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

Hi paddockman,

I have debated selling my car on numerous occasions over the past 2 years, but somehow, I have managed to hang on in there.
My gauges mist up badly, to the point where on occasion I have had to use a gps speedometer on the windscreen. The frogeye sprite didn’t have this issue, but my 60-year younger modern car did!

My dealer recommended pointing the heater vents at the rear of the gauges, made little difference, When I contacted the factory, they said they had never heard of the issue. I almost returned the car to the dealer there and then! It doesn’t sit well with me that we should accept such basic faults on a car costing north of £40k new! I wonder if the new Plus 6 gauges fog up?

The flat spot is odd, there is one at 3000rpm where the fuel flow is backed off so that the car can pass an emissions test. I did have a flat spot when pulling away which lead to a lot of kangarooing on a hair throttle. Since changing the poorly made, poorly built and poorly gas flowed standard exhaust manifold to a free flowing Librand one the car is a lot smoother to drive. I did find my car “livened up” when it clicked past 18k miles (I bought it on 14k).

I would certainly be kicking up a fuss on the warranty. Is there anyway you can compare your car to another to see if the issue is there?

Regardless of how new the car is - it should NOT have an engine flat spot...take it back!

There seems too much... "it's a Morgan, we don't want to rock to rock the boat" on here - sometimes...this Plus Four was probably north of £40K.

Ring the dealer tell them to pick it up (as it dangerous to drive?) and get them to recheck their work...it is after all part of the PDI. They will also then have time to fix for the instruments.

The dealer does not sound a great dealer either, to be honest, supplying it like this?

Ford do not deliver Focus's with a flat spot...Mobility drivers would not tolerate it...!

Certainly get it back to the dealers for the flat spot if it's still there at the 1,000 service.

The fogging instruments are a way of life with the newer models, many have tried a fix but thus far it has been elusive.

My 2009 Sport was a pain for this but both my Plus 8's have never suffered from this at all.

I've had two Gdi Plus 4's. Although I wouldn't describe it as a flat spot, the power delivery is not linear and combined with the fly by wire throttle tends to be rather all or nothing, made worse if you are new to them. I think you need first to establish if it indeed has a fault or not, did you drive one before you bought as if so how did it compare? Not sure when you live but maybe there is a possibility you can drive another to see how it feels, it may just be the same.
No harm done if you take it briefly over 4000 and you will find it takes off and is a totally different car at that rev range and as others have said, does get better as the miles mount up.
Misty gauges I live with, they certainly don't spoil the enjoyment of the car enough for a complaint, too many good things going on to worry about it!
Hope you get to enjoy the car whatever the cause.

This is an absolute joke, whoever said that shouldn't be in a customer-facing position. It's been a problem for 25 years to my knowledge.

I have a gdi and mine also has a non-linear power (torque?) delivery.
That made me think of a remap but this is only available with sports exhaust, which is a bit too much ‘Golf GTI-like’ to my taste.
I’ve driven 8000km by now and it seems to loosen up a bit. Could also be that I’m more used to pushing past this flat spot asap when driving.
A remap without the noise would still be very welcome, though.

It just occurred to me to wonder if you were drawing comparisons between the Saab diesel, which is no doubt turbocharged, and the naturally aspirated GDI Morgan. There is a world of difference between the flat torque curve of a turboccharged engine that kicks in at low revs and the torque curve of a naturally aspirated engine. I would expect it to pull cleanly from about 2500 rpm and gradually pick up to about 3500 to 4000 where it would really start to kick in. I can cruise happily at 3000 on the Autostrada and around town even at 2000 rpm though if I am doing 50 kph I am likely to be in 4th, not 5th gear. If I need acceleration I would probably drop back at least one gear if not 2. Once above 4k things really start to happen.

In my case I have the Morgan and an automatic diesel AWD Jaguar XE: obviously the driving style required by each car is quite different -

Thank you all again for your comments.

