Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Up-grade to a 3.7 Roadster????

Sid,
My Escape engined Roadster has the Mulfab sump and a steel plate under it. It is shod with 205/15/65 tyres running at 22psi. and Avon shocks. We have very nasty speed bumps in our town and so far I have not grounded it.

Sid - I had a 3.7

Ground clearance is not a problem -IF you slow right down for speed bumps etc..

On my 2013 car it was the gearbox frame surround which seem the lowest part of the car.

Hi Sid

IMO the 3.7 is a great Roadster, the rev hang issue does seem to vary from car to car, however I believe it is present in all if you provoke the car, this means driving it hard and changing gear quickly. I suspect most owners poodle around in theirs on weekends out. they are very rapid if provoked but I do not consider the chassis not up to the power, if you set up the suspension, on standard set up I have adjustable AvO shockers all round, 5-6 clicks from sofa on the front and 4 on the rear, suited my driving style and still retained some comfort.

Personally I think the chassis is fine, after all they are raced with more power, a bit of flex in the chassis is part of it, if it was rock solid it would not be very comfortable to drive unless the suspension was charged to a modern set up.

I had the brakes upgraded to larger diameter ones with 6 pots calipers, and before everyone's shouts "that's over braking it" it actually is not, if you look at any serious hill climb car they go for bigger brakes with 6 pots on a light car, this is because you get better brake control and the pads are less likely to snatch and cause you to lock up. Having said that if you drive sensibly the standard brakes are fine.

I hope that helps a bit

Adrian

With a few thousand miles under my 3.7 Roadster owning belt, I'd agree wholeheartedly with Adrian's experiences.

I'm fortunate in that my car has been very well set up chassis wise, with a full Suplex suspension at both ends. I can't begin to explain just how the five link, coil sprung rear end supplies so much confidence with getting that power and torque down to the ground. It just drives like a much younger sports car, and is simply brilliant. Honestly!

This rev hang bit is one of those little niggles that, rather like a stone in your shoe, niggles others more than most. It IS present in all as far as I can gather, but certain styles of driving allow it to fade into normality. Where I find mine frustrating is the second to third up change. If you accelerate hard and go for third, the engine speed takes that fraction of a second to die meaning that you either baulk the gear change or chirp the tyres when you let the clutch out. Try watching the 3.7's start off the line in many of the old ToTH video's on YT to see what I mean.

Take your time however, and it's creamy smooth. The art of short shifting pays dividends, as does starting in second most times.

Go for a quick downchange from fourth to third when you approach a corner and you hit the same snag. Do it earlier and slower and you're rewarded with that smoothness again.

It's not a car to snatch gears quickly. This may be down to something like bigger reciprocating mass, but the old 4/4 can change gear as quick as a wink and I miss that part..!

I don't find the car under braked, although I agree with Adrian that more surface area on the brake disc area would pay dividends with more feel on the pedal. That's a secondary thing for me as I write, though.

I simply love the sound of that grumbly six as it pulls away, and when you hit 3000 in third.. Oh, boy..!

It was Adrian's car that I went in as a passenger, driven by Paul down at Williams. Little did I know it would take less than two years to be able to drive my own..

I'm a fan...can you tell..?

Having passengered with Adrian in his 3.7 I know how quick they can be

Almost as quick as my Z4 up Prescott 😉

i can fully second Adrians and Steves words here!

I currrently own my second 3,7 (widely technically modified i have to admit ) and most of the niggles can be ironed out.

No "cruiser-style" driver will have issues with brakes, rev hang etc. - but upgrading suspension and brakes is a good idea for all others...

+1

me too

She who limits revolutions tells me I can't have a 3.7 so I'll have to stick with our Series 1 3 litre. This is a fine car and having had it for thirteen years I still enjoy it. Having just had a Suplex front end fitted along with trad bushes this has stopped the awful banging and crashing from the front end caused by the 'plastic' bushes.

Thanks to this group's help with K & N air filter part numbers I've finally fitted one which seems to have made the engine more zestful. I recall an article which was testing these filters on Fords, including the V6 220 ST Mondeo, which found that the filter released 4-5 BHP on that engine. Since this was at the wheels, even though it is only a small percentage, it genuinely seems to help the car breath more easily with the revs coming up faster than before. Even if I'm just kidding myself, I love it even more.