Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Need reassurance

No great practical advice to add here but I do have some experience that may be of value.

I bought my first ever Morgan roughly a year ago

After the initial euphoria had subdued I too started to tire of the harsh, unforgiving ride and somewhat wayward steering.

Date checked the tyres and mine were 12 years old so I renewed them with nice new Avons. Big improvement for under £300

Adjusting the steering rack cost nothing.

New AVO front shocks were a revelation for about £200 so I also fitted them at the rear for another £200. I thought the car was fine at this point.

More recently I detected some play in both the kingpins which wasn't evident on the car. New kingpins and bushes together with damper blades have again transformed the steering and ride. Cost about £300 again.

Each of the above made significant incremental improvements and has made it much more comfortable to drive for long distances. Is it anywhere near as comfy as our MX5, no, but its not supposed to be.

So in a nutshell it is possible to improve the ride and steering but they will never be a match for a modern design. And thats the appeal.

Oh, exhaust fumes can to some extent be tuned by lengthening or shortening the exit pipe or even fitting one of those odd looking sea-shell covers popular in the 50s and 60s.

Hope this has been of some help

Gary

Apart from sometimes getting the whiff of exhaust (which I'm pretty sure depends on wind direction and the speed you're travelling at) your description of your experiences of driving your Morgan sound very unlike mine. I have only ever driven three Morgan Plus 4s; mine (2015 GDi), the demonstrator at Williams (a 2012 Duratec I seem to remember) and William's souped-up Duratec (very loud). Within an hour of starting off in the demonstrator and after accustoming myself to the idiosyncrasies and character of the Morgan I was smitten - loved it. We've been very long distances in my GDi with no discomfort (other than the usual aches I get driving any car). I think there's definitely something up with your car. Up to you what you do but I would hope that any decent dealer would sort you out and get you happy.

Might also be worth doing the old 'bounce' test on each corner to see what state the dampers are in? Just be careful on those wings

Really? Good luck with that one especially on the front

Arwyn

Yeah, they are a bit hard on the front (test works fine on the back). What would you recommend for testing front dampers?

Yes, doing that test on mine I'd swear they were all seized!

I have got virtually new AVO adjustables on the front, and spanky new springs and refurbed adjustable armstrongs at the back, so perhaps I'm a bit spoiled

Asda car park speed bumps at walking pace or less. They are particularly steep and thin. Got one and a tiny bit rebound on front with AVO's and barely one with standard rear coilovers, since replaced with SSL.

How old are the tyres? the tyres play a big part in both safety & the suspension. As the age they harden , even if they look OK they might be contributing to this.
Most tyre change places have on their web site a guide on how to check the age. There are numbers on each tyre giving the week & year. Anything over 6 years is a risk & on Morgans they don't normally wear out before 6 years.

Really good advice from John.
I change my tyres every 5 or 6 years.
Despite the old tyres looking ok; I never cease to be amazed at how the new tyres improve both ride and grip.