On the Continental-engined Cowley, just the electric lighting components cost 59% of the price of the imported engine itself — electric lights were a genuine luxury in 1915.
Lead trim: Continental Cowley 1495 cc Continental Red Seal Type U side-valve four
Morris Cowley1915–1920
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Morris Cowley yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactOn the Continental-engined Cowley, just the electric lighting components cost 59% of the price of the imported engine itself — electric lights were a genuine luxury in 1915.
The Continental Cowley, shown to the press in April 1915, was a larger-engined (1495 cc against 1018 cc), longer, wider and better-equipped version of the first Morris Oxford with the same "Bullnose" radiator, able to carry a four-passenger body (two-seater, four-seater, coupé, cabriolet and delivery van; about 1,450 built). To reduce the price many components were bought from United States suppliers: the 1495 cc side-valve four-cylinder engine (Continental Red Seal Type U, nominal 1.495 L, actual 1.557 L) was made by Continental Motor Manufacturing Company of Detroit, and the clutch and three-speed gearbox by Detroit Gear & Machine Co., with the back axle (the first helically cut drive in a quantity-produced British car), front axle and steering gear also from the USA. Suspension was semi-elliptic leaf springs at the front and three-quarter-elliptics at the rear, with the petrol tank in the scuttle; electric lighting (six-volt Lucas lamps and a belt-driven dynamo) was standard, a first for a Morris. Wheelbase 102 in (2,590.8 mm), track 48 in. It was at first slightly cheaper than the Oxford yet more luxurious (buttoned real-leather upholstery, mahogany cappings and a proper driver's door), and the McKenna duties of a 33% tax on imported luxury goods hit it from late summer 1915. Production was 161 (1915), 684, 125, 198, 281 and 1 (1920); the last was assembled in 1920, finishing the stock of original engines. The page gives no power output.
Collectors Spotted in the Morris Cowley Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Morris Cowley yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
One published trim in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental Cowley 1495 cc Continental Red Seal Type U side-valve four | 1915–1920 | 1.5 L Inline-4 | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
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Owners’ builds
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Photographs
Morris cut costs on the budget Cowley by swapping in plastic-covered felt where the posher Oxford had actual carpet.
Despite replacing the Morris Major as an all-new model in 1934, the Cowley Six kept its predecessor's exact 1938cc six-cylinder side-valve engine unchanged — only the chassis underneath was new.
The 1931 Cowley revamp used aircraft-grade Duralumin alloy for its connecting rods, an unusually exotic material to find inside an affordable family saloon.
The 1926-31 Flatnose Cowley shipped with brakes on the rear wheels only as standard — four-wheel brakes were already common elsewhere, but Morris charged extra for the front pair.
The Bullnose Cowley's centrally-mounted handbrake and gear lever gave away its American-sourced gearbox — and as a side effect, let the driver climb in without dragging a leg past cold exposed steel.
On the Continental-engined Cowley, just the electric lighting components cost 59% of the price of the imported engine itself — electric lights were a genuine luxury in 1915.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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