Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Photo Gallery Keith's 4/4 resto

Bringing it home... Runner and driver but various body woes :-)

That gear knob looks great as does the horn push.
It's these details everybody sees and comments on in a restoration, not the dirty and backbreaking chores you carried out.

Gordon..... I will always try to repurpose or make rather than buy .... that's one of the fun things about a rebuild and keeps as much of the original car as possible. Some of the changes are purely personal ..... having been in my 20s and a petrolhead during the '70s I was not a fan of what I saw as mass produced details in a lot of cars (for me it was the decade that taste forgot ) ..... I love the '70s crossflow Morgans ....they just seem to be a nice blend of parts ..... still basic good workmanship and materials ....however, the some of the details (trim, switchgear etc) just kicks off my '70s phobia .... the car will be basically kept as it is but I hope to weed out the detail bits I don't like .... just my personal view and others love the '70s look but I'll not be doing anything that can't be easily reversed so no harm done either way.

You're right about the details being much more noticeable than the graft .... hopefully it will be some years before my driving deteriorates to the point where a significant number of random pedestrians get a close up look at the chassis and floorboards!!

K

Here's the reversing switch on a type 9 tail shaft case.
I do like that gear knob.

https://www.burtonpower.com/reverse-switch-types-2-3-5-9-e-f-not-2000e-gbt9545.html

I've not got a wiring diagram for a Mark 1 Capri or Escort but as the switch is available you'd think there's be somewhere to fit it on the gearbox. I'd guess that the reversing lights were an optional extra on cars of this vintage and Morgans just bought the base item.

It's the same on mine as in the pic John posted ...... looking on the Ford forums it appears there are two types of switch and the reversing light is earth activated ..... the single connector switch (which presumably earths internally when operated) which is now really hard to get ....and the double connector switch as in the picture that just needs one connector tagged to earth ...Possibly using the gear lever mounting bolt just above it.

K

That's great thank you - I wonder if there's not enough space between the gearbox and tunnel? At least now I know where it is I can see if I can wire something up. May have to cut an access hole

Keith, that transformation of the steering wheel is quite something

No less than I expected of you, the wheel is a perfect restoration and the gear knob is a work of art.

I’ve just chopped down a tree on my estate, (the backie), I’ve kept a few of the best bits and one day, I’ll bodge it into something only I could be proud of.

The gear knob is the sort of craftsmanship that fits perfectly with my thinking on the great value which a Morgan, like few other machines of their era, are capable of being personalised to a degree that can be so very satisfying and in so many ways, perhaps more so if one has a contemplative mindset..(-: Thus perhaps not quite 70`s Cortina with furry dice and Steve & Sharon emblazoned across the top of the windscreen in large white lettering on a blue sun strip, but something a tad more subtle perhaps..(-:

I still have the original matt black steering wheel for my car though it came with a polished alloy wheel fitted, I do like alloy, having spent many a year polishing the stuff on the inside and outside of my old Brit m/cycles engines..(-: However I think Morgan chose matt black for the finish of their steering wheels good reason..... My polished alloy one can cause an annoying reflection on the windscreen, perhaps more so on a long journey in the sun...should you ever have such an intention...(-:

Thanks for letting us all look over your shoulder,while your build is in progress K ...

Ewn ...I'm sure my mate would be happy to let you have a go on his wood lathe with your tree bits ..... and if all you ended up with was a pile of shavings you could always buy a hamster .

Luddite ..... thanks for the tip about reflections .... if it's in the screen I guess it's the back of the wheel that's the issue .... if it crops up I'll paint the back of the wheel matt black and keep the bit you can see shiny.(and avoid glittery nail varnish )

Just having lunch after clearing enough space to remove the body frame for the last time so it can be thoroughly cuprinol-ed before its final 'forever' (hopefully!) bolt into place .... have lost count of the number of times it's all been tagged together and then pulled apart to be tagged together the next day again ..... hopefully the effort will be worth it during the final assembly

K