The rubber seals along the top and corners of the screen should be replaced, they bolt off/on and you can do them yourself. It makes a lot of difference to the seal and I changed the clamps at the same time (second time I have done this). You will also need a good seal for the A/C to have any chance in US heat.

The biggest change was sending the car back to the factory and getting them to adjust the hood frame. It went up and down more smoothly. I guess this is not an option for you so I would aim to find a local car restorer (old alfas and other stuff with dicky roof designs) and get them to apply the skills they have.

The heat in the foot well is just that. A feature. It won't really go away. The car has a panelled underside and so the heat needs to go somewhere. The only other option is extended ventilation throughout the chassis/body but no one has gone ahead with that to my knowledge. Perhaps putting louvres in the bonnet may reduce it. They also look pretty. If you have less of an issue with rain than us lwer vents may be an option but zero knowledge of that is around. The aero-dynamics of the car are already a little unsound so you may not want to mess with them.

The Air-Con may have become U/S due to lack of use. I also put the additional foam beading above/around the air intake of my fan/heater matrix some time back to reduce warm air in from the engine bay, make certain it does not go too high and push the bonnet.

Rattles - yes, move on. Just turn the engine up. Sidepipes. Ear plugs. One-by-one identification on a test drive with a mechanic spotting them.

New dampers and tyres should certainly improve it as they are a bit aged. The comment re 17" wheels will likely be the best option. I also worry that this is a cultural issue. My experience of US owners is that they expect a deal of compliance in the car, even at the Porsche car level. Not an Aero - sorry - they were designed to be like that, without bushes and absorbent joints, Early S1 were rose jointed and that was a wicked !

It may be a perspective thing that you need to deal with I am afraid. I would do the dampers and tyres, switch to a lower rim size if you can. Embrace the Aero for what it is.

The "lash/shunt" in 1st and up to 2nd will probably fell like this if I understand correctly.

Needs a few revs to get of the line as the clutch is a little "bitty"
As it comes in fully you feel a bit of slack/backlash in the drivetrain.
You go up through the gear (quickly!)
You declutch and go for second.
As you de-clutch it pulls back slightly and jiggles front-to-back.
Revs stay high and don't drop so fast.
As you bring in second the revs mis-match ("do I have to wait forever" in your mind)
The car pulls forwards with a little shunt in the drive line as the clutch comes in.

During this you get a nice assortment of rattles from the box and driveline.

If it feels at all like that you are fine, its true, they all do that.

Drive around it. You learn to balance the clutch and revs. At the high end of first just take the power off so you are coasting without any acceleration/deceleration load before you unload the clutch. Or feather it out like you would slip a clutch back in.

In many cases I pull away softly in second. The side pipes making this sound even more fun, zero revs bop-bop through the side pipes. If I pull away in first I just do what any race car expects and don't spare the horses. Not over-loud but with commitment. I then give a good pause before going for second to let the revs come down. Its boring if you are going for it but I agree the slack/whack is uncomfortable otherwise. The less you soft pedal it the less its an issue. Of course your police-force is differently displaced when seeing this so don't blame some English bloke on a forum telling you to do it, it won't get you off the ticket.

Sounds like you have a project that will keep you happy for quite a while. Excellent.


Everyone loves a Morgan. Even me, unless it's broken again.