Sounds like a Ford Kent engined 4/4 4 seater. There were two stages of engine tune at one time but at some stage I believe all of the Kent engined cars had the higher stage of tune. Not sure when this changed but hopefully someone with more knowledge will come along and let you know when but if its the lower state of tune its easy enough to pep it up.
What I can say for certain is that they are brilliant fun cars. I had a 4/4 4 seater for over 5 years as my first Morgan and loved it. The engine smells and behaves like a real car engine and the 4 speed gearbox was really sweet although the revs were high on motorways due to the gearing. See if the suspension has been upgraded, again easy enough to do, and make sure there is a tonneau as the hood is a nightmare to fit on the 4 seaters, and I did have the John Taylor swivel pivots. I took the car to France once without sidescreens or roof and just used the tonneau and it was fine, if a little damp on occasions.
They drive very differently to a 'modern' Morgan. No rack and pinion steering, no servo brakes (again you can fit one but I never bothered) and if its got the original suspension then be prepared for a very firm ride. My wife loved driving it as well but when I replaced it with a 2004 4/4 2 seater after a brief drive she refused to drive the new car and hasn't driven a Morgan since. Says it feels like driving a go cart now. As I say a very different driving experience.
Can't help with the pricing but I spent quite a lot on mine getting it up to spec and at that stage it was 'only' 20 years old so probably worth less than your acquaintance thinks.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
