Solved - NEH 1782: Morris Traveller Special with 5555cc V8 engine - 1952

[Delorean]

5000cc?

[Carnut]

5000cc?

If 5.7 litres was close and 5500cc even closer you're getting much further away with 5000cc..

[Delorean]

Next guess: 5400cc?

[RayTheRat]

5358 cc (327 cid)?

[Carnut]

Next guess: 5400cc?

5358 cc (327 cid)?

Delorean's guess is much closer; we're getting back into the right area again (almost)..

[RayTheRat]

5407.7 (330 CID - Oldsmobile)

[D-type]

5420cc 331 cu i (Cadillac)

[Carnut]

Edging closer but still up a bit.
The site where I sourced the picture and info doesn't mention what make of engine it is but it does mention the cc - which I don't recognise as any engine I know..  So whether it's bored out, a mysterious engine or wrong I don't know.

I'll accept a 10 cc margin of error either way..

[RayTheRat]

The more I try to understand this, the more confused I get.  But Dodge made a 340 CID smallblock that's 5571 cc. 

There were also a bunch of small Hemi motors (Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler) that fall into that range.

[Delorean]

5440cc?

[Carnut]

5440cc?

Nearer...

The more I try to understand this, the more confused I get.  But Dodge made a 340 CID smallblock that's 5571 cc. 

There were also a bunch of small Hemi motors (Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler) that fall into that range.

..but this is the closest yet!  Nearly there..

[RayTheRat]

In 1957 Desoto made a 345 cubic inch hemi motor.  That works out to 5653.5 cubic centimeters.  That's a very rare motor.

[Delorean]

5580cc?

[Tackitt]

How about an engine of 5543cc?

[Carnut]

In 1957 Desoto made a 345 cubic inch hemi motor.  That works out to 5653.5 cubic centimeters.  That's a very rare motor.

Too big..

5580cc?

..close but no cigar..

How about an engine of 5543cc?

..very nearly...  next guess might get you a point!

[Delorean]

5570cc?

[Carnut]

5570cc?

..a bit closer..

[Delorean]

5550cc?

[Carnut]

5550cc?

That's within the 10cc variation as the capacity according to my source said 5555cc!
If anyone knows what the engine is or if that capacity is correct I'd love to hear!

Here's the unmodified picture:

[RayTheRat]

Here's my best guess. 5555cc is 339 cubic inches.  That displacement in a Chevy smallblock motor was used by several sports car racers in the 50s and 60s, among them, Lance Reventlow's Scarab, the Echidna Special, Lister-Costin specials and a couple of Devin-bodied cars.  What I've read says that the venerable 283 motor was bored and stroked to achieve that number.  In order to get it, the bore was increased from 3.875 to 4 inches (that's an awful big overbore for a 283) and the crankshaft stroked from 3.00 to 3.375, an increase of 3/8".  This gives a total displacement of 5558 cc.  Some pretty serious bore/stroke increases for that time.

The Scarab motors were built in 1957, before the 327 was available (1962.)  After '62, it would have been less of a chore to use a 1/8" stroker crank in a 327 to get that displacement size.

I've built a lot of smallblock motors, but I've always used a 350 or (my favorite) a 400 as the basis.  I run a .030 overbored 400 (406 cid) in my race car.  I don't think I'd want to stretch a 283 out to 339, but apparently it was done and John Staver won the 1958 SCCA B-Modified championship in the Echidna special with one of those hand grenades.

I ran across one other 5555cc motor; an Infiniti V8, but it's a much newer design and I'd be very surprised if that was the basis of the motor in the Morris.  There are probably other motors that could be modified to get that number, but I didn't run across any in my search.

r

[Carnut]

Thanks for that.
I've no idea when the conversion was done, back in the 50s or in more modern times.
Sure more info will come out about this car given lots of time..

[Djetset]

This photo was taken a few metres from my office, as I recall studying the car quite closely when it was parked-up as a paddock support vehicle at last year's Goodwood Revival.

[Carnut]

This photo was taken a few metres from my office, as I recall studying the car quite closely when it was parked-up as a paddock support vehicle at last year's Goodwood Revival.

Yes - I recognised the Commer Ecurie Ecosse racing car transporter in the background and figured it must have been at some prominent historic festival quite recently.
Pity you didn't get the chance to quiz its owner..

[Tom_I]

This is a bit odd. Now that the number plate is visible, I checked at DVLA, and this car is registered as a Miller, not a Morris. It's shown on one web page as "special estate wagon 1952", but the official date of registration is given as 30 January 1954.

Equally odd is that it is listed as being unlicensed since January 2000. If it is still on its wheels, then (if the DVLA information is accurate) it seems that it is being kept illegally. For those who may not be familiar with UK car licensing law, if a car is not currently licensed to be on the road (which also requires that it is insured, and has a current vehicle test certificate), then the registered keeper must make what is called a SORN (Statutory Off-Road Notification) every year, when the licence would be due. This would be shown on the DVLA website.

This car, because of its age, is exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty, but to be used on the road, it must still be tested and insured, and must display a current tax disc (which in this case would be free of charge).

But then the DVLA database is not 100% accurate..... 

[Carnut]

I don't see a tax disc on the windscreen.
It may be that it isn't used on the public highway but is trailered to events like the Goodwood Revival?