Bitsobrits/Stave, many thanks for your input on the design of the S&S engine, it is obvious I have no knowledge of it specifically and have zero specialist knowledge, I am nought but an old enthusiast for much mechanical who bought into the idea of owning Morgan as a retro vintage vehicle, without the cost of a real vintage car of similar performance, a vehicle which I could hopefully maintain with the simple tools I had to hand, and one on which was not dependant on on-board digital decision making.
From that which you typed Steve you seem to be a pretty hands on type of chap, and like Planenut seem to have arrived at the conclusion that possible variation in engineering manufacturing tolerances may be found in the machining of the oil pump internals, to the extent that some oil pumps may allow more oil to pass through the pump when at standstill as the combined result of gravity and perhaps the viscosity of oil used in the engine... ? As a theory that can work for me. (-:
As for the issue, it seems modern-day driver expectations do not align with engineering that may be thought of as old school, i.e. fitting taps to try to resolve the issue of "wet sumping"which as Jonny suggests may create an agro of antiques situation, I can go with that too, and could I then suggest that the electric M3W may well be a far more suitable option for some which seems likely to bypass all of the M3W engine related issues...? I guess if the sound of the V Twin is a key element to ownership, then there could be the possibility to add that electronically, perhaps sacrificing a little mileage range dependant on how much volume might be selected..? (-:
Getting back to the issue, you M3W types are not alone in having issues relative to lay up, the WWW is full of all sorts of folk having loads of issues caused by lack of use. For me the bottom line may well be that in general engines tend not to be designed to spend long periods of time standing unused, other than perhaps for specialist purposes such as standby power generating units which usually have means by which the oil pressure can be either created by an auxiliary electric oil pump, or manually pumped prior to pushing the start button. In the case of an emergency standby engine, expected to power up automatically and take load in a minimum amount of time, in which case it would rattle till oil pressure builds...! Not ideal for engine longevity but then lives could be dependant on the engines ability to take the zero oil pressure fire up..? Were I designing a standby engine I suspect I may not pick a design where the oil was held at high level, outside the engine and fed to it by gravity. With a wet sump it could at least splash feed some aspects of lubrication required in the initial stages of fire up..?
The idea of using thicker oil to minimise wet sumping seems to present possible risks for engine longevity.. One would hope that those who designed the engine would suggest the best possible lubricant for their engine design, all things considered..?
As hinted above, lots of other engine designs seem to have issues, even the German designers, famed for automotive engineering prowess and motor sport achievements over many years, seem to have quite a number of customers complaining over time, some engines self destructing, even at car park speeds..? I have noted where independent specialist engineers have researched and modified an engine design to "improve" upon aspects one particularly expensive engine, and have advised an change in lubricant once the engines reach higher mileages of circa 80k miles or more.
For sure the WWW is full of fake news, though before the WWW it was far less likely that without a fair bit of determination to carry out research, that anyone would be likely to discover the many variables in manufacturing processes which could affect the variation of performance across the output range of any manufacturer. These days it is al so very different with access to search engines to educate ones self on so very much..which can and I suspect does create issues for manufacturers, add fake news to that, and things can become complicated for those in search of reliable information.
Prior to replacing my last old air cooled 911 with an old but professionally restored +8 Morgan, I had the benefit of the internet resources of the then MSCCDG, GoMoG and subsequently the wonderful Morgan forum at the now defunked eMog, and thus came to understand having spent circa five years of internet study, I understood most if not all the likely ownership issues relative to Morgan ownership prior to buying one, all of which seems a tad excessive, I know. I bought into the idea of heritage, hand crafted and vintage aspects of design thus leading edge engineering expectations played no part in the purchase decision process, also my time spent reading of issues educated me as to the situation where many were created by those driven to experiment and modify their Morgans, which was appeared to be very much the Morganeers creed, at least up to the time when digital electronics complicated matters for the would-be home mechanic.
Apologies, I have rambled on a bit as is my habit, but hopefully you catch my drift...
