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

Needs bigger headlights to make it more 'Squire' looking.

+1. Room for an extra toothbrush then. Agree about bigger headlights as well.

It's a replica of the original 1930's Squire with slightly increased dimensions.

I don't mind the overall look but I'd probably change the steering wheel, seats, front indicators and improve the dash layout with some more period-style switches and instruments.

I have the background from the horse's mouth so to speak.

The car is built on a ladder type chassis with tubular reinforcement hoops front and rear. The body is totally aluminium, over an ash frame where required. Particular attention was paid to panel gaps, the doors are gapped to fit accurately into the apertures, rather than Morgan style which have a flange and require much less fitting.

The body was prepared and painted to a very high standard, Vicarage being keen to invite comparison with Rolls Royce standards of paintwork. Also a bit of marketing PR as he says. The chassis and other items were powder coated black. All fixtures, including screws etc. were either galvanised or stainless.

The suspension was Ford derived with some Vicarage modifications. The engine and gearbox were Alfa Romeo.

The car rode and handled well and was a fun car to drive. According to my friend the car is very pretty in the flesh.

That sounds good and definitely worth a test drive I would think.

Not as attractive as a Morgan with the front looking odd and the dashboard much higher than the back of the seats. But would probably be good fun for the money.

Adrian Squire only built 7 cars out of the 12 laid down before he was killed during the war. A chap I know in a village up the road from me has one in his collection. I think they were very will built cars using a twin cam Anzani engine with a Roots supercharger. This Vicarage copy is not bad except for the wheels and tyres which are wrong but at that money it would probably be quite a nice car.

This is mine :[img]https://ibb.co/Lg3hC8b[/img]
Other info ;
I have used yellow/white LED to move indicators into the sidelights, 1930s ford headlamps and rear lamps removed all the 1980s yellow lamps !
I made a body colour aluminium dashboard with rolled edge to replace the 1970s leather TVR style dash with something more period, mine came with a Lancaster bomber map light an 8day clock and a leather rimmed four spoke steering wheel. I have tried to make it look period, struggling with the Jaguar e-type smiths gauges, I would prefer jaeger.

They have as standard; Morgan door handles and windscreen
Healey hood frame
Alfa Romeo 2 litre (105 nord) with 5 speed, twin Weber 40s (although at least one had a ford cross flow with SU, it is on display at the Lincolnshire aviation museum, it has 18” wheels)
Marelli ignition (Alfa Romeo 2000)
SU fuel pump.
Marelli filter and pressure regulator (same as Alfa/Ferrari)
Ford English axle
Alfa Romeo 2000/gtv brake and clutch master cylinders
15” or 18” wire wheels (mine are 15”)
Steel tubular exhaust manifold with a custom 2” pipe to the rear , mine has two silencers but I suspect the rear one has been added to make it quieter !
Twin circuit and servo brakes with a Morgan brake warning/balancer
All aluminium over an ash frame with a steel bulkhead (although mine has been changed to aluminium)
Vicarage still have the original squire signage on their workshop wall.

Each car was hand built to customer spec (I have a box of all the different builds) They had lots of options , for instance the red one has the hinges on the front of the door and a different shape as a result, bonnets came in two or four part options, the louvres on the side could be straight or angled, mine has no trim over the rear end and seat options varied on every car although they were all custom trimmed in leather with Wilton carpets, top quality tonneu, screens and hood, thankfully I have no headrests but I do need three point harness for UK MOT.

10 made, I know one is in Germany and another in Japan, two in UK….

A lot of fun to drive, lovely engine and gearbox, loads of character and small children wave frantically…. The pedals are very close together and not designed for big feet, and if you are over 6ft you will find it snug getting your knees under the steering wheel, although it has good headroom. Looks much better without the hood up !

Very nice. Do you have any pictures of the dash ?

If you ever need a spare Lancaster map light (or a Spitfire magneto switch) I'm your man.

Considering they were coach built by top craftsmen to a very high standard I think they're criminally undervalued.