Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Series 1 Roadster - Undertray.

This idea has been a while in the planning. Here's how the Roadster looks with loads of room between cross tubes and crank pulley. I realise that the V8 and the 4 cylinders have the engine further forward, so a much smaller gap here.
Note the two visible holes in the chassis, which is where the towing eye fits on the nearside - but the holes are drilled both sides.


The crank pulley and alternator drive belt are very vulnerable. This next photo is take from just under the front spoiler, which is visible at the top.

I decided on 2mm aluminium sheet to fill this gap, and prepared a cardboard template. Since the chassis rails converge here it's easy to sit the aluminium plate on top of the chassis rails. It's a trapezoid, so can be slotted in.

Here's the nearside, where there's a single setscrew & bolt on the cable bracket which can be used to secure the sheet on that side. The bracket is shaped to fit around those two suspension bolts on the bottom left without disturbing them.


The offside is trickier. The brake hydraulic switch is there, as is the towing eye. You can see the two towing eye bolts plus the brake union bolt which is smaller. There are normally two spades on the switch but this was my relay/microswitch improvement, so there are four.


Initially I was going to locate the aluminium sheet under these bolts, and to that end I removed the towing eye.

It's a rough old job, and the metal loop is threaded at the end nearest the camera. It gave me chance to smarten it up, but in the end, I decided to cut a slot in the aluminium plate so this ensemble isn't disturbed.

More to follow>>>>>>>>>>>

This is where the work started. The cardboard template is visible leaning against my 'bench' which today was a wine box. The blue colour is the protective layer, but with aluminium sheet, the other side is always scratched............



This is it drilled and finished. I beat a curve into the leading edge over the edge of my real bench using my Thor leather hammer.Notice how sharply this tapers to fit inside the chassis rails.


The scratched inner surface - which will be under the Mog I treated to some swirls from the electric drill and a wire brush attachment. Not exactly machine turned, but it covers the marks. This photo makes it look like a lambswool cover. The cut-out for the towing eye is lower left.


And here it is fitted........there is an extra bolt on the front nearside, using one of the spare holes. The other two are grommeted. I've added a neoprene strip to the front edge.
The red and white band is a marker for the centreline for jacking. I've had to make a new jack adaptor.
It's been a busy day..........


The towhook is white, just in case I go out in the dark....


And from above - shiny side up. Compare with the first photo.




Tomorrow I will continue, after Cerealsurfer asked me if I would be joining this up to the front spoiler.

It got me thinking again.......
The trouble is I ran out of time today, and this did not go as well as you might think from the pictures......
Sometimes it can be infuriating.
At least I've widened the drive by two inches...... HA!
(That involved wielding a concrete cutter..............)

Cool...

I ended up drilling the spoiler with the holes for the towing eye and put the Ali inbetween.

Sorry for this little diversion Dave, but that photo does show how deep the sump is from the base of the Main Chassis.

Dave
Excellent post, I will have a go at this, additionally I want to look at the difficulty of a sump guard option in light of Frank's incident.

Right then, off we go again.

First that annoying hole in the bellhousing. I just can't see why it's like that......

It does look like something can be fastened on as part of a diagnostic, but although it's shielded by the sump, it's open to flying debris. So I 've put a cover on it. First the paper template, then some thin 1mm aluminium sheet from the scrap box. The single hole available is on the big size - 10mm. I had a suitable bolt, but had to shave a bit off the end, and I packed it with three washers as space is tight. I didn't want it tightening against the sump. So that I can keep an eye on it, I've blobbed some red paint on the nut & bolt head. If it loosems, it will be obvious. I might revisit this and sleeve the hole so I can use a smaller bolt, but for now it will do. The top of the cover fits snugly behind the two sump retaining bolts.


Back to the front part of the undertray.
For the part already fitted I started with a piece of aluminium 2'1" (630mm) x1'(305mm). Obviously that needs some work to get the shape which is quite complex.

But this part is a doddle. For a start it's rectangular.
2'2"(660mm)x 1'(305mm). First a reminder of how it looked with the first part of the undertray fitted......


This second part between spoiler and axle tubes locates under the over-rider brackets which on my car were already drilled (they all probably are!!!). I've managed to do this without drilling the Mog - so maintaining my 'only drill as a last resort' credentials. It's simply a matter of marking the aluminium sheet in the right place and drilling that. Because this is a wide span, I reinforced it across the width with some L channel at the front, and some flat trim along the rear edge. This was located with double sided tape, and three small allen bolts on each edge. Here it is fitted.


I've sprayed some Tectyl wax over it to help prevent oxidation.


This is looking forward and you can see how it fits nicely against the spoiler. I did spend one evening removing and adjusting the spoiler to get a better fit.


This picture shows the spoiler intake pointing at the radiator botton tank, and shows how the undertray closes this area from below, but obviously there are two vents at each side, one each side being where the track rods emerge. So the undertray serves two purposes. The first is that it protects the rack, suspension and crank pulley from debris & dirt. The second (and unknown) effect is how it will affect the airflow under the car and through the radiator. Only time will tell.


From above you can just make out the slots either side of the lower cross tube. Slots were necessary so I can still use the jack, but my original wooden jack accessory no longer fits. And the modified jack accessory mentioned above didn't give enough clearance to get it off when lowered..........


So a bit of trial and error, and some metalwork on an old screwdriver wall-bracket produced this:


The red & white stripes help to line it up, and the two blocks underneath, plus the rubber lined long nut locate it in the jack pedestal. The U shape helps it to locate on the cross tube without slipping, and the bottom is lined with neoprene (obviously) .



So all that now remains is a road test. It's been a tiring weekend, so now for a glass of wine, and a relaxing meal......

After posting my first comment this morning. I would never have thought of an under tray, but thinking on from there, Would a deep fabricated 'traingle cross section' of thick 'Ally' with a couple of tie braces, set across where Dave has the back of his undertray, have prevented hitting my sump because I'd have hit that first.

That idea has merit Frank, but further back - it would be visible that far forward I think - and might look odd. I'm very interested to see what the guard looks like. I suspect it will be a vertical upside down 'snowplough' sort of thing.

I'd like to do that, widen the drive that is.
Unfortunately, it would either involve removing part of the neighbour's driveway, or the side of the bungalow - SWMBO would probably not approve!
Cheers,

Here are some shots of the new jack adaptor in action.......
You can see how easy it is to line up with the three stripes on the lower tube.







I went under again today to add two more fasteners to the rearmost undertray,just to be on the safe side, which I did with penny washers to nip the chassis without drilling it. I used half washers as spacers.



I bought a drill from Agriemach recently, and it's the best I've ever had. It doesn't skip across the surface and drills very well. It's a cone with a channel cut out, and here it is.