I opted for the standard exhaust system over the sports system that was a free of charge option on the 110 so don't really want to go down that route, I would imagine a free flow manifold would improve things but I would also imagine there will be an issue with any warranty if it continues to play up and the exhaust was a third party item. I noted the Williams upgrade but, in my opinion, Morgan should have their system running well enough by now.

Peter - I have access to and number of vehicles so the Saab was just an example of my disappointment, I'd reach for my Saab keys over the new Morgan is damming in my view.

As for the misting - I hear and understand the calls to accept it as a Morgan trait but it can't be right. This car with all the extras was about £52k. Add on the £8k of free kit from the 110 offer and it's £60k - There should not be an issue with anything costing that sort of money - and any niggles should be easily rectified.

I hope I can find a solution soon or at the 1st service.

Good point about warranty and the addition of non-morgan parts. Could, in theory, be an issue later on.

I know what this disappointment feel like - I also suffered the build-up and subsequent deflation of emotions that a new Morgan can bring - in my case it was a 3 wheeler.

Looking back now I realise it was the mis-match between my expectations and the reality of what i'd actually bought. That's not making excuses for the Plus4 in question - the fact that you would prefer to drive a SAAB diesel is evidence of just how far the car has fallen short of your expectations.

You will need to get to know a decent dealer ( hopefully local but not essential if the closest isn't brilliant) so that the issues can-be be worked through. All "trads" get better with age/use. They do need fettling in the early days. Bits will work loose and there will be niggles/problems. I know its hard to accept when we are talking £50-£60K, but it comes down to expectations. It might not be good enough but that is the way it is. Once I came to realise that I had to get out of my 3 wheeler - such was the scale of let down I felt. Morgans are hand-built cars of very old design - the qualities of a mass produced modern car are behond what canbe delivered with such an old design - even if it is new. ( The new plus6 may - I stress may - improve on this).

I sincerely hope a cure for the misting canbe found - but its an often discussed issue that I don't think anyone has discovered a 100% cure for. Not in a damp climate like the UK anyway.

The flat spot is another issue and i'd recommend trying another plus 4 or getting a ride out in one to compare. Then the decent dealer will be able to sort it.

I had a drive in a new 2.0 MX5 last weekend - 180 plus BHP. Cost is around £25K. Brilliant car in every way and the far more logical choice really over a Morgan. But it didn't feel special - for me that's what it comes down to - how does it feel? The plus4 in question is failing the test at present - hang on in there, get it to a decent dealer (work with them - you want them on your side) and in time it will feel special. Give it 6-12 months, allow it to settle in and then, if its still not what you want it to be, sell it and get something else. At this level there are some great cars to enjoy.

All the best with it.

Unfortunately this is an example of why it's best to think of a Morgan as a 1930s car that they forgot to stop making, rather than a modern car with a classic shape. They simply cannot be expected to have the same level of ergonomics, and I'm afraid it's not a question of money.

The problem is one of basic physics. The classic Morgan has a narrow engine bay with poor heat dissipation, and the addition of a modern powerful engine means there's a lot of heat gathering at the rear of the engine bay, soaking through to the under-dash area. The rear of the instruments is always going to be a warm place, and being an open car means the humidity level is always going to be the same as ambient, if not a little higher given there are human legs under there too, exuding water vapour.

The other factor is that the dashboard is hardly recessed at all, the doors are cut away like a proper roadster should be, and the windscreen is very thin with no A pillars to speak of. Thus there is no way for a pocket of warm air to gather and stabilise in front of the instruments.

So the inevitable happens: The instrument face cools as the car is driven, the comparatively warm moist air behind/inside the instruments meets this cold face, and condensation is the result. Because it's caused by the basic layout of the car, I can't see there's a way round it without changing the core design. Modern cars do it by double-glazing the instrument panel and having much more enclosed cockpits, but you can't do that in a trad Morgan

Many people have tried different solutions: increasing airflow through the instruments is probably the easiest, but it doesn't always work. Another way would be to somehow get the air inside the instruments completely dry and then to hermetically seal them, but I would think that would be almost impossible.

The best solution in my view really is to recalibrate one's thinking and learn to accept the characteristics of a wonderful car.