Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Brand new 4/4 - or a used one from 2009/2010?

I drive a 2011 4/4. For me one of the few downsides is the Ford-gearbox. I would very much prefer the one from Mazda. The dashboard design has changed since 2011. I prefer the old version.
All up to personal taste...

With the price increase i would go for a used one.On a used one

the small problems wich arise on a new one are fixed.For

exemple on my new 4/4 sport from 2011 the windscreen has been broken

when the car was stored in the garage. It was replaced under waranty .

Then the stater was broken also relaced on waranty.The car is

now for sale on mobile.de (color sport sand). No problem at all since 3 years.The king pins needs to be changed in 4000 km

I understood that 2011 4/4 had the 5 speed Mazda box, pretty sure mine does?

Mine has the Ford box. But all Mogs are different

i dont think i have the mazda box because in 5th at 3000 tr/min the mazda box is at a lower speed .But the car is still very fun
with the sport exhaust

Hannes, are you sure about the change of the dashboard design at this point of time redarding a 4/4? I thought the 4/4 is the only trad type which kept her original dashboard since the introduction of the Sports model Sigma engined around 2008.

Welcome to the Forum, Kay.

After driving some bigger Mogs I bought a 4/4 Demo in Oktober 2014 with 7000 km on the clock and I feel very happy with her. As everyone I also knew that from 2015 on GBP were rising in value and in October 2014 she was mine for 42K€.

Of course tweaking and fiddling is part of the joy. E.g. I'm about to post my introduction of a Momo steering wheel using the original self collapsing Momo hub in about a week. FYI last weekend I measured the diameter and counted the splines, 14,5 mm/ 29 splines on the Morgan steering colomn = Honda/Rover200 colomn.

Back to the thread, if you want to safe some money, why not look for a nice 4/4 used with the Mazda gearbox from 2012 on. But if the price difference to new is not high enough I would go for a new one. Kay, if you like you can PM me in German or if you live near Cologne you can see and drive my car if you like.

Edit, DaveW makes a good point, noone knows how reliable the new rust protection will be.

Thanks for all your hints and tip! Will consider all this during the selection process!

@Heinz,
thanks for the offer to test your car, but it's not a stone's throw from Hamburg, I will not be able to make it.

Regards, Kay

PS: Thanks for the recommendation of the Morgan book, I think I should get it immediately!

Heinz - my experience is the same as yours. I have an 09-built 4/4 (Ford ' box) and a 12-built 4/4 (Mazda ' box). The dash is identical - and the best Trad dash layout in my biased opinion!

Kay. I have driven Heinz's car and I have to say it is just fantastic fun to drive. It must be much better now with the work that he has done since I drove it.

If the price difference is not great I would go for a new one unless you can get a 2015 in a colour and specification that you like (don't forget that many options can be added later). The Mazda gearbox for me would be a must and there are a number of very small improvements made in recent years that you would not notice.

Regarding the new chassis finish: on paper it is fine and unless you plan to use the car a lot on salty roads or as though it were a Land Rover it should not give any problems for many years. The way I see it the wooden frame will probably deteriorate before the chassis does, and both will still be giving good service long after the average family car has been recycled into something else.

Regarding the hood it is simply a matter of convenience over good looks. The Easyup hood sits on top of the body behind the seats and should have either the tonneau cover or a hood cover over it when not in use. The traditional hood folds up and disappears from view. The advantage of the Easyup hood is that the cover can be removed and the hood put up by two people in about one minute. (someone actually timed us one day when we put it up whilst waiting for a ferry)

The other advantages of a new one, as already mentioned, you get to choose all the colours and options.

Either way a lot of fun.

Welcome to the forum.