“DRIVE your age,” says a leading British men’s magazine. It suggests senior drivers buy cars that are easy to get in and out of, have seats with lumbar support, adjustable steering wheels, reverse sensing systems, and rear cameras.
All very well, but for 79 year-old former British amateur racing driver, John Maclay, he prefers to stick with his iconic 1961 Morgan Plus 4 two-seater sports car.
“I don’t need all the luxuries and gadgets of modern cars,” he said from his home in Lymington village on the south coast of England. “I get by perfectly fine without them.”
John bought his first racing Morgan in 1964. “It was the cheapest way to go racing and the total cost for the secondhand, ready-to-race car was around 550 British pounds (P34K).”
In those days, we were known as the “oily rag brigade” because we had little money and we did all the preparation, maintenance, tuning and repairs ourselves after work.”
During John’s racing career he’s owned three high performance Morgans and a rather special Daimler SP250 also known as the Daimler Dart. It was very fast and he clocked up a number of notable victories in this car. I remember him taking me for a spin in 1968 up the M4 Motorway in London in his Dart – we reached around 135 mph (220 k/hr).
John and fellow “oily rag brigade” members raced in the “Modified Production Sports Car” class. Other cars in this class included E-Type Jags, Austin Healeys, TVRs, MGs, and Daimler Darts.
John’s 1964 Morgan Plus 4 was powered by a “hot” Triumph TR4 engine. “It was very competitive – a similar car won the two liter class at Le Mans in 1962. Performance was good, but comfort non-existent with solid suspension. It was draughty, cold and wet, but it was a handsome looking car,” he said.
“Racing in the 1960s was exciting, but dangerous,” John added. “There were no roll bars and early on only diagonal seat belts were used. A number of my friends were killed while racing and I once had a nasty crash on the Brands Hatch circuit, but fortunately I wasn’t hurt.”
John looks back at his racing career with great affection. “We were all a little bit mad in those days. We spent most of our money on our cars and spent far too much time tinkering with our engines. It could also be exhausting as our cars doubled up as our personal transport so we frequently had to drive for hours to reach the circuits.
But it was fun and we loved it.
Now nearing 80, John still loves the joy of the open road. “The thrill of driving a two-seater with the roof down and the sun and wind in your face will never wear off.”
His 1961 Morgan Plus 4, powered by a TR4 2 liter engine with twin Weber carburetors, is a beautifully restored example of this classic car. John may not race anymore, but he relishes every opportunity he gets to put his beloved Morgan through its paces along the leafy lanes of the English countryside.
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CAPTION: John making a few adjustments to his beautifully restored 1961 Morgan Plus 4. (Robert Harland)
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CAPTION: The 1961 Morgan Plus 4 powered by a TR4 2 liter engine. (Robert Harland)
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CAPTION: The neat and functional dash of John's 1961 Morgan Plus 4. (Robert Harland)
