Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Plus 4 or Roadster?

Hi Bob,

just thought I would add some stuff on the 3.7 Roadster, I will have had mine 2 years in July and have done 12k miles so far. Prior to this I had a 96 +8. So on the quality issue raised earlier I have to say mine is very good, no electrical or other issues on build quality. Mine did have the Rev hang issue and I tested the replacement ECU for the factory. The replacement ECU is a must do IMO, especially if you are a spirited driver. This as I have said and others transforms the car. With respect to chassis being up to taking the power, it does handle it IMO. It may be that others are not as used to such power to weight ratios as I, having owned a number of powerful cars in the past. The one thing I have changed is the front brakes to 6 pots from Williams, these give much better controlled braking and are less snatchy. With respect to gearboxes on Roadsters I drove Series 1 and 2 Roadsters when looking and on two of them found they were clunky and slow, although others were OK. The gearbox on mine is good, and allows a pretty quick change. One thing that is important on the 3.7 Gearbox (developed by Getrac for Ford) is that the correct oil is used, either from Ford, Fuchs or Millers, a fully synthetic API GL4 or GL5.

I would not discount a 3.7 Roadster without driving one first, it may be your bag or maybe not. But best to find out yourself.

Thanks Adrian, I have only driven very powerful cars, Astons and Porsches, on a track, so not sure how I would handle circa 300bhp on the public road. You make some good points re the car and specific needs and, as you say, I would need to try one to see. I think my problem is, as I mentioned, in a +4 I can access most of the power and rev range for a lot of the time. I found the +8 to be powerful but lower revving and the upper limits not as easily accessible, safely, on the public highway.
I will, however, add the 3.7 to my driving list.... much to the horror of MrsM who is sat here whilst I am typing!!!!!!!

The 3.7 is not THAT powerful - it's not a Murcielago. It's spritely - I had one for a while. I think the difference is that you don't need to wring every last cc out of it as you might with the smaller models. I had a month or so with both a +4 and a 4/4. Much more chuckable, but they did feel as if they were running out of puff a bit at higher speeds.

You should most definitely drive one. It's heavier and more planted on the road and with more torque. This will either appeal or it won't.

Thanks Andrew for clarifying.

Completely agree Neil, the 3.7 is a lovely car imho that can be driven very rapidly or can equally bumble around.

Besides of all other considerations there is a difference in price....

Don't they have to be yellow to do that??
Have to admit I am happy enough with a 4/4 1800, but then unless I move I have little choice if it is to fit down the driveway with ease...

I drove all the classics with the exception of the +8 when I was making my choice. All fantastic. For me, the +4 felt the most useable road car closely followed by the 4/4. The Roadster was excellent but for me was no faster on the road (except in outright acceleration)and had more power than I wanted to use (i.e. I knew it would get me into trouble one day). Very happy now with the +4.

I was in discussion with a friend re: relative paper performance figures for Morgans. We were able to find a number of articles which gave for ex. max speeds in gears for the Rover engined Plus Eights and for 4/4's but had nothing for Roadsters. Any ideas ?

It will be similar to the Plus 8. You need to find an owner who's maxed one.....Adrian?