Thanks for all the encouraging comments, much appreciated!
What I didn’t mention is why I got into the little MOG to begin with. It’s my first Morgan, coming after a life-long addiction to Italian beauty’s that started with a ‘74 AR 2000 GTV. So I am familiar with paying for the privilege of being an unofficial factory test driver. But in the last few years I had gotten to a point where the car I had - a Japan-only limited edition ‘07 Maserati GranSport - was too fast too enjoy on public roads without fear of losing one’s license, too expensive too maintain even without driving it. And although I am a firm believer that cars are made to be driven, I couldn’t drive it for fear of putting too many miles on it and the hit it would take depreciation wise. And when I did drive it, I was worried about the car being dinged, banged or scratched in any way. In short, loved the idea, but no longer the reality. I’m sure you get the picture.
None of those concerns with the M3W. Put miles on it? Just means it’s being developed to run better. Dings and scratches? Added patina. Depreciation? Relative to other “exotica”, not much to lose. The fact that, when you drive it, people don’t look at you like you’re an axx, an added bonus. And the ability of having the most smiles per mile at road-legal speeds.....or so I thought.
Because what I learned when I first got the car - I bought her sight unseen, never haven driven an M3W except in my mind based on the Jay Leno’s, TG etc videos - is that the only way to drive the car in a relaxed and smooth manner, was to keep her between 3,500 and 4,500 rpm (diesel engine anyone?) which didn’t just suit the gear ratio’s very well on B (or better, C) roads, but also put me well over the speed limits in Georgia. So, as much as I have a need for speed, my journey to mod the drive train is really fueled by making the car more tractable - and driveable - at low speeds (without falling into the lugging trap). Try to explain that to any sane person.....the wonderful world of Morgans :-)
Mission accomplished, time will tell.
What I did forget to add in my original write-up, is that I also changed the front tires to Blockley’s - and the rear to a Yokohama AVID Envigor (the only matching tire I couldn find in the US with a clear directional pattern similar to the original Giugaro-designed part. Does anybody have experience with that one?
