Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) water comes in above windscreen with trad hood

No, but that's because they have massively clumsy windscreen frames with all sorts of convoluted seals and drains. They also have comparatively heavy and complex hood frames which, although they provide rigidity, also gobble up storage.

Steve Simmonds developed leak-proof hoods for Morgans 20 years ago, but for whatever reason MMC didn't see fit to buy or licence his design from him, maybe he didn't want to sell.

Combine the Simmonds front channel seal with an MX5-style central over-centre clip and frame and I reckon you'd have it cracked.

Tim, your right the Simmonds hood on my last Mog was much better.
The Morgan easy up has failed on the header rail weld. The rivets holding together have failed & now the rear bar that secures it to the car is splitting just after the where the hood rail joins (£205 plus labour!).
It also leaks on sharp bends

Not the screen I hope.

The windscreen water ingress doesn't really bother me, my hood may be a tighter fit . My problem is the water coming from between the door and side screen. This materializes as rain drops falling upwards - easily stopped by stuffing a rag in thier

Stick to motorways........no sharp bends

I’m due a factory visit. Not been for 29 years. I’ll have a peek into the R&D dept. and see if slide rules have been introduced. The gap above the windscreen must be calculable dependent upon the airspeed.

I thought that the attraction of a trad morgan was that you were driving a classic car with modern power plant reliability. Now you seem to be wanting a modern hood system too. And then maybe a modern suspension? Where does it stop?

Soft tops leaked in the classic era.

I'm looking forward to returning the joys of Morgan ownership next Spring. Driving an F Type has made me soft.

So many things on the trad could do with a re-design, without altering too much the traditional look of the car, that I would hardly know where to start, but I will anyway.

Chassis: to loop over the rear axle as everyone else had done since the '50s (would provide an increase in possible bounce and rebound travel)
Suspension: hardly needs explanation
Hood: Concealable, functional, and waterproof. (most hoods do not sit on top of the rear bodywork like pram hoods)
Proper jigging to ensure repeatability of components (ridiculous that mudguards etc. are cut and fitted by eye)

Just a few items that spring to mind.

You’re right of course. The new batch of techs. at Morgan should be looking to retain the classic looks with modern underpinning. They fit modern engines. Why not bring the suspension into the 21st. century?