Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) 3.7 roadster - any known issues? and Battery life

Interesting findings John given I don't have the perspective of familiarity with earlier Roadsters. I do find the Ford box itself on mine excellent allowing very smooth changes. Harking back to the 70's Ford box's were always the smoothest with knife through butter feel whereas their continental counterparts although good always retained a degree of notchiness. Our BMW Mini is the same so it seems little has changed. Problem with the 3.7 Roadster though is the gearing. First is so low as to be useless except for maneuvering or dribbling along in traffic. Sixth is great for fuel economy but too high to overtake swiftly at motorway speeds. I suspect this explains why you mention the car prefers cruising at 80 mph.

I can understand the Mustang origins, given the substancial extra weight, justifying a lower first but sixth must be way too high. I appreciate final drive ratio will impact on this issue but such a wide range box can only exaggerate my criticism at one end of the range or other. The 5 litre V8 Mustang lower ratio's are better with higher first and even second but sixth is higher still at 0.651:1 compared to 3.7 V6 of 0.704:1.

Richard,
yes I struggled with the low first & high 6th. The change as you say is very good. The 3.7 is a good car & if I didn't own mine I would be tempted. I am sure if I drove one for a while those niggles would go away apart from the spedo.

I found 2nd gear to be the most user friendly to pull away from rest. That said it will try to stall if engine revs are not high enough. Concur that 6th is very much an overdrive. The car does not need 6 gears - 3 would suffice.

On a long gentle run it might reach as much as 28mpg.

Road tax is not for the faint hearted 😊

Worked these transmision ratio's out on a scrap of paper some time ago. Finally got around to putting them on a spreadsheet. There may be some slight anomalies with rolling radius of tyres, but close enough I think.

You've Excelled yourself this time.

Excellent

Updated version here



Feel free to click on image and download Excel file as template for other cars.

This has been a fascinating read for a new 3.7 Roadster owner, thanks to all contributors. Mine's a 2012 four-seater and I've now clocked over 5000 miles in it (daily driver) since September.

Had to replace a ten year old battery, which was a challenge to find and has resolved the minor electrical glitches I had experienced (touch wood). It uses a little more water than I'd like but I can't find the leak. A couple more issues still to fix - the heated screen only functions on a two-inch strip in the centre and one of the rivet connections in the hood mechanism sheared off, I have a temporary fix in place which seems to be holding at present and if it ever stops raining/snowing, I'll find out how effective it is with regular down-up action. Oh, and is the clock illuminated with the other instruments on your cars, as it's not on this one?

Driving a quirky old-school car is matter of adapting to its eccentricities. Yes, there's a measure of rev hang, and given the wet and icy nature of the last four months, I've not been ragging it too enthusiastically everywhere, but it's a manageable problem. I've driven fast cars with crash gearboxes and the only way to get a smooth change is to back off the revs a fraction before you depress the clutch, and that works for the Roadster, except when changing from first to second above about 2500rpm or in higher gears above 4000rpm, where more care is required. It's certainly not the fast change you'd expect on a modern, but adds to the charm and challenge of driving. I wouldn't take it on a track day, though.

I've also driven a 70's 400bhp Camaro, which had an even greater capacity to overwhelm the chassis and brakes, so I treat the Roadster more like a muscle car - use four gears (second to fifth) and plan your driving to minimise gear changing where it might cause traction issues - and use big throttle changes with respect. Maybe drier roads as the weather improves will reveal more of an issue with spirited driving; I've had no issues overtaking and the back has got quite squirrelly in the damp at times, as I'm not hanging about.

I've got used to the speedo being in front of the passenger because the gear ratios are so well selected: 2000rpm equates neatly to 30mph in third, 40mph in fourth, 50mph in fifth and 70mph in sixth, so you can hear whether you're obeying the speed limit; perhaps as I'm a musician, I'm more sensitive to pitch, but it certainly works where cameras have proliferated. No points yet (touch wood again).

Driving with top down and sidescreens off in minus seven in December was an experience; the heater is more than adequate once it warms up. The whole experience reminds me of my motorcycling days, but with a much more comfortable seat. Loving every minute.

Heated windscreen problems are common across the Morgan range.

Jonm going through each of your familiar queries in turn:

At 10 years battery replacement was well overdue particularly with such a low mileage car.

The plastic capped radiators were used across the later Classics range but of course our Roadsters had to dissipate the most heat. Mine started weeping from the usual plastic to core interface after 3+ years. An all aluminium larger replacement available from SiFab or Mulfab is the solution. Very happy with my SiFab one and temp gauge remains exactly as before plus fan comes on far less often.

Working heated screen elements do seem to diminish with age as Keith suggests although mine still just serviceable in demisting after 4+ years.

I too initially jumped on the rev hang bandwagon after noticing a surge on up changes from the outset of ownership. I'm confident now this is simply due to excess flywheel mass from the DMF, being far more noticeable on such a light car. Solid flywheel option will be a future mod. This is not to say some, mainly earlier, cars don't have genuine rev hang as described by an ex owner who's car was written off due to same!

Speedo position is not so much of an issue for me but sadly perfectly placed for to tap on in restricted areas or higher readings.

Sounds like you are enjoying the Roadster and not afraid to use it in any weather Jon !

I have just finalized the purchase of a 2017 3.7 after a long test drive and now awaiting delivery.

I also noticed the rev hanging issue (having read so much on it on TM). My view yes it was noticeable but as i you say manageable and did not deter from the overall driving experience.

The car has the 5 link rear suspension and further enhanced by the fitting of SSL coil overs and Suplex (SSL) front upgrades.

During the test drive i deliberately used "A &B" roads and tested out some pot holes, en route and found the cars suspension upgrade to cope extremely well with the road surface.

I found the Limited Slip differential a useful feature when I was pushing hard and wondered whether you are finding a help driving in the Ice and Snow Jon ?

Having previously owned a Plus 4 and a series 3 Aero8 I had been looking to move up to a CX range Plus 6 but currently found it hard to justify the price differential. So it seems I will have to resign myself to this beautiful example of the traditional range that was featured on the Morgan stand at the 2017 Geneva Car show.

Just a few extras to add on and it will be ready to be enjoyed, though I am not confident I will take out until the salt dissapears from the black stuff.

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