Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Duratec engines/Zetec engines

Talk of the current narrow-bodied Plus-4 and the 75th Anniversary 4/4 (a 4/4 with a Plus-4 engine) reminds me of the so-called "wide-bodied" 4/4 of the 80's and 90's which was a 4/4 with Plus-4 wings, wheels and tyres or a Plus-4 with a 4/4 engine !

Morgan called it the 4/4 "Lowline".

I don't know for sure but if the low line was a 4/4 with plus 4 wings and wheels I would have thought it would have been the narrower 4/4 chassis as the wider plus 8 chassis was used on the plus 4 and plus 8 in the 90s and it wasn't until around 2004/5 that the same chassis, and therefore tub width was used. I have one of the last narrow bodied 4/4s and it's definitely cosier than a plus 4 of the same vintage.

If I remember, I'll take my tape measure to Thornfalcon tomorrow and measure a few cars. (AJSki2fly's 3.7 Roadster, Aldermogs +4, Burgundymogs +4 and my 2003 4/4)

A variation on louvre counting???

Next there will be a competition over door lengths and screen heights.... yep - variations there as well - not all along the 4 seater 2 seater rule.

You know Andrew I think you are probably right there, my getting older memory had forgotten that back in those days there were different chassis for different models. I had one of the (re-introduced) Plus-4's with the Rover M16 engine back in 1989 which I seem to recall was on the 4/4 (narrower) chassis. I thought it was when the M16 engine was replaced by the T16 that the Plus-4 went over to the wider Plus-8 chassis.

But I may be wrong !

Perhaps the 4/4 Lowline of the 80's and 90's would be better described as a 4/4 with the wider Plus-4 wheels (did they not call them "Cobra" wheels back then) together with wings wide enough to cover them.

Hello, couple of things

My 4/4 4 seater of the type 1998 - 2005 type has the widest across the car inside dimensions on these the driver and passenger do not rub shoulders even though we (boss) and self are not narrow bodied people.

Meanwhile does anyone know if I can fit an ST170 Focus engine in my 4/4, 4 seater in lieu of the Ford Zetec silvertop 1800 thingy under the bonnet which sometimes decides to produce a few bhp (but not many)

Not looking for more speed but some more torque to make the car driveable. the silvertop has the exhaust to the nearside of the car.

Anything is possible, but the Duratec engine has the exhaust on the other side of the car, so it wouldn't be a straightforward swop, I think you'd need to cut the chassis on the other side for the exhaust to pass through, and of course the electrics and engine management system would be all very different.

Chris, re your ST170 swap, dont worry - the exhaust is on the correct side for your car.

Yes you can fit the ST170 in there, but you will need third-party engine management to make it work. So do not imagine that it is quite as simple as a mechanical swap. Budget £1500 for the ECU and mapping (others may say less, my view is based on experience).

One alternative is to think about a supercharger! And (unashamed plug coming up here) I shall be listing one in an appropriate thread on TM before too long....

cheers, Colin