Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Plus Eights

On my list of (next car to carry me through the next ten years) is a Plus Eight. I keep coming back to this because I keep coming up against problems of changing engines here in France. If anyone would care to find the time to expound on their experiences of current ownership, and the rest of you won't find it boring, I would like to hear. Because I do a lot of my own work and because this is still very rural France, I tend to lean towards simple, perhaps late eighties cars but my mind is open.

I bought a new +8 in 2002, it was a 4.0ltr GEMS car and I had nothing but trouble with it. I used to repair cars for a living before moving on to teaching others how to do it and so not averse to getting stuck in but this thing was just so troublesome. It was never anything major, just those annoying niggles that meant you never really knew if it would start (or even turn over) or not, I lost track of the number of times I would be stranded at petrol pumps when filling up with a dead car. The problem was with the immobiliser and ECU interface, random code recognition. To start the car I ended up carrying a Laptop, a Rovacom Lite and the associated loaded software and had to boot up the laptop, plug into the OBD and reset the system, it would then fire first flick of the key. If your not bothered about spending £1,000 on the Rovacom and software package (cheaper version are available but without the in depth functionality and live data monitoring) then they are a fine car, stupid thing is a fellow owner had one, identical to mine, and had no problem at all. Another was worse than mine, my car went back to MMC 5 or 6 times and they had no idea but acknowledged the fault. The dealer gave up and in 2007 I gave up and sold the thing. If you can find one an earlier carbs and distributor model is one to consider for sure. Sorry if that comes across as negative but the later cars are less reliable and lower power than the earlier ones, don't sound as good either however they have better steering and brakes and a longer door body is nice.

Or even aim for a hotwire fi model. Much simpler than the GEMS.
Pre-93 no catalysts (well, they were optional for a while).
I like the old carb V8, knew it well from Land/Range Rover...

So when I start to think about an 89/90 car I would be on the right track:and I could probably find a rebuilt car to start me off before I start fiddling too. Thanks.

My +8 is 1979 I have had it for 14 years with very little trouble. It has NO fancy electronics, changed the electronic distributor for a mallory twin point 12 years ago to cure a chronic misfire. Since then the the car has run faultless, and starts every time even after standing idle for a month or so.PS still on its original twin su carbs.

Hi

I am also a +8 owner , mine is a 1999 Hotwire injection car, but I don't deny that each change of spec brought both good and bad things.

Firstly as Graham and Colin have pointed out the pre-cat cars are good, because you don't have to worry about the cats deteriorating, and the engine note is so much nicer without them in the exhaust system. It is perhaps worthwhile going for a 3.9 litre car as it has more useable torque than the 3.5 (not sure when this change happened.

Also again as both C & G have said, the carburettor and distributor models are pretty bombproof. I think these went from 1977 (first of the 5 speeders) to 1985(?) However the downside is the fuel consumption can be very heavy , especially if you want to use the torque and apply the right pedal a lot.

Then comes the first injection models with "Flapper" Bosch Hitachi system. These are quite good but it is an analogue system and not as "tuneable" as the later digital systems. I think these went from 1985 to 1989(?)

After this comes the "Hotwire" injection system cars and these lasted until 2002 when the much more complex (and troublesome?) Lucas Sagem "GEMS" system took over. Hotwire is most enthusiasts "preferred" system , it is tuneable with by "chipping" the ecu and gives reasonable fuel consumption. Some of the parts like Air Mass Sensor are getting quite rare now , but all can be found as there is a large aftermarket for the Rover V8 cars in Range Rovers/Discos etc.

Catalysts were introduced around 1992/3 (but as ever with MMC the crossover point is very blurred) but the benefit of this is a feedback loop to the ecu which can give better fuel consumption.

Some time in the 1990s the supply of Rover LT77 gearboxes dried up and MMC started fitting the Rover R380 , this is a much stronger box and will take the torque of a much modified 4.6 litre engine easily. Also at a similar time the supply of Salisbury axles became an issue and the Dana Spicer Australian axle from the Holden Monaro was used. Again this is a very useful upgrade (albeit with a weight penalty) as it is almost bombproof being designed to take a 500+ bhp Monaro

The next substantial change was the long door cars in 1998 (?) , the extra width of the door is useful to make ingress and agrees easier, but it is the other changes that accompanied this which are perhaps more important. The bulkhead and inner wing valences are now fabricated from stainless steel, which again makes them almost bombproof.

In 2002 the changeover happened to GEMS system and all cars are now labelled as 4.0 litres (the 4.6 was dropped) , and eventually there was a "special edition" run of 35th Anniversary cars , with a few extras thrown. This took them up to the cessation of production in 2004/5 (?)

I appreciate that this is not a truly comprehensive survey , as I have even touched on items like the introduction of Rack and Pinion steering, or the 4.6 litre engine (not generally liked by enthusiasts as it is set up for large Range Rovers and not light sports cars, and the extra torque can make the handling tricky at the limit without work on the rear suspension) , but I hope it gives you some ideas about the key changes.

Thanks again

meabh, just saw your request for what I like about my Plus8.
The V8 makes her a nice drive with a good mix of power/torque. This makes a great cruiser with the ability to " make good progress" with ease.
More comfortable in that the cabin feels bigger.
She is a 2002 4l with Gems system and cats. Reaction bars, Panhard rod, Mulfab front springs,Koni's shocks.
Investigation shows Koni's set to medium when fitted a few years ago by previous owner, I am considering replacing with adjustable AVOs though.
I have had the engine light come on but only for minor issues.....
random intermittent misfire ...now seems cured
Emissions fault.....seems to occur if I am too aggressive before she fully warms up. Looking at her MOT history she has always tested near the top end of the Lambda range, in her last MOT in November my MOT man ran a second test as she failed the first.
I did once have a fault code for an evaporative system fault. The only one of that kind.
These faults have occurred over 14k miles in just over 2 years.
I am not put off by them at all as they have only occurred a couple of times and either cleared themselves or my fault code reader did it.
I have had less issues with the Plus8 than with my previous car - a 1993 4/4. None of which were major anyway, just typical for a Morgan of that age, .....perished rubber boots, new ignition leads, bad earth in starting system, earth issues with indicators etc., general lack of use things.
For Plus8 I am currently waiting for a new rear foglight control unit, front wing bracket, via Melvyn ( and factory for foglight unit!).
Williams fitted a LibrandsRollbar for me in late 2013, a couple of us decided to fit them after a couple of diesel on road moments/ seeing cars on roof after accidents etc., the Rollbar has also stiffened up the car a bit, she doesn't flex as much , noticeable when coming off my drive at low speed onto a cambered road.
I nearly changed her for an Aero at oneoint but put her foot down!
As time goes by the Plus8 grows on me more. No regrets at all.

Like every Morgan owner you will hear from, I think that mine is ideal!

It's a 1987 +8 so has the flapper (analogue) EFI, maybe not as tuneable as the later cars but a multimeter will enable most things to be diagnosed. Having said that I've never had any reliability problems over about 5 years and lots of miles including several drives to Europe.

It's fairly economical, performs well enough for me although the one criticism is that 1987 was in the short period when +8s had a single exhaust. Thought of swopping over to twin exhausts but have decided to leave it as it is. Still I've got two fuel fillers!

Just been out in it for the first time since November, started easily, ran well, big smile.....

Sospan and Malcolm, Thankyou.