Very interesting discussions regarding ‘hand built’ cars. Please excuse me for now producing some thread drift.
I must admit that I am not a long time car enthusiast (steam engines are more in the blood), but got seriously bitten by the M3W bug, back in 2016. I purchased a secondhand, original 2012 M3W that had gone through most of the required rebuilds… I made quite a few modifications and improvements to it (it even won a MTWC cup!).
[img]https://hosting.photobucket.co...=960&height=720&fit=bounds[/img]Unfortunately, my wife had challenges getting into and out of the M3W, so I thought a 4/4 four seater would be better. The M3W was sold to my oldest friend (who has just had it rebuilt following a neighbour back in to the side of it).
The new car was better for access and looked very elegant.
[img]https://hosting.photobucket.co...=960&height=720&fit=bounds[/img]The big downside for me was that it completely filled the garage, so that if I wanted to use the lathe or other machine tools, then the car had to be pushed outside.
[img]https://hosting.photobucket.co...=960&height=720&fit=bounds[/img]This became increasingly annoying and so the car was sold just before the first lockdown in 2020. Cecily never really took to it and it wasn’t half as much fun to drive as the M3W.
Fast forward to 2023 and my friend’s rebuilding of the old M3W piqued my interest again. I had followed the launch of the new Super 3. Clearly the clever modern design technology in the new three wheeler should allow an expedited ( and cheaper? ) construction. Unfortunately it’s hugely wide tracking meant that it couldn’t fit my garage, the looks didn’t quite gel for me and, for the price, there seemed to be quite a few teething troubles showing up on the forum. There was no way I would go back to the old M3W, as few would be as well sorted as my old car.
By chance I then came across the Pembleton Motor Company ‘V Sport’. These are hand made to order in Bayton, Shropshire, by Guy Gregory and his company; he is the son of Phil Gregory, the originator of the type, back in 1999. Now these cars are very much hand built and to a very high standard. Having seen the construction errors in the replacement Morgan-supplied chassis for my old M3W, I was shocked - there is little comparison in finish and fit to the Pembleton. Needless to say I now have a V Sport on order which will be ready by late July. The price is exceptionally competitive and I am looking forward to more three wheeled motoring!
Apologies for the awful thread drift, but the moral is really that Morgan really do need to watch their quality control for the prices charged.
Tim
P.S. I have an outside car cover for the 4/4 four seater looking for a good home…
