Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Disheartened owner

Back in 1989 I made my first approach to Morgan regarding a new car, unfortunately it didn't work out but the desire remained. Fast forward to 2018 and very sadly my dear Mother passed away leaving me a small inheritance that, together with a generous part exchange, I could get my dream car and it would serve as a wonderful reminder of poor Mum.

3 weeks ago I finally picked up a new Plus 4 - I had a tear in my eye as I first set sight on it in champagne with Cuba and all the bells and whistles

Three weeks in and I can't say it's been enjoyable. I expected the car would need some running in as I'm sub 500 miles and I received some great advice from the likes of Cain and KEVFITZ amongst others on what to expect, however there are two issues I find completely distracting;

1. The speedo mists up. I've had the opportunity to chat to a few people about this an the general response is circa "only one gauge" or " they all do that" or "Morgan have been looking at this for ages" - Now is it only me or should the gages not mist up? Has anyone else had this or accept that it's a 'norm'. I'd love to know what people think and if anyone else had this issue - Is it a warranty thing or do folks say it is part of the 'charisma'?

2. The power delivery is appalling. I have a fat spot between 2000 - 3000 RPM and it kills the driving experience. I'm working below 4000 as a run in right now but it is dead below 3000 and flat - This can't be right. Now with the milage I hope it would improve but as of now nothing gives me any indication that it will. I opted for the standard exhaust etc. so there was no issues with emissions or fuelling so why is it now as smooth as a GDI Mondeo

I would really appreciate some words of wisdom as to the best way forward. The dealer is a 8 hour round trip so not easily accessible and to be truthful I'm ready to give up. I live on the moors -s uperb driving roads - today the sun was shining and I opted to take my 2005 Saab diesel!

Note the time and day - I've had a pint and I'm not too happy - I know you all love the marque but this can't only be me?

Any help will be really appreciated.

The power delivery I have no idea about but the Gauge misting is something I get too and not just the speedo. I think this is because the gauges in cars like this are all small semi sealed modular items, not like the great big open things in normal cars. So they have their own little internal micro climate. The gauges on my Elfin Clubman do the same thing, so I am inclined to think that this is not really any lack of diligence on Morgan’s part, short of heating the gauges I can’t see how you can cure it. And finally and most importantly as the root cause of the issue, the glass on our gauges is real Glass not plastic, they will inherently be colder and more subject to misting. If you took the glass out and swapped for plastic lenses they would not mist up.
Aside from getting the flat spot fixed, don’t let the gauges niggle you 😄👍🏻

Yes I agree with Uther don't let the gauges get you down, a small amount of heat directed behind the dash when in the garage may do it or some larger holes toward the bottom of the afflicted instrument - this works on boats.
The flat spot however is another issue, with a largely standard new engine it should be down to Morgan to fix.

I can't comment on a new Morgan but I thought new engines were run in at the factory that makes the engine. Seeing Morgan buys Ford engines for the Plus 4 I would have thought Ford would have run it in before delivering it to Morgan.

However when I have rebuilt and engine or bought a new car what I do is find a quiet road and take the car to 2,000rpm and back off, then to 3,000rpm and back off, then 4,000rpm and keep repeating that over and over. I have noticed my cars I have done that too seem to go nicer than other cars. I was told the trick by a guy that rebuilds motor bike engines, he said the engine braking is the most important thing to do when running in an engine and 90% of people ignore it. I hope when a factory runs an engine in on a dyno machine that make it do engine braking,

As others have said, the fact that the gauges mist is a feature of simple sports cars. Warm air inside the gauges meets the cold surface of the gauge and the inevitable result is condensation.

As for the flat spot, I don't believe it's a good idea to keep a new engine below any artificial rev limit. It needs to be progressively run throughout the complete rev range as Chris describes, right up to the red line, but shouldn't be allowed to labour in any gear.

If it were my car I'd give it a good workout for a hundred miles and see if the flat spot remained, and if it did, take it back to a Morgan dealer.

I keep my side lights permanently on. Firstly to be seen and secondly the heat helps with the gauges misting.
I would take it back over the flat spot.

My gauges mist up too, I just accepted it. Only in cold weather though

Warranty on the Mog so demand these things are fixed from the dealer you purchased it from ? (my guages have not misted up so there must be a fix )

I had really bad condensation in my Roadster gauges, which was only improved by drilling holes in the casings

This improved things no end, but on cold mornings, two gauges still mist up

In extreme cases you'll get water droplets on the inside, but it's typical.

The GDI engine isn't Fords best by a long way. My gripe is the over sensitive throttle. But with low mileage it will be tight anyway.

I don't have a flat spot on my Plus4, and its ok on the road, but even with 7,000 miles on it, I wish it went like our Polo GTI!

Give it more time, and put more miles on it. I reckon it will improve up to 10,000 miles. Certainly my mpg is improving with mileage.

Paddockman - don't give up just yet!. The flat spot you describe isn't normal and indicates a visit back to the dealer is needed. Pity it was missed on its PDi but likely a simple fix. It should be lively and pull well at the revs you mention - and will i'm sure once fixed. You have grounds to be disappointed but it will be worth it in the end.

The misting is another matter. Yes keeping sidelights on helps but to an extent they always will mist up a bit, on certain days. I stored my car in a damp prone pre-clad concrete garage for its first year and the gauge misting was quite bad,. Since moving it to much dryer storage its much less evident.

When its running right the misting up won't be a factor because you'll be enjoying the drive so much.