Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing series 1 Roadster sump damage

When looking to upgrade ( not a derogatory term) from my 4/4 I was looking at Roadster/Plus8 Cars. The low ground clearance and alloy sumps on roadsters was a big issue as we have too many speed bumps and poor roads here. I would definitely get modified sump/ raised mounts/ sump guard on one. My Plus8 has the steel Rover sump...thank God! It has a dent from a large stone that would have cracked an alloy sump.
So....roadsters are good cars but get the mods is my advice. Then enjoy the car....

Hi
Thanks for all the helpful replies.
I was not convinced that 20-30mm would make too much difference and have now purchased for £99 another sump from Ford spares. It has just arrived and is the correct sump with no signs of damage or repairs.
I have just contacted my local ford agent and he quoted approx £86 for new gaskets but said that " i probably wont need new gaskets "
He said that they do either a rubber or metal gasket but I probably do not need either .
Any thoughts from anyone .?

The sump with a thick flange takes a simple rubber seal which fits inside a channel. The sumps with a thinner flange take a composite aluminium and rubber spacer gasket.

http://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/43365/Series_1_Roadster_Sump#Post43365

Scroll all the way down to find the images.

I recently replaced the sump on my Roadster with an exchange unit from SiFab
It went straight on, Simon assured me that the gasket would be reuseable ( rubber seal in channel type ) and he was right.
I saw him at All Morgans Day and I know that he has one or two sitting on the shelf which are sold on an exchange basis.
My only connection with him is a satisfied customer

I have a Roadster S1, with the infamous sump, but haven't changed it so far. Instead, I have fitted an alu protecion plate, made by the norwegian Morgan guru Trond Bråthen. Works well, but of course the ground clearance is even lower. Ok for most driving, but the plate gets a scratch now and then. Doesn,t bother me.
Two questions: first - when you do the Mulfab/Sifab conversion, is there a need for modding (shortening?) the oil pick up system as the sump is shallower?
And second: would fitting a Mulberry steering bearing rise the front of the car? Or will the rebound coil spring be cut/changed accordingly so that the ground clearance remains the same?

The oil pick up isn't modified although I would be very tempted by an even shallower sump with a shortened pick up.

The Mulberry bearings will lift the front slightly if you retain the original springs. More lift if you dont have the factory bearings.

And spacing the engine mountings gains a few mm.

If only the Ford sump pan was pressed steel.....

I had a MulFab modified sump fitted to the Roadster and I have a Woolf sump scuff plate on the Plus 8.

The BMW sump is steel, BUT the oil filter housing is plastic and can be worn away by grounding causing an immediate and total oil loss.....
Also, a dent in the pan can obstruct the oil pickup for the VANOS system.

With the modified sump, is the oil capacity reduced? Less oil that will become overworked oil - would worry me terribly!

I had a Merc Benz 300sl 1987 vintage and the reason the 3.0 six cylinder engines last so well is due to the huge oil capacity MB designed.

I worked it out once, it's about 79cc less capacity give or take a smidge (technical engineering term)

Not worth worrying about

Simon @ Sifab.co.uk