Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Termites and ash frames?

I read a passing comment somewhere that since the Morgans have ash frames (the new Three wheeler not being an exception), I wonder if that is a real concern for people living in termite country (Australia, Asia, the US etc.)?

I know, it's probably a daft question, and although I feel like not posting it because it's so idiotic, I'm still curious as to whether this is just another urban legend.

Its not a silly question at all.
My Morgan is parked in my very large shed and last year I lost a complete timber table , that I salvaged from a local post office sorting room.
It had 2 very deep drawers and was a perfect height to stand and work on car parts etc.
I went to screw a piece of wood to it and the leg collapsed. The little blighter's had come up through an expansion joint in the concrete and up into the leg, then made trails to all the other legs etc.
I dragged the table outside and it almost fell apart with the live termites crawling over the grass.
I now spray the shed posts by injecting poison to the centre of the posts via holes drilled in them and also have installed termite traps every 6 metres around the perimeter of the walls.
Termites take a terrible toll on houses over here and it is a constant battle to keep ones property clear of them.
I would estimate that over 90% of house frames are now steel and the remaining frames are of treated pine to H4 standard.

Any car with a timber frame that was left standing unattended for years at a time would be fair game for termites, not many barn finds emerge from Australia from the 1920's etc unscathed.
No standing around and gossiping if you have a wooden leg

The bottom line is that I move the Morgan around the shed to a different spot every time its parked, confuse them as much as possible I say

Same here in California - they are really destructive little sods. Only legal ways here are fumigation or electro-gun, but I do know boric acid is pretty effective. Now children, please don't try this at home..........

Thanks for not making me look stupid.

I wonder if epoxy coating the ash (completely) would stop the buggers or if they'll just eat through it?

When you order the three wheeler, perhaps you could specify having the frame termite proofed?

Or perhaps Peter would look after it while you leave the car over there for a while?

As for the leg Peter very good!

Cheers,

No such thing as a daft or idiotic question here. Plenty of daft and idiotic answers though!

Regards
Alan
AP08 MOG

Never mind the termites, I've kept a photocopy of the MOT fail that the previous owner passed onto me with my first Morgan, which (among other items) listed woodworm as a fail point.

Don't know whether it was solved by rentokil or by a visit to another garage, but it made me smile, and makes an interesting talking point!

Malcolm T

(By the way I'm not trying to make light of the termite problems that owners in other countries experience....just thought that my woodworm fail might raise a smile!)

LOL, Malcolm. And thanks Alan.

I can understand that it is a real point to look out for the ash. Luckily for us living in northern Europe, salt is a preservative, fresh water rots. So winter driving might be an idea, lol.

Seriously, though, I wonder if there's another way to protect against termites, woodworm and plain rot, other than using a fungicide such as rentokil and other such products. I'm hypersensitive to fungicides and many man made materials.

How about boiled linseed oil? Do termites care? Or how about epoxying the lot completely?

Right now I wish I knew someone close by who had termites, so I could treat some small ash sticks with different things to test it out.

AQM, If you are sensitive to fungicides then you need to be aware that MMC ash frames are treated with Cuprinol