Talk Morgan Forums Community General Photo Gallery Under the rain. Expectations vs reality

Not too much to be added.

No doubt I'll get shot at but I don't give a ? What MMC spend on racing , Gumball or whatever is a total waste of money in my eyes. As someone who can afford an Aero I'm not prepared to part with plus £80k for a car that leaks when it rains and the paint blisters within a few years. If no other manufacturer had managed to make a soft top or targa that didn't leak then I'd be more accepting.

Unfortunately my glasses are not rose tinted, I've no interest in visiting "the factory" or my "not so local dealer" to keep getting things fixed that should not need fixing , or being told that "it's all part of the joy of owing a Morgan"

So MMC I'm one of your potential customers who will not part with their hard earned cash until you produce a premium product that doesn't leak and doesn't need constant factory / dealer visits to "fettle" the car for the next owner.

I should also say I don't need permission to spend a LOT of money on a new Morgan from SHMBO because she cleared off several years ago so can now make that decision on my own, and would happily part with the cash for a leak proof Morgan.

Thanks again! Yesterday I dropped him a PM as well.

Ah yes – the much vexed question about leakage! I can say, hand on heart, that the Max is not exempt from these foibles!

To cite the only example I came across, water ingress came from the triangular rear windows when I was washing the Max shortly after I had taken delivery of it. As I played the garden hose on the roof, the rear windows suddenly popped open, preceded by the whirring sound of the electronic catches!

Needless to say, water had dribbled into the catches, shorting them out, and resulting in the windows suddenly opening! Luckily, the rear parcel shelf is leather-clad which made mopping out a little easier. Can you imagine if it was an absorbent material such as fabric (as used for seat covers)?

I found out later that the rubber window seals on both triangular windows were just a pre-cut length and not shaped. And where the ends of the seals didn’t quite meet each other, water leaked through that gap and found their way to the electronic catches! The (obvious) solution is to have a shaped seal and water ingress will stop. Common sense or what?? (BTW, I started a thread some time ago about this problem....)

As for the general question of leakage, I saw on TV recently an episode of Mega Factories in which the Chevrolet Camaro was built. At the end of the production line, the factory had a tunnel with high-pressure water jets through which each Camaro was driven. The jets simulated hard driving rain like in a thunderstorm as well as the rigours of a car wash; and as each new vehicle is subjected to this test, an operator inside the car checks for water ingress and so on.

This I thought was a very sensible idea.

One may comment that it would be expensive (high water bills and a waste of water) – sure it is with mass-produced vehicles. But as MMC only turns out about 12 cars a week on average, it could be looked upon as a worthwhile investment. If that was the case, there wouldn’t be any complaints about water ingress.

A simple hose pipe test would find most leaks on a Morgan.

That's how I found mine...

First of all, thanks for all the suggestions.
I think I found a part of the rubber seal that probably is not in the right place.

Regarding Morgan quality standards, no comment.
Unfortunately/luckily I am (still) in love with this car. If/when love will end I will go back and buy another boring, safe, trustful, fast, comfortable, mass produced, high quality standard 911.

That's the delights of Morgan ownership, my friend! Niggling and irritating it may be with these foibles, but you can't help loving it...

Having said that, check out those few small details I was talking about and see what you think. If you have a solution, I would love to hear from you.

Ciao!

For sure I will. I just need to wait for a sunny day during the WE to follow up properly.
My plan, for now, is the following:
1. proper visual inspection
2. silicon grease test
3. temporary fix (I think that part of the seal is not in the right place)
4. water hose test

I would question whether there will be the same motivation to do the Gumball or Le Mans 24 Hours in the future, so this perhaps a slightly unfair comment. Personally, I have never seen the value in either and, in the case of the Gumball, I felt it was actually counter productive.

As for MMC getting the seals right - absolutely agree and having seen the bill for the seals pack for the Aero SS, large sums of money were spent in attempting to do so. Water ingress is one of those things that can be a bugger to cure because it always seems to find a way, not matter how much you try to cure it.

Ale, let us know how you get on!

As an aside, has anyone else been following the Porsche 991 GT3 debacle? Porsche have had to recall all of the sold £110,000+ GT3s due to a fault with the engine that has caused at least 2 cars to burn to the ground. The solution? Recall the car and replace the engine! I say this not in defence of Morgan but to illustrate that even HUGE manufacturers, with VAST budgets, can make massive mistakes.

Promised! Hopefully it will be an easy fix.


Yes, they are already picking them up in Italy and Switzerland (with a truck) and delivering to owners -in the meantime- brand new 9914S as courtesy car.