Talk Morgan Forums Community Welcome Forum Greetings from Southern California

After nearly 30 years of wanting a Morgan, I bought a 1998 Plus 8 last weekend. Since then I have put nearly 300 miles on it, mostly driving along the Pacific Coast Highway. It is hard to explain to non-Morganeers (Morganistas?), but what an awesome car! I wish I had bought one earlier.

That said, being new to the Morgan world please forgive these dumb questions from a Morgan neophyte:

1. Is there a consensus on how to best maintain the sliding pillar front suspension? The manual says to use the one-shot oiler every 200-300 miles but the various other sources say to ignore the oiler and grease the front suspension every 1500 miles. Is there a good source on how to actually grease the front suspension?

2. My chassis appears to have been sprayed with an undercoating and I have not been able to locate the chassis number. I have looked under the car roughly where the passenger seat is bolted but I did not see it there. Where else should I look?

3. Anything other advice you can give to a new owner?

Many thanks and best regards from SoCal,

John

welcome john,and well done on your +8 what a great place to enjoy driving your morgan.Im no expert but as i understand it the grease nipples lubricate the ball joints,the one shot will do the sliding pillar.I would think grease on the pillar would attract lots of dust and road grime ?

Gareth

welcome!! as to the grease i have no idea but if i remember correctly, or if its like the aero, you might find the chassis number under the bonnet somewhere near the end of the footwell or around the fusebox.
hope this helps and hope you have many happy miles!

Welcome John

30 years... same waiting time, same feelings here

You may find the serial number on the chassis traverse (do you say so?) portion which is visible in the cabin, in front of the passenger's seat (for a LHD). That's where my Roadster's number is punched in. Usually the traverse is "naked" but there may be an after market cover, which has to be removed first.

The one-shot oiler apparently, is not so good. (Very interesting and helpful info here) The latest models don't have them anymore. They require greasing at a 1000 miles interval.

Good luck with your new toy

Sunny greetings from rainy Luxemburg,
Ivo

...oh... I forgot... PICTURES PLEASE

Welcome.

Many happy miles motoring in your new Morgan!

Greetings from Ireland -- I don't hope you'll enjoy your Mog ---I know it!!
Welcome to the forum!

Cheers!

Welcome! Would you like some of our spare rain to make the car feel at home?

John,
Another welcome to add to the many you will already have received and the ones you're sure to get in the future.

The perceived problem with the one- shot oilers was that over enthusiastic use could result in oil getting into places where it really shouldn't have ( such as the clutch plate)

This 'greasing' really is important if the kingpins are to have a decent life span and, as a few people have said, every thousand miles isn't a bad idea.

You will also find references to related issues such as the fitting of 'hard' ie chrome moly steel, kingpins, gaiters ( see Dave W's thread on this) and the importance of making sure that if new KPs are fitted the reaming should be a snug, accurate fit

All in all then, as you can see, this whole kingpin thing is a central feature of Morgan ownership. Still, HFS's 'sliding pillar' system has lasted a hundred years so it must be doing something right (Even if it isn't the 'pillar' which actually slides at all!)

One small piece of advice which was given to me when I started was to get myself a good grease gun which isn't too big and which has a neck/nozzle which allows you to get at the grease nipples. If you jack the front of the car up and take a look at where the nipples are situated, you'll see what I mean. Something angled or flexible is a help. It is also possible to get angled grease nipples.

I use an Abnox- Wanner gun which is ideal but I don't know if these retail in the States

Regards

A warm welcome John.

The others have already done a great job of answering your other questions, so I'll just add something on your third question.

The best advice would be prepare yourself to be inundated with questions every time you stop! Gas stations being a prime example. Filling up a normal car takes under 5-minutes, in a Morgan you'll often feel like you're being interviewed for a new job (or at least the Morgan is and you're just the interpretor ). I've had times where I've spent 15-minutes chatting to interested drivers/pedestrians before I can even get to the filler cap.

These cars create passionate interest in most people and owners can't help but get swept away in this enthusiasm.

Again, congratulations on your new Morgan; I hope you have many happy miles behind the wheel.