First impressions moving from 3 to 4 wheels. .
Well, I've been driving Merlin the 4/4 Morgan for all of four days. Much of it has been on motorways: for reasons of expediency rather than pleasure - so not proper Morgan trips.
As with the M3W, road noise at speed is really uncomfortable, but easily managed with some earplugs. The M3W with a G56 exhaust was certainly much more lively than my currently configured 4/4. Part of that is psychological in that the 4/4 exhaust is much quieter. I was with Rob Wells (Librands) today, picking up some door checks: useful for me, essential for Cecily. Very tempted to put one of the Librands sports exhausts on - but that can wait for Christmas or birthday presents.
One gets used to the driving position quite quickly and the steering is great at any reasonable speed. At slow speed being Popeye would help. The suspension is fun and seems to be very predictable, but certainly lets you know when a chasm is encountered in the road. Merlin seems to be quite well mannered, with few of the vibrations and foibles that I have been reading about. Maybe the four seaters have a different handling?
The side panels are quite good at preventing winds around the back, although the doors let in a howling gale around the kidneys at speed. There is a clear 1" cubed gap at the bottom of the lock that could usefully be obturated. I am quite tempted to get the doors and side panels re-trimmed at Allon Whites: has anyone had this done? Cecily would certainly appreciate less drafts, but I think she is warming to the case.
We very successfully went to the Oldest pub in England tonight with a friend in the back. Her view was somewhat curtailed by the roof, but it was all good fun - they especially liked the windscreen wipers. We obviously returned in the dark and the Nolden lights that Tom fitted are, literally, brilliant. The instrumentation lighting in the dash is positively sepulchral in its effect, with the odd photon bouncing off an occasional surface (is there a brightness control in a 2000 4/4?)
Much fun was had by all at Gaydon demonstrating roof erection and dismantling on Saturday: it is so much better with it down for driving, but it does give some security, especially for Cecily's cripple sticker, when we park up. It's actually pretty simple to put up. The car came with a unique tonneau cover, but I haven't quite sussed out how it goes yet.
One thing that does seem a little strange is that the throttle is slow to back off when changing gear when you lift your foot off the accelerator pedal. It all seems pretty loose under the bonnet, so I'm getting a good local car chap to have a test drive with it tomorrow.
All in all: very positive. Watch this space...
Tim
