Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Who uses their 4/4 or plus 4 as daily driver

Hi all

I have had my three wheeler for a year now and have recently been considering p/x it for a 4/4 or plus 4 but with the current changes to new 3W'ers (which im not a fan of aesthetically) and that my partner loves it thinking of ordering a 4 wheeler to go with it. This means it would become a daily driver? Who uses their's as a daily runner and any suggestions on spec? Easy up hood or traditional? Air Con?

Hi,

I use our Plus 4 four-seater as a daily driver in the summer months. In Norway I don't miss air conditioning. The extra space of a four seater makes the car useful for shopping or family excursions. On a two-seater I would have specified the traditional hood, but on the four-seater I am happy that I have the easy up.

Be careful with light coloured leather seats on a daily runner.

Harald

I use my +4 most days and agree with Harald about the seats my mulberry leather hides scuff marks well also easy up hood a must so quick to do but get mohair not vinyl less easy to tear although don't use the hood much mostly drive with tonneau as for a quick park it just zips up and hides contents from prying eyes, fairly water resistant as well! Like extra torque with +4 for longer journeys.

I used both of our plus 4s as a daily driver for the first few years of ownership that is 4 for the first one, a 4 seater, and seven for this one. The first one got retired when the car my wife was using became too old to stand in as the "official" company car and this one when my commute changed from a local 20 minutes through the lanes to a 40 mile fight through the M3 roadworks. I have retired now but we still run 3 cars as the Golf I bought for the commute is queued up to replace 's clio when it finally expires.

There were no real practicality issues but using them daily changes your attitude a bit, they are definitely less mollycoddled as a result. I got a few surprised comments in the winter and actually found, to my surprise, that they cope better with a bit of snow than a lot of the front wheel drive cars used by others. I think it means I used the hood more in part out of a desire to get to business meetings looking presentable

The one thing that was inconvenient is that parts could sometimes take a while for even the dealer to get which resulted in a few working from home days.

When I worked full time the Morgan was my daily driver. The easy up hood has it's advantages but the trad type looks far better when up - and it really doesn't take that long either. I would agree with Roger though that mohair is better than vinyl!

Having just moved back to a trad hood from an easy up I do agree there is very little difference in erection time!Particularly with Swivels fitted - these make a big difference.

I do also agree that the trad hood looks really good UP.

Vinyl v Mohair? personal choice really - the Vinyl is much simpler and easier to keep clean - but Mohair looks good!

BTW I also moved from a 3W to a 4/4 and was delighted with the "move".

I used my 4/4 most days in the 5 years I had it, (unless it looked like rain or I needed a larger vehicle for some reason). As a consequence I very rarely put the hood up.

I went with the trad hood on the basis that I think the car is so much prettier when the hood is down, and I boght the car to drive it with the hood down.

If I were to buy another one, I might just go with an easy up, as I suspect the hood to windscreen join of the easy up is more watertight in heavy rain than the 9 stud one.

I use my 1989 4/4 as a daily driver from March 1st till October 31st.
I avoid (as much as possible) driving during winter time because of the very corrosive road salt spread on the tarmac. In my country, Belgium, the weather is as uncertain as in Britain, so I scrutinize the weather forecast several times per day to know beforehand whether I have to erect my beige vynil roof of fit my beige tonneau.
As erecting (including unscrewing the door panels & stowing them behind the seats, plus fitting the tonneau) or collapsing (same applies to doors & tonneau, but the other way round) the roof takes about 12 minutes, I tend to drive often with the roof up & the doors stowed away behind the passenger seat.
I was often caught in a shower with the doors down, but water ingress is minimal, even when parked.
Here are a few tips for an every day use:
° I always have a shopping bag & a 6-wine bottle holder stowed away behind the passenger seat together with two fluo emergency jackets and a small foldable emergency triangle,
° a kitchen towel sleeps in the passenger door together with a small pack of paper tissues to jam between the roof & the upper windshield frame when it pours,
° a pair of sun glasses, smartphone earphones, a small flashlight and a foldable roadmap of Belgium sty in the driver door,
° two pocket-size collapsible umbrellas are stuck underneath the driver seat
° two waterproof K-Way jackets & trousers are stowed in their bags under the passenger seat. Believe me, these K-Ways are very useful as my wife & I have often been caught by surprise in a rain- or thunderstorm when driving with the roof down.
Hope this helps & enjoy your Mog!

Oh, and I forgot: avoid light coloured roofs & tonneaus: they are a PAIN in the neck to clean.
They take hours of heavy scrubbing & I have not foud an easy "apply & wipe away" product yet, short of acetone, which, obviously, is deadly for vynil.

Thanks for the responses so far. With regards the hoods i assume people prefer the traditional one for looks only? As to me the design suggest the easy on roof would be better at holding water from ingress into the cabin? I myself believe the easy up hood looks cleaner and more modern as I would be going for a more modern looking car like the AR Plus 4. All personal preference I suppose on that score though.