Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms The pros and cons of sliding pillar suspension.

Peter, I do believe that you have hit the nail, or rather the kingpin, on the head!

+1

You get my vote Peter, that's exactly why I bought a Trad.

don't tempt me, Formula Fords not for me, however some years ago I did 10 laps around Thruxton in a Sports 2000, basically very similar to a Lola type car for those that don't know, driven by a 2l Pinto mid enginged with straight cut sequential gear box hung out the rear, chassis very light strong alloy tubular with fuly adjustable suspension. Admittedly it was Rev limited to 5500 revs but was told down the rear straight should reach 125mph. What a gas it was, once the wide slicks got hot and brakes were warmed up a dream drive, the cornering was better than anything I have driven since. I was tempted several times but seemed to remind me of other commitments and stuff, so it never happened. I could be tempted now but at 20k for a reasonable one and probably £500-700 per race entry including costs a season could be quite expensive, without failures, repairs or tuning. I doubt I would be very competitive, I realise age and reactions are against me now. But you never know, I might be tempted?

Sprinting a FF1600 is actually not too expensive. Car circa £6k, minimal bodywork so no lights, wings and doors to damage, simple electrics and hours of fun setting up! I remember being off by half a second at Aintree. Bechers is flat in fourth I'm told; I was dropping into third. OK, if its flat in fourth, flat in fourth is what it's got to be. I worked myself up to it, frightened myself silly and did it. After that flat in fourth was OK and no longer fearful and I was less than a tenth off the pace. Very different from Morgans; great fun but different.

Peter, as you would probably guess I don't really agree. By the time Morgan released the "modern" shape (1953?) Other sports car manufacturers were already using more advanced chassis and suspension designs, take, for example, MG and Triumph. Essentially there has been very litle change since then, dampers and rack and pinion steering being the main developments.

The SP1 represents a very interesting developement that could very well find a variation in chassis and suspension design creeping into production. Now all they have to do is adopt something improved for the front end. There is no reason why a modified version of today's chassis, with the extra stiffening similar to the SP1, could not be fitted with today's bodywork. Externally it could look exactly the same.

The thing that the discussion about the trad chassis and suspension always overlooks is that it is a sports car. As such it should have exciting performance and be able to outcorner the family sedan. Oh! It should also stick to the road in bumpy corners, not only on a perfect racetrack.

I, for one, did not buy a Morgan because I really wanted a vintage car(been there, done that, got the t'shirt). Quite to the contrary, I bought the Morgan because I like the classic sports car look with mordern mechanicals.

So speaks the future Vice Chair of MSCC.......you'll fit the seat!

Can you really say that the Trad is a sports car? I fully understand and agree with what Aldermog says is the attraction of the trad. But as a performance machine it simply isnt there any longer, except possibly on a billiard smooth but low speed circuit when grip is more about tyres than suspension and aerodynamics doesnt come into it.

Do you really thing a trad could hold its own cross country ( somewhere free of cops, cameras and traffic) against a similarly priced Boxter? No way IMO.

No, the attraction of a Morgan trad is more about style and ethos. A sort of sanitised and useable vintage car. From that perspective, its great.

Oh dear! Now you have raised the question, just what is it that defines a car as a sports car?

By my definition it needs to be small, lightweight, agile, have fast acceleration, and be fun to drive. It does not have to be the fastest car on the road.

If you can race it Sunday and drive it Monday all the better. Please don't tell me that the bog standard Plus 4 (well he did fit race tyres) of MarioCP, who took 2nd place in his class at the Caramulo hill climb does not qualify as a sports car. Sure a Boxter might be able to do a faster time but to my mind that does not make it any more a sports car than the Morgan.

I'm sure you would not argue that a Caterham is not a sports car yet it is also a modern classic. I just happen to believe that some improved suspension would make the Morgan much better to fulfill its role a a modern classic sports car that can be used with enjoyment for everthing from racing to touring.

I totally agree Peter. It's not always about outright speed or ultimate cornering ability....it's about the feel of the car and what it gives the driver.
Sadly Howard doesn't really get Morgans and I wonder why he lurks on this forum.....perhaps it's down to our charm. He is a GS man and an Elise man though so he ticks my boxes.