About Us

The Club

The Morgan Owners’ Club of Australia (MOCA) was founded on the 3rd of July, 1958 by a small group of Morgan enthusiasts at the instigation of Ken Ward. MOCA was founded to promote and foster the mutual interest of Morgan car owners and enthusiasts throughout Australia and to provide a centre of technical information about the Morgan motor car.

The Morgan Motor Co. Ltd., is a family concern that continues to hand build that delightful anachronism, the Morgan motor car. The current General Manager of the Morgan "Works" as it is known in the UK, is Mr Charles Morgan, son of Peter’s Morgan and grandson of the founder, H.F.S. Morgan.

MOCA promotes meetings of both a social and competitive nature for its members, with an average total of 30 club events being held each year. Social events include monthly meetings of the Club, car tours, of which the early morning "dawn dash" is a favourite, static car displays, BBQs and dinners, camping weekends, "Christmas in July" weekends and even the odd tour of the vineyards has been arranged.

The Club produces an award winning magazine called "The Morgan Ear", which is sent out to members free each month and enables distant Morganeers to keep in touch with Club activities.

On the competitive scene, MOCA is affiliated with the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) and is a foundation member of the Combined Sports Car Association (CSCA) which promotes speed events such as hillclimbs, lap dashes and sprints through its seven member clubs, mostly similar British sports cars. As a part of its membership with the CSCA, MOCA hosts a round of the championship each year and the Club is famous (and justly proud) for its ability to run the entire event without the need of any outside assistance. Members assist with scrutineering, flag marshals, time keeping and the myriad of organising that is required to run a speed event with over 100 competitors.

MOCA has an active and imaginative Regalia Secretary, who maintains a large range of regalia such as shirts, jackets, caps, drinking glasses, chairs, books and many other items that are of interest to the marque that are available for all members and their friends. In addition, the Club’s Registrar maintains a comprehensive history of all Morgans known in Australia and can assist with any detailed knowledge required for your particular model.

Long time Club member Todd Hamilton sharing the joys of his stunning 1934 trike at a club display day

MOCA exists only for its members, and like all things, you can only get out of the Club what you are prepared to put in. An important difference between MOCA and other car clubs is that we welcome non Morgan owners, provided that they share an interest in the marque and enjoy the unique personality of the "true" Morgan owner. The morale within the Club has always been high and the support of the members strong. An indication of the Club’s strength is that there are still two foundation members that are active within the Club and many current members have been in the Club for over 30 years.

As Peter Morgan once said, "perhaps the Morgan is not so much an anachronism as some might believe."

The Club meets on the first Thursday of each month (except January) at the The Willandra Room, 
Ryde Eastwood Leagues Club, 117 Ryedale Road, West Ryde 2114, Sydney, NSW. Members and guests usually meet from about 6 p.m. for dinner and a chat and meetings commence at about 8 p.m. Visitors are most welcome.

Morgan history dates back to 1899 when the teenage son of a Hereford rector, H.F.S. Morgan, had a rather risky ride down a steep hill in a cycle car. Just over ten years later the first Morgan was born – in the form of a three wheeler with an 8 h.p. twin cylinder J.A.P. engine, a tiller and a single seat. It is interesting to note that the independent front suspension used on the first car was extremely advanced for its time and is almost identical to that used on the Plus 8 to this day. The coming of four wheels eventuated in 1935 and, sadly, three wheels were discontinued in 1950. The English Morgan Sports Car Club, (or Four Wheeler Club) was consequently founded in 1951.

The Morgan car is entirely hand built in a small factory in Worcestershire, using construction methods and equipment dating back to the early part of this century. The body is constructed of hand beaten steel or aluminium attached to a framework of Belgian ash timber. This provides a body that is both light and strong.

The Morgan company has never produced its own engines, gearboxes or brake components, preferring to use Ford components where possible, although more recent models have been produced with Fiat and Rover engines and the early +4 used the Standard Vanguard and later the range of 4 cylinder Triumph engines. The Plus 8, introduced in 1968, uses a Rover 3.5 litre V8 engine and gearbox mounted into the same basic chassis as the Plus 4 and 4/4 models, producing a classic sports car with phenomenal performance.

The average production rate is about 9 cars per week, which is the same rate of production as the early 1920s. This has produced a waiting list of about 5 years, but for Morgan enthusiasts, the wait is well worth while. The last model change was in 1954, so there is little to fear from a model change during the waiting period. Indeed, the classic shape of the Morgan sports car is one of the few shapes that has a world wide patent. (One of the others is the curves of the Coca Cola bottle.)

However, in 2000 a new model was created, known as the Aero 8. This new car has a different look and uses brand new state of the art construction methods, although it is still recognisable as a Morgan. The car is powered by a BMW 4.4 litre quad cam V8 and uses aluminium honeycomb construction techniques with laser cut body panels where possible. 

In 2004 the famous Plus 8 ceased production due to the non-availability of suitable engines and it has been replaced with an even more potent Ford V6 model, called the Roadster. Some of these new models have now come to Australia.

The tradition continues.