Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Colin Musgrove Plus 8 info

Hello all, I have recently aquired a 4.5ltr Colin Musgrove Plus 8 Special. It really is an impressive car, a million miles away from my first plus 8 experience 15 years ago and I just can't wait to drive the car at every opportunity.

I'm trying to track down as much info about these cars as possible and wondered if anyone knew of other Musgrove modified cars out there. How many did he build? Any magazine articles? peoples opinions on his modifications etc etc.

Having had Cobra's, E Types, JPE Caterhams, TVR Griffs etc, this particular car has immediately won its place in the garage.

Have you come across this?
G

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPaOLErMtEA

Yes thanks for that. I saw that shortly after buying mine. In spec, it seems identical to mine. Huge price tag on that one!!!

Well, I AM Colin Musgrove! I still have all the detailed records of the +8/450s we built so which one is it? There was also one +8/420 built which featured in the press with road tests. Off the top of my head I can remember Red (Wigart) (tested by Classic and Sportscar), Ivory/Green wings (Machichan), Brunswick Green (Hamren-Larssen), Indigo Blue (Russell) now in Norway, another Brunswick Green (the one on YouTube above) Budde NL (This was probably the quickest and most trick of the lot! lethal!) Another Indigo Blue (for a Swedish Chiropractor, complete lunatic!) one Red one which SGT recently had for sale, but that was not a full-on CMR 450, just the engine. The full spec was: 4.5 CMR (NOT John Eales!) built motor, 4-pot AP Racing front brakes, 2-pot discs to rear, 4HA Salisbury (out of Reliant Scimitars)CMR trailing-link rear suspension linkage and Panhard Rod, some with anti-tramp. Some had Getrag gearboxes to choice. There were others, ten in all, I think, will check. Great cars, what have the current "experts" been doing for the last ten years or so!??
Best regards,
ColinM.

TM at it's best, cheers Colin

Hi Colin, thanks for getting in touch!!

Mine is the ex wiggart one, F501 PWP, full on CMR 450 in Porsche Guards red.

I have to say, it goes and handles like no other plus 8 I've driven, a genuine credit to you as I'm rather fussy and not easily impressed. There's just something about this car...

It still has the original engine, with CMR plus the number stamped on it and the original twin plenum set up. It now has a BTR axle and is on Avo's but still retains your rear suspension set up.

Do you have any more info/mag articles on this car? if so, would love to hear from you!!

Hello Culminator!
Ah, Eric Wigert, Olympic yachtsman, offshore racer and general good egg!
Your car, engine number 450048, was the first 450 built. In fact it was to be a 420 and the engine number has been altered from '420048' in my engine book! It was delivered on 08.12.89. The engine was the first with the (then) newly-available 94mm Rover pistons. Previously we had used 93.5mm Cosworth or Omegas in the 3.9s and 4.2s. With the special 80.9mm crank that gave 4492cc. Like most (but not all) 450s it was a comparitively mild fast-road spec, albeit built to race-engine standards of tolerance and fully balanced. Big-valve heads, 101 cam, 'twin-plenum' with larger butterflies and centre-pull throttle, breathing via 14CUX hot-wire (re-chipped, of course)with a CMR-Kerby inlet Y-tube and ITG filter. Full CMR-Kerby exhaust, hand made on the vehicle. Baffled sump and pressure-fed dizzy gears completed the spec. It was dyno'd on 14.11.89 and gave 278bhp at 5250 and 285 lbf.ft at 4250 but 230 lbf.ft at 1450!! These figures were obtained using the dyno exhaust. With the Kerby fitted another 15-20 bhp would be expected. This car had a 7HA (not 4HA) axle with uprated half-shafts and LSD unloaded to 35 ft.lbf. I see we had trouble with the idle and 4 or 5 chips were shot in rectification.
The car was tested by the 'Classic and Sportscar' team at the Milbrook Proving Grounds and around the Bedfordshire area. Milbrook was then owned by GM-Vauxhall and your car dented the ego of a Lotus-Carlton tester somewhat on the banked circuit! LOL! It was a dual test with a Caterham Sprint to, I think, illustrate the difference between brute force and ignorance versus lightness and science!! Needless to say BF&I won hands down! hehe The article was actually very good with superb photography. I don't have a copy now, but you might find one through eBay where motor mags are bought and sold. Classic and Sportscar is highly saught-after, I'm told. I'll PM you my mail addy to avoid boring all the Forum members with tales of derring-do Back in the Day! Some of the stories surrounding the 450s and their owners might frighten them!
Best regards,
Colin

Colin, you are a top man! Got your PM and I'll drop you a line in the next day or so.

I've got a copy of the test between the mog and the Caterham but it's only a black and white copy.

As an ex 7 owner (6 in all) I was going to try and track down the owner of that very same 7 and see if Classic and Sportscar would be interested in a new showdown between the two cars again.

Up for that?

Thanks again.
Mike

Mike,

"Up for that?"

Sure am! I'm an 'Octane' man myself these days (only because they test our cars and Top Gear don't! ) and wasn't aware C&SC still existed. Prob confusing it with the late lamented 'Supercar Classics' Keep me posted, I'll waxoyl the Zimmer in anticipation! .
Thanks for the kind words, btw, always nice to hear one of my Mogs is still giving pleasure
ATB
Colin

No, no, very interesting...