Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) If not a Morgan??

I'm not sure I agree Howard, not all classics cause frustrations and given the limited mileages and trips made by many Morgan owners, a 'sorted' classic would do the job equally well, and probably with better residual values. Had I owned my Healey last year I would have taken it on the Caramulo trip without hesitation. It's early days but so far I'm not really doing anything more to maintain it than I did with my plus 4, in fact some things like greasing are less!

I think that mainstream classics are best owner maintained. Then at least you have a fighting chance if you break down on the road.

Given what's already been said, it's rather ironic that the one and only time I was ever stranded at the side of the road (in a remote spot before mobile phones)in my MGB, it was an intermittent fault with the electronic ignition. After half an hours fannying around, and after several smart arse comments like, sell it and buy something decent, I got it going and got home. It was only a couple of miles..............
After that I replaced the ignition module and it went intermittent again in a year or two, but only in the garage. So I put it back on points and no further problems.

I talked to an Indi in Gillingham, who comes well recommended. TJS Service Centre.

This is his response:

Hi Peter
In my experience of the M271 engine I have only this week had to replace the chain and variable camshaft sprockets for the very first time and as Mercedes have put this in many models across the range I personally would not call it a widespread or even a common fault. If you trawl the forums you are only going to get comments from those across the world that have had this problem and not the millions more that have not.
But to guide you Mercedes claim 22 hours labour and a parts cost in excess of £1200.00 plus vat Mercedes labour rates are over £100 per hour compared to mine at £52.00.
I personally would not panic on the strength of the forums as we have loads of cars with over 100000 miles on them and not a cam noise or engine warning light on them.
What I would recommend is to replace the rubber breathing pipes around the engine as these can be a contributor to the problem and they do cause running issues.
Hope this helps you
Kind regards
Terry J Sheppard

Contact him on 01747 835444 or terry@tjs-servicecentre.co.uk

I've not used him and have no connection! But I'll get him to replace the hoses when the MB Service Agreement ends and keep my fingers crossed!

Thanks Peter.
Neither of my local Indies want to touch it.
The second one I visited this morning said the most likely thing was cam sprockets wearing (£400 each). He said either run it until it's time for the breakers yard, or trade it for something else.
I think I'll just keep going for now.
Have heard about the breather pipes too - buried under inlet / kompressor, pig to get at...
Mine has 101k on the clock.
My usual chappie for the larger jobs is not available for a few weeks after an operation...

I'm not sure - my Range Rover has every gadget known to man including TV screens for the rear passengers. It's done 130,000 miles (I bought it new) and nothing's gone wrong... I've had 3 Jags from new and never had a gadget go wrong.

I guess it's luck of the draw and I've been lucky. As I say, in my experience it's the classic cars that need constant (costly) attention, not the modern ones. So my +8 is the best of both worlds.

Hello All

Here is the replacement.



In the first 500 miles or so the car has exhibited a disturbing amount of character, especially over Hartside Fell.

Keep smiling.

Very nice Bob!

Just makes one wonder what its like jumping into a new Morgan for the first time , character overload ? !

I'll second that!
Even if I am biased as former 986 owner

Yesterday I had the pleasure of being the navigator as Bob exercised his new acquisition on a 170 mile ride around Northumberland, Weardale, Teesdale and Cumbria, after which he set off for the 300 mile trip home.

From the passenger's point of view the car was excellent. However, he also made a leap of faith and let me drive despite only having third party insurance cover. Having experienced the car on twisting roads which were devoid of any traffic, I can't for the life of me understand the nonsense about it having no character. The car is terrific and there is absolutely nothing to dislike about it.

Rumours that Morgans are the only cars that bring a smile to the driver's face were proved inaccurate as he had a permanent grin on his face, even when I was driving. I suspect, however, the grin may have briefly disappeared when I took a sharp bend rather faster than might be considered prudent given the roads were a bit slippy. Stone walls can be a bit intimidating.

Overall, it was a good day out and has made me re-evaluate Morgan ownership as, yet again, my car is off the road awaiting spare parts. Do I really want to continue wearing the hair shirt that Morgan ownership entails?

And, by the way, he hasn't gone all namby pamby by selling his Plus 4. It was roof down all day and then all the way home. (although he probably had the heated seats set to maximum).