rivals.

In1937 the engine was revised to give it overhead valves and a subsequent increase in performance and sold as the Series III. The picture abpove shows that Series III launch at one dealer's showroom.

Twelve four Series II/III
Engine
	Series II	Series III
Number of cylinders	4
Bore mm	69.5
Stroke mm	102
Capacity cc	1548
Valves	side	overhead
RAC hp rating	11.98
CR
BHP (graphs)
at rpm
Valve timing
inlet opens	ATDC	ATDC
inlet closes	ABDC	ABDC
exhaust opens	BBDC	BBDC
exhaust closes	ATDC	ATDC
Coolant	water	water
Carburation	SU	SU

Dimensions
Wheelbase	8'4"
Track	4'2"
Length	13'4"
Width	5'0"
Weight	21¾
Front suspension	half elliptic
Rear suspension	half elliptic
Axle ratio	5.375	5.25
Tyre size
Magna wheels	4.75 x 18
Easiclean	550 x 16

Performance
0 to 50 mph secs	28	20.2
standing quarter secs
Fuel consumption mpg	28	30
Maximum speed	64	71

Body styles
gggggggggggggggggggg	Doors	1936	1937
Saloon sliding head	4	X	X
Saloon fixed head	4	X	X
Special Coupe sliding head	2	X

Chassis numbers
	Series II	Series III
Start	S2/TW49342	S3/TW101
Finish	S2/TW108659	S3/TW19565
Total	59317	19464
Both The Tens and the Twelves shared the same sequence of chassis numbers

Books and articles (available on the web)

Other sources
The Morris Owner	Issue	page
Ten-Four & Twelve-Four Model introduction	6/35	351-4
All Models Eight to Twenty-Five	9/35	655-8
Twelve-Four model description	9/37	648-51
Description of new Series III models	9/37	676
Popularity of the Twelve-Four	12/37	956-8
Description of new Series III models	10/39	746
The Practical Motorist
Twelve-Four Saloon Road Test	14/3/36	734-5,737
Twelve-Four detailed description	28/8/37	698
Twelve-Four detailed description	4/12/37	170-2
Twelve Road Test	29/7/39	523-4
Motor Service
Twelve-Four Wiring diagram and Test data	11/51	148-150
The Motor Trader
Twelve-Four detailed description	25/8/37	197-9
Service Data Sheet 57	1/2/39	231-8
The Light Car and Cyclecar
Twelve-Four description	20/8/37	414-16
Twelve Road Test The Light Car	3/2/39	356-8
The Autocar
Olympia report The Autocar	16/10/36	768
Ten-Four & Twelve-Four Road Test	12/2/37	278-9
Twelve-Four detailed description	20/8/37	335-6

If anyone has copies of there articles please contact the webmaster so that they can be included on this site for reference.

1938 Morris 12/4 series III owned by Chris Bell

Visit his website on http://www.morris12.com

Please send a picture of your car for inclusion

BACK