Talk Morgan Forums Community Welcome Forum Hello from Middle England

CQ,

My two pennyworth....based on about 8 years of Morgan ownership, Roadster and then Aero Plus 8.

Williams: Recommended, particularly if you like good music and spaniels.

MSCC: like no other car club, small, imperfectly formed, but full of people who are more interested in their cars and driving them, than strategy and politics. BUT the membership is more focussed on trad chassis cars than Aero chassis or CX versions.
It is organised into Centres, each has a distinct personality. Try a number.

Choosing a Morgan: drive a number, remember they are hand built, unlike a Porsche, or anything else the side of the 1950s, so the driving experience will be different even if the model is the same. I drove 3 Plus 8s. One was just not nice, the second was too expensive and the third found me on a wet, miserable Saturday in November.

This place: possibly the nicest, most likeable forum I've ever been part of. Effectively self moderated, and the better for it: it works because a sizeable number of active members know each other in the real world, as well as the virtual world.

All that remains now is for your Morgan to find you.

Welcome Captain,
I have to agree with Peter, this really is a very agreeable forum with extremely helpful and knowledgeable people onboard. In two days time I will have been a poster for exactly a year and, although I am possibly the least technically capable person to belong (and only owned one since 15th March but wanted one for over 30 years) the fact is I feel like I do belong.....to a big club of chums all of whom want me to experience the same fun as they do.
Hope to meet you and many others at Blenheim in 2020 old chap. Happy new year!
HB

I’m most grateful for the all helpful guidance and welcome extended to me. A big thanks to everyone.

My current thinking is heading in the direction of a late 2000s/early 2010s Roadster; a Roadster-100 seems a very attractive proposition on several fronts. The rationale for this is chiefly from a maintenance and performance perspective; I think I’d feel more comfortable with a Ford-engined car.

A few matters have occurred to me namely the feasibility of undertaking a rear disc brake conversions on a Roadster (Williams are currently offering a 2013 Morgan Plus 4 Babydoll with these fitted so it seems it can be done) and fitting a roll bar to a road car. Both would be for occasional track-days and motorsport events. Also, I know 15” alloys were the standard wheels for this model but is there a 16” alloy wheel option available?

If anyone has any thoughts on these they would be most welcome, meanwhile happy New Year and Decade to you all. CQ.

Well, you did ask....

Rear discs on a Trad - why? With such a light back-end, you'll simply lock up at the rear (no ABS remember). I know there are people who run a Baby Doll on the road, but they are primarily a track car (the lack of any engine warranty is a clue to the intended use) hence the rear discs. In my younger and more foolish days I have done rear disc conversions on (non-Morgan) cars and without resorting to front/rear rather than diagonal-split braking systems and F/R bias valves it is hard to stop the rear brakes being simply too effective - even if using significantly upgraded front calipers/discs and in-line pressure restrictors on the rear brake lines.

16 wheels - I believe the wires are 16" and the alloys 15". I'd stay initially with whatever your chosen car has. Bigger wheels can stop the tyre sidewall doing its job properly which on a Morgan is quite critical. Forget whatever preconceived ideas you may have from other Marques where bigger may be considered better.

Good luck finding your car and fiddling with it to your heart's content.

I had a Roadster 100, great classic Morgan.

I had the Suplex front end fitted by Williams, if I had the car still I'd have the SSL multi link rear end fitted. I'd also fit better front brakes, but the rear brakes? No need. The drums main job is as a handbrake, the back end is so light 90% of the braking is done on the front wheels.
Plenty of Morgans have roll bars fitted, but if it is to meet MSA requirements you can't put the hood up, so it needs to be easily demountable.

Downsides?
Very few...
The clutch is heavy and first gear is all but pointless unless you are starting off uphill with a load!
There is a lot of heat soak into the footwells, I lined mine out with Dynamat, which made a big difference.

As Peter said the clutch on these can be heavy and that's why I discounted a Roadster for a Plus 8 on both occasions, plus the sound track wasn't what I wanted.
Enjoy your choosing.

Peter's Roadster is for sale at Allon White at present.

I've never found the clutch on my Roadster to be especially heavy, and first gear in the Series 1 is a usable gear.

Agreed Dave.
Librands sell roll bars.

Just a quick comment on the roll bars.
Most roll bars I have seen on Morgans are in positions, where you should wear a helmet.
Even on normal street drive you are much more in danger of smashing your had on the bar in "normal" hard braking - rear ending.
It´s a pure track thing in my eyes...

Miklos