Talk Morgan Forums Community Welcome Forum Saying hello!

Long doors were not an option - ever!
You will find cars before the '98MY (appeared around Oct '97) with galvanised chassis, it was an option, and on earlier cars where a replacement chassis has been fitted it may have been replaced with a galvanised one. Not sure about option of SS bulkhead, but I don't believe there was.

Ally wings, if you are looking at pre-Superform wings days (I'll need to check, but they were certainly being fitted for MY '98) the wing edge was rolled around a steel wire (for strength etc.) and this can cause galvanic corrosion - easy to spot as the wing edge paint will bubble. Steel wings will rot sooner or later, my 36+ y.o. wings are now quite rough, but still have a few years left... Worth paying attention to, giving a thoroughly good clean and applying protective coating.

With older Morgans it's not the mileage or age that is important, but the condition! To check for wood rot, you really need to be able to lift the carpet over the inner sills (rockers), but the easiest check is to open each door and try lifting it - you will see some play in the door hinges, but you don't want to see any more movement than that play - it means the upright part of the frame is rotten - deduct ££££

Also check the rear inner wheelarches (ply) for rot, and the floor if you can. Unfotunately, there are various areas where rot can hide, which you won't see until starting to strip parts of the body apart.
If you can, take someone with you that knows Morgans (or go to a reputable dealer - plenty in this country! ).

Most of all - Good Luck in your search - the right car will choose you

(An Esprit Turbo ehh? I used to dream of those. It will forever remain a got away, except perhaps for a passenger ride one day!).

Cheers,

Thanks for all the info Graham - I am now in dialogue with one of the sellers

Just for you, the Esprit... Pop over to West London any day for a blat

Very TASTY!

+1 and welcome. My 97 +4 is the last of the short doors.
I have aluminium wings & body but a mild steel scuttle.
The pre superform wings are as Graham describes them.

Good luck in your search. Why not join Thames Valley Mog & come to one of the events to see Mogs in the flesh

As good as the 1978 JPS World Champion edition. Lovely !! You haven't got this Sat free at all have you? There's a Sports Car Club meeting at Castle Combe (Wilts) which Graham & I (and others including a main Morgan dealer) are attending. (Watching, not participating)

Admission is free to anyone turning up in an Esprit Turbo

Jeremy

(Actually it's free anyway...)

I assume the Morgan dealer is Williams? I once test drove a V8 Esprit from there with a view to trading in my Tuscan, nice people.

I know Combe very well as I used to live in Bath and then Bristol, used to give charideee passenger rides there for the Stroke Association.

If I am free and it's not pee'ing down, it would be a good trip out for the car, it could do with a long run!

Dialogue going well with the chap I am trying to buy from, he's extremely helpful. I would put a deposit down on it now if I could!

Is a self-serviced car a concern here? He's a former engineer so I trust him to have done the work as it's clearly a cherished car, but does this kill future values (I am looking at a long-term prospect here)?

Still don't understand short vs long door! Did the doors just get longer after 1997 or did they get longer with a galvanised (different?) chassis?

No, galvansied chassis became standard for MY '99, which equates to somewhere around Oct '98 in cars first coming from production.
At the same time, the bulkhead was shortened - it was a requirement to meet EU rules for the fitting of Airbags IIRC - which also lost the air demist as there was no longer room for dash top air vents (so the electrically heated screen became standard too). The new short bulkhead was made from stainless steel, rather than mild as previously.
The easist way to accomodate the increased door space was to amek the doors 2" longer.
I no longer have my '98 +4, or I could have put it and my 4/4 side by side and you could see the difference. TBH, unless you know what they look like, it's not obvious...
Come to Castle Combe - I'm sure we can find a selection to give you an idea of the differences.

Home servicing should not be a problem BTW, particularly if he has a folder of receipts for all items purchased...

If you know the chassis number the factory can tell you if the chassis is galvanised. My 97 +4 is.

Thanks for that Graham - I didn't know that either.

Could you explain what shortening the bulkhead actually means? I can't visualise it.

I must say I'm confused as well! I know that the dashboard on the later 2000 cars is set further in under the scuttle which certainly prevents demisters being fitted. Looking at photos of earlier cars and comparing to the current ones, the top of the scuttle looks much the same dimension wise. Or is it down to the bulkhead behind the dash being altered?

Looking at short door cars and long doors, the former have their front door edge closer to the front edge of the bulkhead i.e.. where the rear bonnet edge is and the bodywork behind the trailing edge of the door is longer.