Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) What do I 'need' for my Plus 8?

The car is going into Wykehams on Monday to investigate a clonk from an engine mount or suspension. Hopefully nothing major!

Whilst in there, I am having the following fitted...

Uprated vented front discs
Panhard rod
Anti-tramp bars
Twin exit exhaust
Stainless manifolds
Sports catalyst

What else do I 'need'? Looking under the car this morning, I have red shock absorbers maked with the MMC logo and 'Classic', what type are these? Anything better out there at decent money that will give me a better ride around the streets of London and on the open road? Dampers and srpings I am happy to pay out for but not a complete suspesion system at this time!

All options considered. Want the car to be a little quicker, a little louder and stop and turn that little bit better...

TIA

Marcos, if you will 'only' fund dampers and springs then the SUPLEX 'Front Suspension Refinement System' will suit you well, as it contains, guess: dampers and springs.
https://sites.google.com/site/morganatica/suspension/springs-progressive-rising-rate gives some info.

Dampers with 'MMC and Classic' in red are likely to be Konis, I guess these are not adjustable? Are they doing what they should do in bump & rebound? There are many options depending what your priorities are; probably best to go for some adjustables then set them to what you want; AVOs, SPAX, GAZ can all give good results.

Beware of some anti-tramp systems as they will significantly stiffen the rear suspension and worsen ride but fix tramping/windup. What are your priorities?

Panhard rod - good, no affect on ride comfort.

Just a few thoughts there ~ PJB.

You might also add the front Brake Reaction Bars.....not at all expensive and stiffen up the front under hard braking....to take advantage of your new vented discs! You uprating the calipers as well?

I have done what you propose minus the Anti-tramp bars, as PJB says will make it very stiff and harsh ride. Not really needed unless you are going racing or spinning rear wheels all the time at lights.

I have fitted 180lb top springs with Ball Bearing race between springs and stub axle, and lost the retraction plates, also Brake Reaction Bars, and AVO adjustable shocks all round, all from Mulfab. I got the geometry of the car measured at Protyre, and then Mulfab supplied predrilled neg camber plated for 0.75 neg camber. Speak to Peter Mulberry about what has to be done when fitting these.

When I fitted mine the new discs came with a kit to split the Girlings and fit a spacer plate so you can use with the vented discs. I would try this out first, as I find I can lock up the front and it is easy to over brake a Morgan.

Front springs are 1 inch shorter than standard lowering the car, but bear in mind, this puts the sump only 4 inches from the ground, so speed bumps need to be taken with car. I also fitted Stainless braided hoses all round which is worth doing while your at it. I also fitted the rear blocks to centre the rear axle in the arch (mainly cosmetic), it lowers the rear by about 3/4 inch but one benefit is that the axle clamp u bolts that you use from Mulfab are much stronger and also help to stop axle moving.

I am thinking about the Suplex springs but as the article in this months Miscellany from the chap who has fitted it to his +8, recommends that you try it first in a car with them, he obviously thinks it will not suit everyone depending on what you want. From my understanding it will give a better comfort ride, as the bumps will be absorbed easier.

So how do I find my car, it handles very well, steering is light, a bit go-kart feel, turn in is good, rear end very solid, braking much improved. Hardly any knodding donkey up front and I suspect if I had AVO's harder this would disappear altogether. I have my AVO's set at 1/3 roughly this gives reasonable comfort, go to 2/3 and it becomes pretty stiff, I have not had much chance to play around with it though.

Hope this helps.

Adrian, good stuff there but 180 lb/inch mains - no wonder you still get a bit of nose bobbing up and down! Often with even more damping the nose then bobs up and down on the tyres - gosh 180 lb/inch is race stiffness spec.
SUPLEX system starts at around 105 lb/inch (as first Roadsters were) for good ride comfort but then increases quickly in bump to +180 lb/inch on cornering for high roll stiffness.
It is true if one wants a rock hard car for trackdays, "a bit go-kart feel" then yes 180 lb/inch mains will give that - so as Alan says in 'Miscellany', try one first to assess the improvement in ride comfort and roll control. There are lots of cars out there now so fitted of all ages and weights, including of course cars at dealers too.
Horses for courses, pays yer money and takes yer choice! PJB

Sorry my mistake they are 140lbs springs, I checked on what I ordered and I remember Peter saying 180 would be too stiff. I would say from experience of many Marques of sports cars and doing track days and sprints the setup I have is about as good a compromise I can get on a +8. Having said that I have not driven a Suplex'd +8, so that would be interesting. Although I suspect I might not prefer it as I like a stiffer feel and don't find the feedback on rough roads too disturbing. I do think lowering the ride height also helps makes everything more stable, in conjunction with the other changes.

A Morgan is a tricky beast to tame!

On a side note, someone did tell me that for a short period in the 90's MMC fitted 120lbs springs to +8's due to supply shortage of 140's not sure if this is true or not. Anyway my 96 may have fitted into that build slot so I threw my springs away, I was going for shorter springs anyway because of the bearings.

I do not want to stiffen the car up, I would rather a smooth flowing ride that we can both enjoy - PJB I was hoping you would reply, have Wykehams fitted that kit before and if not, how can I/they gain access to it?

Duly noted with regard to the Anti-tramp bars, I don't want a track day car, just a nice road cruiser / tourer. I'll knock them on the head unless they will help with general ride quality which is what I am looking for.

Duly noted with brake reaction bars. Easy to source? I am just intending to fit a vented disc rather than replacing the calipers as the brakes are not that bad; I'd just like a little bit more brake force and hopefully some feel as they are rather digital (on/off) at the moment. Has anyone ftted a rear disc system or is that overkill for a road car?

Axle blocks and Mulfab U-Bolts to hold the suspension - I will enquire!

Currently the car often feels as if it has no suspension in places on the South Circular - sadly that is where I live and it's not going away, but I can't keep crashing through dips, drain covers and potholes, the car will fall apart!

Marcos, try Mulfab for the brake reaction bars.....look under Cross head steady bars... £38 a pair and easy to fit.

Thanks Mike, I will speak to Bill at Wykemans on Tuesday and pass on the thoughts from here - no doubt he will have heard of the Suplex system and can get me what I need.

I have earned to trust the info I get on forums such as this one so it's a goer!

Just to confirm, is the Suplex system only for the front end?

OK, so the car goes in Monday for the following work;

SUPLEX progressive springs and dampers for the front
New matching dampers for the rear
New pair of rear drums (poor side-to-side bias)
New brake pads at front, softer compound (if discs and calipers are OK)

Bill Wykeham says for a road car, the Panhard rod, anti-tramp bars, vented discs, brake reaction bars were perhaps overkill. I reserve the right to change my mind of course and Bill is going to give the car a good drive and see if he thinks it would benefot from any of this.

What we are also going for is;

Engine management chip and advancement of timing
Full set of stainless sport manifolds
Possible sports cats depending on the state of mine
Twin stainless exhaust system

There is already an ITG air filter. Should make the car much nippier and a bit more exciting to drive, we'll look at the handling mods afterwards if I want to tighten it all up.

It's pretty nippy now as standard so a little bit more through the rev range and slightly more willing top end is always nice to have when needed.