Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) She's back on the road!

Finally, after driving her onto the ramps in mid-May, we were back on the road again last night.

To summarise the work completed:

Brakes: Williams 6 piston callipers with grooved & vented discs, Ferodo DS2500 pads and braided hoses.

Suspension and Chassis: Panhard rod, anti-tramp bars, 4x AVO shockers, brake reaction bars, 140lb springs, steering bearings & damper

Engine: Stroked to 4.6, fast road cam, induction kit ported, heads ported & polished with large valves, compression ratio increased and re-mapped ecu

Gearbox: Fully stripped down and rebuilt with Ashcroft Transmissions master rebuild kit.

First Impressions: She started up after being turned over for around 5s. She definitely sounds deeper, a little louder and meaner. We all gave a big sigh of relief...I wasn't the only one losing sleep thinking about it! We then had an anxious hour to wait to drive the car, as I bedded the cam in. I did this in four 5 minute stints so as not to overheat the engine.

Then the big moment, would it go into gear? Liam (tech. that built the 'box) was still looking worried up to this point. Straight into reverse, then 1st. My biggest worry was if 2nd had been sorted... it had always been really stiff to get in, and it spoilt the car. Straight in! I felt such a surge of relief and realised that this had been causing me quite a lot of stress and tension wondering if all would be good.

Obviously, I only went up to 2500 rpm and the only difference I could tell was the noise. I was slightly disappointed, but with the new cam, the torque and power will be raised up the rpm, so will need to be patient and look forward to building up to use the full rev range.

Other than the 2nd gear I'm most impressed with the steering. The steering bearing has transformed the car. Before it was such a fight to steer at low speeds (and during spirited driving) to the point that it took a lot of the shine off the whole driving experience. But now, the steering is smooth and really helps make the car flow on twisty roads... bear in mind that I have also gone from a 14" to 13" steering wheel (extra thick grip Motolita Mk3). Still a slight effort when manoeuvring, but as soon as you pass 5-10mph it is spot on with great feel and feedback, yet delivered smoothly.
Whilst on steering, the extra thick grip feels teriffic, but I wish I had stuck with 14".. not for the extra leverage, but my hands feel in the wrong place, and it feels less of a "vintage" driving position.

Brakes have loads of feel, although need to be re-bled as there is still a little excess travel before the pedal firms up. They are not "grabby" nor does the car feel "over-braked". They are smooth and progressive and unlike the originals that locked up easy under hard braking, these give you more notice by "slightly locking up?!?" (like seeing F1 cars in slow motion when the front wheels are still turning, but slow enough to create smoke)

Ride quality is superb... best Morgan (out of [only] the 4 I have driven)... no bouncing around, so axle tramping (although real test of that still to come) no "wobbly bottom" round bends. I now have loads of confidence, and very impressed with how good a Morgan can be. I could really carry speed on long bends, negating the need for heavy braking). The car feels solid, but still retains that all special "Morgan Feel" and Character.

I did have a few issues going over bumpy roads and humpback bridges... my arse flew off the seat a few times! So need to tweak the back end a little.

That's it for now, will report back on the engine performance after a 1000 miles.

Finally a few thanks and acknowledgements:

Mike and Nick and Williams for the brakes, Panhard rod and AT bars.

Tim at New Elms for the Shockers

BIG thanks to Peter at Mulfab, lots of advice and the steering bearing and damper kit.

Big thanks to Ian at RPI for his help and advice when I first bought the car, and for supplying the ECU and ignition kit

BIG BIG thanks to Ray at V8 Developments for building a great engine, and taking the time to discuss in detail my requirements. Not to mention all the other calls!

Recommendations to other TMers... Get a Steering bearing and damper kit from Mulfab!

If there are any other Nothern TMers that are considering any of these upgrades, I would be happy to take them out so they can feel how great a Mog +8 can be.... just PM me.

Richard.

Excellent stuff Richard - and very well done to all - the Team in fact!

Sounds like a high spec mog which your sure to enjoy.

Good teamwork - you are going to enjoy those upgrades.

Well Done, Richard..!

Great update & report there.

Sounds great.

Thanks for sharing the whole story. Some would be nice also

I don't know if you saw these one's Heinz.

http://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/449615/1

Wow! Thank you, Richard. That's a car.