Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Another cracked chassis !

Musing.....


I don't think the Community has ever fully appreciated how bad the hard times were and how they re-shaped the earlier Company. But Management of those days stayed on the same course nonetheless. During that period, part sourcer (s) was trained to have cost as their priority, unless other factors were at play. There were/are plenty of consequences of that, that you ssate are still happening. Such things are not discoverable by new owners for a LONG time, if ever.. I once worked in a field that showed me that company culture can have latent or "hidden" defects as much as any machine can. These defects are not even seen by the people who perpetrate them.


From our perch, it doesn't look like they have found the cure yet..which is another good question for them. Land Rover ran into a related problem when they tried to "upgrade" their cooling systems on their last V8s. John Eales is convinced it made the infamous plague of LR V8 block cracking and slipped liners fatal, ending the venerable engine's production and the original Plus 8. NOTE: The LR Plus 8s had insufficent weight (load) to cause these issue problems for Morgan.

Peter Morgan learned to be rightfully terrified of change and new technology. It is a scary thing thing for a small boutique manufacturer to try to be cutting age. He learned his lesson with the Plus 4 Plus and other changes that were unavoidable. Such stories are legion but now being forgotten. And frankly, every effort was made to hide them at the time. They will die, untold, when us old f*rts shuffle off this mortal coil. Morgan history books gloss over such things, and they are more fascinating that the pleasant stuff. What we do have from writers is analogous to beginning British history of WW2 in 1944. One misses the incredible historic courage and determination. It is wiser to find books that are NOT endorsed by a Company's owners. (wryly)

And yes. The Recalls (safety) I mentioned are all post Covid or just as it was beginning. They involve brakes, CX and M3W. However, safety is merely one area of how the system works. Is chassis cracking a safety issue? In any event, no Recall on that. Would you like me to try to cut and paste them here?


It wasn't hard to see that one coming, was it? And it must be attributed to the new owners which concerns me.


Mark is a GREAT guy. IMHO, the best Morgan mechanic in the world and that says a LOT for me. I was very happy when this was acknowledged at LeMans for the entire world to see. He is a massive goodwill asset as well. Great guy to have a pint with. But he is not a decision maker at the Works, which I doubt bothers him one whit.

I too consult constantly with non-MMC designers, mechanics and friends on cures for various ills on models a number of times. We even have a little private forum, which began as a way of mates keeping in touch.

Most MMC design defects are easily curable if one has the hands-mechanical skill and long experience to do so and if there is no profit motive involved. But the Community has changed. It no longer provides the MMC and itself with much of costless R&D it enjoyed for a century. It reflects the world at the moment..it is not Morgan specific. Design is not a strong inhouse area for the MMC for quite a while and for a number of reasons. Many of these cannot be laid at the feet of their current designers. Production, Parts Sourcing and Management have been overruling Development for ages now. But it takes a hands-on designer to recognize another. The last hands-on and vocal designer on the MMC Board was the very wilful Maurice Owen, more than 30 years ago!


Agreed. [b]We ALL want the MMC to succeed.[/b] But they have little real feedback any more, like yours, and they desperately need it. During the hard times Management did not accept advice, even from the dealers. Pity as new models always bring a new wave of new problems, with any manufacturer. And there is SO MUCH talent out here. Prior to that, as the automobile analyst and writer, Robert Cumberford, put it: The place was a well-loved money machine peopled by charming munchkins, who I understand they now put on display for a substantial profit.

gmg