Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax morgan aero clutches

Had a test drive in a series 3 aero at williams last Friday - an attractive car but with one IMO serious fault. That was the clutch which, if you tried to feather it in from fully depressed, would almost throw your foot off the pedal. Made it almost impossible to take up drive smoothly and no way could SWMBO handle the weight involved.

Are they all like this? Is it part of the Morgan character? I cant imagine that a business like Williams would put it on display and test if there was a big fault so I can opnly assume that this clutch action is normal. And in almost 60 years of driving manual cars I have never come across anything like it.

Neither of my cars have a similar characteristic to the one you describe.

Howard,
No, I have driven a couple and not come across this problem.

Not normal, sounds like they need to give it a once over..

I've driven a couple of manual Aeros, and they both had what I would describe as "overcentre" clutch actions....and quite firm. You do get use to them quite quickly.

No problem with mine, Howard.

No problem with the one I drove and far easier than a Ferrari 550 Maranello (the only Ferrari I have driven).
You needed thigh muscles like Dylan Hartley to drive that thing smoothly.

Thats a fair description of the feel of the clutch action. But the force was strong as well. At a minimum, your leg strength relates to your weight or you would fall over. I weight 82kg and go to the gym but I still found it hard, and not with friction.

Manual Morgans = Muscle cars (left leg apparently)

If you are not used to it then it can be a little odd for a couple of reasons.

It is hinged at the base when many cars are top hinged and hang down. This changes the way you apply weight to it somewhat as you do have to rotate your ankle more.

The spring on it is quite high which combines with the above to make it feel heavier. I enjoy it as it contributes to the overall feeling of the car.

The 1st gear to 2nd gear pause can make it initially a little freaky. The gear changes after this are easy as it is a smooth box in the S2 onwards, the S1 5 speed was a different box to the later 6 speed boxes.

When I first got mine I was convinced that the clutch was worn and slipping but it has never done this and others from dealerships who service the cars say it is fine. It certainly has no problem breaking tyre traction without any smell of friction material slip.

You do have to be careful not to leave your foot on the clutch as there is no footrest around the pedal.

My wife cannot drive it comfortably as she is short and cannot put the leverage on the pedal.