This Week on Hagerty Marketplace: Three Icons, as Different as You Can Imagine

Welcome to This Week on Hagerty Marketplace, a recurring recap of the previous week’s most noteworthy cars and significant sales from the Hagerty Marketplace online auctions.

This is an eclectic trio for This Week on Hagerty Marketplace—Detroit is represented by a vintage Ford and a Chevrolet (which was assembled in California, actually!), and England makes an appearance with a cool Morgan. We’ll start with that one . . .

1962 Morgan Plus 4 Two Seater Roadster

Sold for $26,215.

The Morgan Motor Company has been building endearingly quirky vehicles since the first three-wheeler left the factory in 1910, with the first four-wheel sports car appearing in 1935. The company has always marched to its own drummer, and that tradition is evident in this 1962 Morgan Plus Four. A twin-carbureted 2.0-liter four-cylinder sourced from a Triumph TR3 produces 95 horsepower, which is fed through a Moss four-speed manual transmission. A Derrington dual exhaust completes the package. You’ll find all that beneath the expected leather bonnet strap.

The aluminum body was painted Crimson Red, a Morgan color in 2012, and its complemented by a black leather interior with matching red accents. A new soft top and side curtains were included with the sale. The U.S.-spec car underwent a complete restoration in 2008, and the original TR3 four-cylinder was rebuilt four years later. It has polished wire wheels and the original wood dashboard.

The car was apparently sold originally in Ontario, Canada, and migrated to Florida in 2015, where it has lived since. It would be difficult to imagine a more pleasurable vehicle to take a top-down drive on a late summer’s day.

1956 Chevrolet Bel Air two-door sedan

Sold for $55,850.

It’s likely we’ll never see a three-year run from a manufacturer as convincingly iconic as Chevrolet’s 1955, 1956, and 1957 “tri-five” models. Each one was different from the others, yet just as successful as representatives of that period of the brand’s history, marketed at one of Chevy’s then-7500 dealerships. In 1956, the Bel Air models were offered in seven body styles; featured here is a two-door sedan, produced at the assembly plant located in Van Nuys, California.

Many of those tri-five Chevrolets were subjects of performance modifications, and that includes this one, outfitted with four-wheel disc brakes, a four-link rear suspension with coil-overs all around, and a nine-inch Ford differential. Power is from a 5.7-liter crate V-8, coupled with a 700R four-speed automatic transmission. New coated headers feed a stainless-steel exhaust and PowerFlow mufflers.

Inside you’ll find Cadillac bucket seats with custom two-tone leather upholstery, and a 1200-watt Pioneer sound system. Wheels are 18-inch polished aluminum American Legend Streeters. The two-tone custom paint job is finished in White Pearl and Viper Copper. A Vintage Air system was included with the sale. Besides serving as a comfortable, modern driver, this Chevy should be one of the stars at any weekend car show.

1924 Ford Model T Roadster

Sold for $8293

With this selection, we travel even farther back in time to 1924, with the legitimately legendary Ford Model T. This is a Runabout model, restored with keeping the original appearance a priority, yet updated with such improvements as aluminum pistons, a higher-compression cylinder head, Kevlar transmission bands, a modern radiator, a steering stabilizer and the optional Ruckstell two-speed differential. In 1924, the Runabout had a starting price of $265, or $360 with the optional electric starter and battery. This car was so optioned, though it’s since been converted to 12 volts.

It’s powered by a 1926, 177-cubic-inch “L-head” four-cylinder engine, with a two-speed planetary transmission. The interior is upholstered in durable black vinyl, with a vinyl folding top. It has wood-spoke wheels and a matching, rear-mounted spare tire with a cover. It came with a factory jack and wrench, and some assorted specialty tools. This Roadster was a member of the consignor’s family for over 40 years. The thoughtful updates should allow for this car to be reliably driven, while in keeping with the remarkable heritage of the Ford Model T.