Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Garage 56

Probably twisted over nothing. Your car and maybe all of them, I expect will have the backing plates fitted as standard from the factory. I cannot remember this being a problem before. You will have to check, just undo the two Allen screws at the forward end of the sidewall panel and pull it back a bit and have a look. Mattys car had a new body fitted by a dealer after an accident. Just guessing but the dealer may not have been aware of the need to fit backing plates and missed them out. Easily done as Morgan are not very good at supplying instructions, information, diagrams or manuals for anything routine let alone out of the ordinary such a body change.

Thanks - I will take a look but feeling better and blood pressure now just high rather than stratospheric!

I notice that those backing "plates" are very, very thin and do not have rounded corners. I guess when they are so thin, there is no worry about the corners producing stress with such a large patch compared to the thickness. But with that, it seems the size of the plate (i.e. thin sheet) is not actually the size of stress relieve you get. It looks you could bend it easily with a finger by pulling at a corner if it was not glued on (as I suspect it is).

I had to have the frame replaced on my July of 2013 M3W. While the body was off and stripped of hardware, I did observe that the the exhaust support brackets had a square aluminum plate installed under each one. Since Morgan shipped the frame missing some needed parts, it makes sense that they probably shipped the body minus the plates and did not include instructions to move them to the new body.
My only problem with that theory is that when you are dissembling the old body, the plates are pretty hard to miss......

Well it's typical of the slapdash engineering at Morgan that nothing would be de- burred or a radius applied to the edge as I have done. I am not suggesting that they have to use radius gauges etc: a simple few passes of the file would at least take the sharp edges off for the sheet.
This lack of attention to detail and basic engineering practice is much in evidence throughought the 3W.
Any craftsman feels a pang of guilt when something is just not right. Whether it's a slightly rough edge or a scuff on a piece of wiring: you go back and do it again.

Morgan must take a hard look at themselves and their training of there so called craftsman. Quality does not always have to,cost huge amounts of money, or maybe it does!!!!
Interestingly I wonder how many of us are time served ex apprentices. Come on speak up.

I looked up an article on aircraft sheet metal working when making my repair. I wanted to know what thickness of sheet is appropriate as a baking piece. It should be the same as the sheet being repaired. I have to say I'm not convinced by the foil like material Morgan are using.

I'm still a fan despite yet another setback. However I am just resigned to getting the old girl up to scratch by our own endeavours.

I'm not. But even I can see the problems with the "solution" from Morgan.

I served a 5 year engineering apprenticeship in the 1960's and came out as a fitter/turner before going into elctro-mechanical product development engineering.
Whilst I get a lot of pleasure from driving/owning the M3W and I think it is only wehicle I have ever owned that has "soul", I am constantly amazed how it can be such a collection of engineering disasters.
a) Incorrectly designed front suspension (which Morgan claim was intentional).
b) No mudguard over the rear wheel (so that everything in the back gets covered in muck).
c) Rear wheel virtually impossible to remove at the roadside (so in the event of a rear wheel puncture the only solution is a rescue truck to take you to the nearest workshop capable of doing the job).
d) Rear pulley in aluminium - albeit hard anodised. (given the fact that there is no enclosure for the belt and the abrasive action of the road dirt destroys the pulley very quickly).
e) Bevel boxes that have been value analysed down to a price such that they are barely up to the job.
f) Body panels cracking due to no support for the weight of the exhaust system provided by the chassis.

Despite all the above and many other faults we still LOVE them.

You forgot:
g) Cracking frames
h) Engine overheating so much it needed a blower system installed
i) Bolts so prominent that they destroyed the leather in the cockpit


I most likely forgot even more.

(j) Poorly fitting rear bulkhead allowing as much to enter from the rear..

That reminds me:
k) No seatbelt cover at the rear, muddying the webbing and mechanism

L) wheel rims not manufactured with enough "outset" (I believe it's called), so the attachment/discs are not inside the rim, but rather next to it.