Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Long Wheelbase 4 Seater??

I've been reading a book about the history and development of the Land Rover.

It struck me that there is much similarity between the basic chassis/body arrangements of the Traditional Morgan and the early series Land Rover.
But there is one big difference: when Land rover wanted to add a second row of seats they lengthened the chassis and put a second set of doors in the body.

Looking at the existing 4 seater and the standard +4 it seems to me that MMC would have made life much easier for themselves by adding 24" to 30" to the chassis and lengthening the body between the wheel arch and drivers door.

Making the 4 seater in this way would have allowed the back structure to remain unchanged, using the standard fuel tank and so saving cost.
The rear seats would sit lower, making them rather more usable and with folding seat backs there would have been a really useful load area.

I've got an old LS kit of the Plus 8. Iy is a bad representation of the early Plus 8 and I was going to junk it, but I think I'll try making a "Morgan LWB +4" model, to see how it looks.

Thoughts, anyone?

I can't see it working visually. Maybe a photoshop expert can knock one up.
Somebody did this to an MGB years ago and it looked ghastly.

It would look like a Diy stretched limo...
which is why it never happened
standard 4 seater got it right

I’m not sure it needed it Peter
The 1999-2005 4 seater model (first incarnation to have proper seats in the back with 3 point seat belts) has plenty of room in the back seats for adult leg room and when I sat in the back, I didn’t feel too high up, in fact with the headrests on the front seats I wanted to be higher if anything

The post 2005 4 seaters have the same good leg room in the back and similar height seats but the rear goes back further behind the seats so there is more storage space behind the rear seats and this extension behind allows a nicer curved hood design, courtesy of Matthew Humphreys

The trad ladder chassis is pretty bendy as it is so I can see issues extending the length without serious design changes.

Sorry shouldn’t use the word ‘bendy’ to describe the trad chassis

‘Compliant’ is the technical term

If it was longer on the chassis they could have turned it into a 6 wheeler.

I think the one issue with the newer 4 seaters (I assume it applies to pre-1999 4 seaters as well) is that there isn’t the room to put that new 5 link suspension nor an anti-tramp bar

That would have been pretty good

At one stage Peter Ballard was thinking of a 5 link system for the 4 seater. I don't know if he continued with it though. Demand would be very small I would think.

I have always thought a chassis like this one would be great for a trad Morgan body.



http://www.britishv8.org/articles/fastcars-tr6-frame.htm

I'm not sure that I like the rear suspension though. I think PJB could do better.

I didn't know that. That's a shame, it would solve so much in one swift move of the wallet..

Not 100% but I think any changes to the chassis dimensions/design etc would mean a re-homologation, with all that entails.

PS - Have you reached Williams, yet..?????