Honestly, I've been dragging my feet on tackling the M3W project. Procrastination can be a virtue if administered correctly. Guess I've had a love/hate relationship with my little ride and needed time to get over my feeling of being "taken" without any recourse so I moved on to dealing with my long list of other projects. Hated that Morgan saddled me with major issues to resolve on my own, on my own dime (quarter and nickel) without technical support much less encouragement as they further benefit from their mistakes in the form of replacement parts (buy a new bevel box and you'll understand what I'm talking about)...but still couldn't seem to part with the damn thing either. I felt like they had fed on my mechanical addiction. If Morgan hadn't done such a good job on the bodywork and finish along with my fetish for the old 3 speeds, I feel its safe to say this SOB would already be gone. However, it's kind of like a very attractive woman...pleasing to the eye but when its revealed there are issues, what unknowns lie beneath the surface can be down right scary. And yet like that woman while my better judgment is flashing red lights, its hard to kick it to the curb and just walk away without taking a stab or two at resolving them. Guess that explains that drawer full of divorce papers I've accumulated but at least with the M3W, I can easily convert it into a unique flower pot or conversation piece without too much resistance where that wasn't a practical option for the former.
I'm doing a Centa and new bevel box install with some mods. Had the engine and transmission assembly on the deck in 4 hours while bagging and tagging jiblets. In that short period of time, have already uncovered 4 or 5 hand grenades with the pins half pulled (chaffing wiring, chaffing lines, etc.) confirming my un-easiness about the car. I'm almost sure there are more that I haven't found yet (end play in the crank, etc.)....and still lack pulling the bevel box. My hope is to salvage and rebuild the existing bevel box as I don't think it has been smoked yet as I suspect it will be a re-occurring necessity. I plan to polish out the machining tracks in the Centa "basket" so the rubbers don't get sacrificed or consumed doing the job and balance it, as well. May be more mods in that department but am still weighing the benefits of those.
With a little more knuckle busting than your average project, the steering rack was the least favorite part of the project so far but not nearly as bad as dreading starting this project. After the first bolt was pulled, the dread went away and now, its just a project like any other. Guess it goes without saying, this thing was not designed with the mechanic in mind. Frankly, I'm not sure who they had in mind when designing the details and spaghetti routing...maybe a tow truck driver. Though I haven't been known to cut Morgan any slack on the warts of the M3W and the fact that I limited my travels to a 75 mile radius from home until further investigation, I've always taken comfort in the fact that its always gotten me back under power. Only now do I realize how far I had been pushing my luck. Ignorance isn't always bliss. It wasn't a matter of if but a matter of when. Onward and upward....or maybe sideways. Things may not be improving here but they are definitely changing for what that's worth.
Z
