Talk Morgan Forums Community Welcome Forum Prospective owner seeking guidance

Hi everyone, first post from me

As a classic car enthusiast I have long coveted the idea of owning a classic Morgan and thought what better place to come for advice than this forum. I currently own a Mercedes R107 500SL but realise the Morgan driving experience is very different to that. In the past I have owned a P6 Rover 3500, a Triumph Vitesse and a Triumph Stag which might be more comparable in terms of ride/ performance (?).

Question is I have around £25k to spend and wondered if I should be looking at an earlier and/ or presumably less good condition +8 (which I guess I am naturally drawn to) or a better/ newer +4? Or anything else? What engines and options should I be looking at etc etc. I know the general rule of thumb is go for condition, not age but also recognise that there were years when, for example, steel became aluminium and when longer doors and wider bodies in certain models came in - I'm a big chap and need a little extra room

I've done the factory tour and realise I need to get out and experience some test drives but in the mean time all advice for a Morgan novice most welcome.

Buy on condition and history. Nothing wrong with steel winged cars (I have one)engines and choices all are personal preference.
Test drive before you buy.
get the extras you want or be prepared to add them later.
You won't be disappointed
good luck with your search.
budget of 25k should get you a nice one.

Nice Merc Al! (Photo please! )
Long doors came in late in '97, around September, for the '98 model year.
Oh, and, Welcome to TM!

Yes! But first figure out which engine option suits your preferred style of driving/intended use. Otherwise, the risk is you see the proverbial perfect condition/history example of the 'wrong' car and make a hasty choice.

A friendly dealer will get you behind the wheel of a few different variants. You will quickly know if you are a V8 guy, or prefer the purity of the lighter 4-cylinder cars or the smoothness of a roadster.

Then... start looking for the right example. Plenty of people on here have spent a lot of money trading 'up' the line-up towards the larger engined cars, and a few (like me) started with the big ones and realised they preferred the lighter cars. It's cheaper to start with the one you really want...

If it's your first Morgan I absolutely agree you should buy on condition. £25k will get you a really nice Morgan however if you are after a particular model you may well have to spend more, a lot more for many cars.
My advice would be to go for as recent a car as you can afford and live with it, so a 4/4 or Plus 4 on your budget, After a year or so you will have a much better idea as to what you really want and as long as you are careful in your purchase you should get back most, if not more, than you paid should you decide to trade the car in for something else.
After living with your first Morgan you will understand what appeals most. You might want the more traditional 50/60s cars, a big engined rocket, a lighter more responsive back road car, and so on.
Morgans vary more than you may think and even though they look, to the unitiated, the same they drive very differently. Took me 15 years to work out what was the best Morgan for me and many on this forum would rather have a different model. What I can say that is I would be happy with any Morgan and I am sure you will be too.
Good luck with your search.

Hi Big Al

I wouldn't get too hung up on which car you would prefer at this stage. As Steve has said get out to a few dealers and test drive a few. As you are in Surrey then I can thoroughly recommend Brands Hatch Morgans in Borough Green.

Also try to get along to a HopMog noggin in your area and talk to owners and ask their views about their cars. I know there will probably be as many opinions as people sometimes but you should be able to pick up some tips and it will help you crystallise your thoughts.


I come from a history of 4 cylinder Morgans, but graduated to an 8 about 15 years ago, so I feel I can give you something of a comparison.

Firstly if you liked the long legs and effortless cruising of the Stag, then perhaps the +8 would be a good choice. It has bags of torque, you rarely need to change gears, and will cruise effortlessly at quite high speed, the big negative is fuel consumption, a heavy right foot will sink it into the low 20s with ease (fuel injected models tend to be better than carbs) The handling is good but the car is heavier and larger than the four cylinders, so it is not as nimble and "chuckable". You need to be quite brave to drift a +8 on full throttle.

At the other end the 4/4 is lighter, smaller , and much more nimble on its feet , it is highly chuckable. You will need to drop gears to get the best from the engine, and it will be turning over at higher revs to maintain a cruising speed.

In many ways the +4 is a good mixture of the above, although still a 4 cylinder engine, it is more powerful than the 4/4 (depending upon the age of the car and the exact model) yet maintains most of the nimbleness of the 4/4.

As Steve has pointed out , you buy Morgans on condition every time, with luck the right car will find you rather than the other way around, don't get too hung up on extras, there is a vast aftermarket which will enable you to customise the car to your own taste. The most expensive things to change would be body colour and trim , so make sure you chose a combination that you really like, (and there are so many to choose from!) and then work with that.

Welcome to TM.

Others summed things up very well.

As well as long doors, a car with a galvanised chassis, superform wings and a stainless steel bulkhead will be less expensive to keep nice.

The best advice is to go to both a Noggin and to see Brands Hatch Morgans.
You may have a perspective on the motor trade. In the Morgan world, the long established dealers are very good and most of us have a favourite one or two - usually based on geography (but not always!).

Welcome and not much to add to the above. Enjoy the hunt!

In that price range, go for a pre computer +8 ....But i am biased.

Welcome Big Al enjoy the test drives but talking about it is ok driving them is what matters!