Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) 2005 Runabout compared to 4/4

What a great thread to read.

Looks beautiful, hope you enjoy it. Those Yorkshire Moors must be one of the best places to enjoy a Morgan.

Well done

BtG

North Pennines - Cumbria and County Durham even better for driving although probably not quite so good scenically.

The moors roads are great for a day out - but I will certainly be enjoying the Dales, Cumbria, Co Durham and Northumbria as well!

In the meantime, I've ordered Round convex mirrors (Librands) and Clear indicator lenses - see http://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=9956&page=0#Post9956

Also now I'm trying to get some spare keys cut and coded, as I only received one and it seemed the previous owner only had one too. I found I can get the blanks from Morgan (via a dealer only), and a specialist key coder near me will recode them for me. FWIW the keys contain a Texas 4D / 60-03 transponder chip for the Ford ECU/Immobiliser, but the key itself is a unique key design to Morgan, based on a LandRover Freelander blank (which isn't normally a transponder key)! Hopefully this will get around the missing master key issue. I'll let you know how this goes.

Nigel

Youre all just trying to make us feel bad here in the over-populated South



BtG

Venture north you won't be disappointed.

Farnham - what about those nice roads over the South Downs, or around the Test, or the New Forest? Lots of lovely villages and pubs - just right for weekend spins. Or am I living in the past?

Nigel

Nice weather today so had a blast over Snilesworth and Bilsdale, my local B roads. My wife drove part of the way and ... liked it!

Back home, fixed the clear front indicator lenses from SVC, easy, looks great. Following instructions I had from MMC over the phone, I found the loom for the cigar lighter and reconnected it - success.

Then I decided to have a good "go" at the hood (new style). The previous owners had obviously found things difficult as the finish at the top of the A pillars was a little marred. I couldn't get the front rail to sit down tightly on the w/screen surround. On closer inspection the U-channel seal had come away on the front edges and been folded over in their attempts to fit it - unsurprisingly this made it difficult, as they had been trying to compress a double layer of rubber, for a couple of inches at each side.

So I warmed the rubber to soften it and get it back to its original shape, reglued it in the correct place with contact adhesive, and carefully eased the rail with the seal in the correct position over the screen. It was immediately possible to seat it correctly, and as a result the overcentre clips now had 6mm unnecessary clearance! So I adjusted them up to a snug fit, and I'm leaving the whole thing in place overnight to "set".

At the sides, there is now metal to metal contact between the ends of the hood rail and the top of the A pillars. It looks to me as if the whole thing will be as watertight as the design allows, and there isn't really any room for any extra bits of rubber as others have suggested. Of course now I'll need to go out in the rain to test it...

Nigel

Thanks for that - now I'm getting more used to the car, was finding the stock lever somewhat 'waggly' - have added that to the 'pending' list.

Just a little update, in case anyone's still interested.

Librands round mirrors fitted (convex glass) - much better but a fiddle to fit as they are slightly oversize compared to the original and required a slot cutting in the grey plastic ferrule.

Clear front indicators fitted (SVC about £20), and dateless registration finally transferred.

With a bit of slightly more spirited driving to counteract the first 2.5 years of relative inactivity, the 1.8 Zetec is now loosening up nicely and proving great fun to drive on the local A and B roads. I'm getting used to the steering and handling which are quite different to anything I've driven before, it's very agile on twisty roads (though heavy steering in low speed manoeuvres). And I've still not had to put the hood up!

At last I now have three keys. It was handed over with just one and the others have not been found. I had to order 2 new keys from MMC via the dealer (key part no MDE1986, transponder chip part no MDE1987) and have the keys cut by a local specialist who also recoded the ECU and keys at a reasonable cost of £50. Finding the diagnostic port was the hardest part - well hidden up under the glovebox FWIW. The dealer is going to reimburse the cost. So it is not correct that a lost master key requires a new ECU. If anyone else finds themself in this situation, I now know what needs to be done and have kept details. It is a Ford ECU/immobiiser system, yet the key itself is a Freelander key - adapted to take a Texas 4D transponder - and is unique to MMC (surprise surprise) so you can't just order one from an aftermarket supplier.

Previous clutch feet have nearly worn through the trans tunnel cover - subject of another thread. My car has leather seats but all the rest appears to be vinyl. Strange.

Morning Nigel,

Sounds like you're enjoying the car, which is great!

The above info is very interesting as you won't be the first person, or the last, who needs to replace 1 (or more) keys. The cost you've mentioned are very reasonable when you compare what BMW charged when I had to change all locks on a new model car!