Talk Morgan Forums Community Welcome Forum Goodbye Lotus, hello Morgan

Welcome to TM and future Morgan ownership! I'm sure there will be some good advice in buckets coming for you. I don't think you'll get to Lotus like handling though so some compromises may be required. Can't beat the Morgan for charm, character and a little quirkiness though!

Hi James .
Looks like a SuperSport with track pack would be just up your street.
One or two for sale at the moment .
200 bhp if set up correctly .
Loved mine and regret selling it .

Welcome!!

it is said that a Lotus is a track day car you can use on the road if you don't mind a bit of discomfort and a Morgan is a road car that you can use on the track if you don't mind spending some money....

As an example of what a Morgan can do an the track search for Henry Williams videos on Youtube. He is really very quick in a lightly modified (but very carefully set up) 4/4.

Or go down to Williams Morgan and talk to Laurie, he posts here as Chunky 4/4 Racer, and who is Henry's mechanic. Search out he threads where Laurie describes the race preparation of Henry's car.

Welcome to TM and Morgan ownership James.

Like you, I came from many years Lotus ownership (Lotus Elise 111S) to my Morgan Aero8,series 1.

There are lots of similarities in terms of ownership and 'fettling' plus, the Morgan community is very supportive and helpful.

Have fun....

James

Welcome from Loads Of Trouble Usually Serious to Morgan..... just as many foibles but lots of fun

Hi James from yet another Lotus owner, when we bought our 4/4 in January we had 67' Elan coupè and an 03' Elise type 25, have since sold the Elise which was heartbreaking as I did and still do LOVE it. But we did not have enough time for 3 weekend toys as well as our other hobbies and then an old friend announced out of the blue that he was searching for exactly that model ( 1 of 4 in Australia) so she went to a great home, which made it easier.
After 6 months of ownership I find the Morgan community esp here on TM to be filled with exactly the same type of supportive and helpful enthusiasts as the Lotus community's is. The cars may look from opposite ends of the motoring spectrum but the owners they attract are indentical in that key ingredient - a Passion for their cars.
Owning either marque does not just come with car, you get a whole new bunch of genuine friends, some of whom you may never will meet in person, but they will still offer you help, advice, and interesting banter as if you have always been mates. I am finding the same thing with the parts suppliers too, I called Cain to talk to him about ordering some bonnet stays, and ended up having a great chat about all sorts of motoring things (as well as ordering the stays ) another real enthusiast.
In short it's a damn good community to join - Welcome

Welcome to Talk Morgan

A supercharged 1600 would be great but I imagine that you would definitely need to look at upgrades to the engine internals.

If the new Plus 4 that you drove was really very new the suspension improves after getting a few miles up. The current output from the factory is much improved over older models but the standard dampers that the factory installs are nothing special and better options are available.

Everyone has their own idea of front suspension improvements. Some are more interested in achieving the best handling for track days or racing and others are looking for more comfort for touring. I can only speak from my own experience.

I have fitted the Suplex RS kit with non adjustable Bilstein dampers at the front. It is a solution that offers optimal comfort, adjustable ride height, and good roll control. Others who have driven my car have commented that the car feels balanced and well planted on the road. For me it was a vast improvement over the standard Morgan setup and suits my needs well. Some have criticised the initial softness of the suspension that they claim gives a slow turn-in. It is not something that I find but then again I have never driven a car with competition tuned suspension. In your case I would suggest that you look at the race version of the Suplex front suspension which comes with a selection of springs and adjustable Quantum dampers. In that case the lowest spring rate in the kit is higher than that of the road version springs and it goes up from there. The race kit was developed in conjuction with the race team at Williams and I don't think anyone could say that the Williams 4/4 lacked in handling.

I also have fitted the Suplex 5L rear supension but in this case with Quantum adjustable dampers. The improvement in ride at the rear end is remarkable. I asked the designer to try the car on the way to an event at Castle Combe. Let us just say that to sit in the car as a passenger whilst someone who knows the road puts the suspension and handling to the test is an interesting experience

Unfortunately the 5L is not yet approved under the class rules for Morgan racing but if you were only interested in track days that would not matter.

Both front and rear Suplex kits are designed to improve the ride comfort of the Morgan with as far as possible also improving the handling characteristics. The Suplex front is already available in a track version and changing the springs at the rear to give a stiffer, more sporty ride is no problem at all, if that is felt desirable.

This is with the usual disclaimers about any financial interest. I am just a happy customer.

Something that may be worth considering is the Plus 4 Baby Doll from the AR Motorsport division of Morgan.

Welcome James. Dont forget you are going to want to upgrade those brakes as well if you are going for big horses!

Hi James welcome to TM, as you have now found a great source of advice and help available here.
We have has a couple of historic Lotus but much prefer the Morgan's reliability!
All good fun, hope you find your ideal car and have many happy miles with it.

Worthers +8

Thank you all for the very warm welcome- it's always a pleasure to share an enthusiasm with like minded folks.

Thank you each for your individual advice, Suplex, Supersport SiFab and Williams all great tips. I'm looking forward to sharing my purchase journey and working through the possibilities to tune the car for my needs.

Roger and Taffmog - thank you for the invite, will try and get to Rossett and meet up.

Cheers