Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) Vicarage Squire

Dash in mine is made by me, replacing the wooden one with 3mm aluminium, dials are the ones from the factory, I rearranged them, they are from a 60s jag, as are the switches, but I was going for this original look:



And this is another angle



And

You've made a beautiful job of the dash, it looks so much better than the original.

I regret not going to view the one that was for sale quite recently

Written in the sixties, this is a good read for anyone interested in the Squire.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/THE-1-1-...msclkid=48576d9dcf7411ecb231c9bf3773889c

I have a box of paperwork with build details for many of the early vicarage squires and a selection of photos, original marketing material and all the correspondence between the factory and the person which commissioned my build.
I also spoke to vicarage who have the 1930s garage sign for Squire motors hanging on thier wall.
I also spoke to someone who the internet claimed took over the squire build from vicarage but it turns out that this was incorrect, he turned out to be the owner of the original squire motor company and he offered to sell it to me !

I have some more pictures;

Those sidescreen fixings look awfully familiar


K

What a lovely car, you can see that it's a quality construction which is unsurprising knowing the company involved. Have you re-profiled the seats, they look more bucket-like (and better) than other pictures I've seen ? Likewise the lighting seems to be more period along with some other detailing. Did the car come like that ? Do you have any pictures under the bonnet to share ?

You probably know that the original founder of Vicarage went on to start Classic Motor Cars (CMC) the Jaguar specialists.

@mph
I spent a lot of time through lockdown rewiring and researching, I spent over 1500 squids on new 1940s 10” headlamps, new 1930s style brake/indicators (the glass which used to read stop on Ford model As is now a yellow indicator), I put bay15d led amber/sidelights inside the original king of the road shells (sidelights), that work removed the gigantic yellow Lucas indicators on the front. The rear indicators on the back are now in the Ford model A replacements. I reused the Ford model A “D” lamps as rear illumination and number plate lamps.
I removed the wing mounted reflector and fitted Alfa Romeo 159 reflectors , just like a morgan, on a custom mount under the rear wing lip.
I reused a lovely period bullet lamp and fitted another led bulb, this time white and red to make it into a reverse and fog combo, you can just make it out hanging under the corner of the OSR picture above. This has left the rear “nude” which is the original style.

I had to rewire for my replacement dash so I also did a hidden fuse box and a load of relays for everything from horns to fog lamps and wipers.

The yellow spot came with the car but had never been wired up ,so I converted it to 12v and it now has its own switch.

I found that the vintage indicator switch had the capability to flash from a little bulb in the handle, so I spent along time getting that to work with new bulb and careful wiring, I still leave it merrily flashing long after I have completed the turn !

The lighting and the dash are my favourite work from lockdown

I also changed the interior from very 1980s grey to navy blue, thankfully the car came with those buckets instead of some awful mx5 nastiness, they needed some minor repairs, but they are aluminium shells over a steel frame, so a quality set of seats. New carpets which I haven’t finished yet, I am also tidying up under the bonnet this weekend, trying to make it at least a little bit period, but there is only so much you can do with twin Weber DCOE40 and alternator! so I can share a pic when I am happier with it.

You obviously have an eye for detail and a good knowledge of what a car from that period should look like. You've made a great job of it.

Under the bonnet it depends how far you want to go (and the cost) You could replace the plastic washer bottle with a glass one and the alternator with a dynalite I guess.

Keep us posted.

Thread resurrection.

I've just bought the red car that was the original subject of this thread. Once I get my hands on it I've got a few ideas of ways to make it more "authentic" to the original.

I mentioned earlier that the original Squire was rumoured to be the inspiration for the four-wheeler Morgan. By a strange quirk of fate it's designer, Adrian Squire, had the middle name Morgan.