Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) So, have you driven your Morgan today?

[quote=+8Rich]
Rich,

Is yours a rover v8 then?

Hawki, Yes it's the 3.9.

Better mpg (30) is available with a smaller pedal or fitting of a Tornado chip but I like the loud pedal and always keep my Morgan's unadulterated for reasons I've covered before.

As ever very interesting thoughts George from your very varied motoring career and it's clear you have had some lovely toys in the cupboard over the years allied to the talent to seriously modify them as well, placing you in a very good position to pass comments on lots of things on 2 and 4 wheels and I also find it interesting that the purity of the traditional Morgan experience is a priority with you and reassuring.

It is in the nature of some people to forever be tinkering with things but if it ain't broke leave well alone I want the experience of driving more than polishing, once a year is more than adequate for me and I hate add on's and stuck on bits.

I've had my share of building kit cars and swapping small engines for bigger one's etc but you grow out of that and want something with reliable performance in the end is my experience but with the raw experience preserved and that is exactly what Peter Morgan and Mr Owen produced in the little tin shack all those years ago.

Very interesting to hear the opposition to keeping it real on emog and a little surprising.

Button was a great engineer and innovator but he liked the purity too and rather interestingly when he advised young Tom on here about speccing his new car he said get whatever you want on it at the factory don't keep adding bits and pieces afterwards, after all his years experience this has to be the best advise.

Keep her for a while George and plan a couple of trips for late summer.

Heather's Polo is a hoot to drive with192 bhp on tap and all the aids you need to keep it on the road and in the right mood with the need to get somewhere fast it takes some beating, visceral it's not and that's the whole point of a Plus 8 you feel it, you hear it and you smell it

Richard, you are too kind, in truth most of my machines were cast off`s a bit like ladies of the night having been used and abused in every way possible. leaking fluids of all types..!! A lack of funding was ever the issue for me. One aspect of not having the wherewithal to buy new machine or indeed new parts to effect a repair, one had to learn to repair everything one possibly could, and to repair anything it seems best to try to understand how it should work in the first place, thus there was a great deal to learn,all in the days long before the internet...(-:

The up side of trying to keep old tarts running long enough to be reliable transport to get to work and back home, with the occasional run out into the countryside, was that by the time you had them up and running you had hands on experience of just about every area of the machine, and if it broke down, your Barbour jacket`s pockets, would have a spark plug or two, a HT cap perhaps a length of HT lead, screwdriver, pliers a couple of chain links perhaps even some clutch corks and a spare bulb or two, a couple of tyre irons and a puncture repair outfit... I suspect I was not the only m/cyclist who was so equipped for it seemed I grew up near the end of the make do and mend modus operandi, where a degree of self sufficiency was the only way one could afford to run any kind of machine. The Magazine m/cycle mechanics was my teacher...

For sure I have had a plethora of tired old machines through my hands over the years and learned the basics of welding, fabrication, bodywork preparation, spray painting, and in the process turned some wrecks into runners. I have not ever bought a new machine. Though my good lady has...(-:

It seems early Morganeers were perhaps the same breed and could carry out all sorts of repairs on their Morgans to keep them going, of course there were ever those who would go one stage further to make them go that bit faster, but I suspect there would be quite a few operating on a shoe string.. in the fifties and sixties and beyond..?

I know new my limitations and while I could get by, I am no real craftsman like some I have met over the years, and also on Morgan forums such as eMog and TM, some of their work could only be described as artistry in engineering, while at the same time I have known folk who`s ideas on "improvement" may have cost a great deal in time effort and money to end up creating such a degree of mechanical imbalance that totally spoiled their ability to enjoy the machine they set out to improve..Just as did I when I thought high cost high performance related equipment was bound to be an improvement...

Some folk came late in life to Morganeering professionals of many types who had been too busy with building a life to be messing around with things mechanical, but as time went by, they thought to get into some hands on involvement with old cars, and a simply constructed car seemed ideal...? The GoMoG webmaster could perhaps be described as one such, and in his lengthy search for knowledge and understanding to keep his Morgan in fine fettle, eventually ended up being to the benefit of everyone who like Lorne had the same objectives, though fortunately for them Lorne had been there and done that, and to his great credit was driven to create a free to everyone database in order to share all that he could, relative to his hard won acquisition of knowledge...and given the number of miles covered on more than one country or continent in his Morgans, I imagine he had covered more miles than most..?

GoMoG would seem to be the go to database, though there are others, but is seems such has been the evolution in automotive engineering that machines have become overly complex to the degree that issues can arise that even stump professionals to some degree..which is a long way from roadside repairs taken on with confidence by the "average" Morganeer in times past, where a fag packet could provide the correct gap for spark plugs and the wrapping within could help set up both the timing and the points gap..... It is a very different world today where the thought of putting any tool in the pocket of an immaculate Barbour jacket would be considered as some kind of sacrilege to the gods of high fashion, whereas I thought my old Barbour wore its oil stained patination rather well and helped with the waterproofing to some degree..I suspect today the only tool that some Morganeers might use to resolve an issue might be their cell phone, yup, all very different..?

Got to admit that I would not even lift the bonnet on a modern car so out of date is my hard won skill-set, I like my fun car to be a bit like myself, somewhat simple...(-:

As for the old Mog, I like your thinking Richard, and if things do not fall into place as I might hope, it will just remain part of the family perhaps to become even more of a garage queen than it has been over too long a period of time.. Though if Nicola drops the chequered flag any time soon, I suspect the old Mog and I will give it our best shot for a few miles at least...

Interesting George your comments on the lack of hands on with the current trend of new Morgan owners and I fully agree with you.

I am however very encouraged by the M3W postings that I read and they mostly seem to be spannered up probably out of necessity and I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that it would seem many come from a motor cycling background and all that entails.

I have the utmost respect for that band of heroes, my first sighting of a broken frame and that was any ideas of M3W ownership out the door as I still think that it was irresponsible to release those models tbh.

I loved your opening analogy

Drove past Bowshaw Whams Reservoir and it was nice to see some people out sailing

There's room for every shade of involvement with the trads. They beg to be fettled, and Peter Morgan said he built cars to be finished off by their owners.

But things move on, and later Trads are not so easy to spanner, but can still be improved in terms of cockpit mods, and water proofing.

The M3W needs more hands on ownership, and the Aeros much less. But the common factor is to make of it whatever you want.

The CX will be perfect for the turnkey owners. All aging cars develop electronic issues over time. It's a hostile environment for electronics, and rubber deteriorates with age whatever you do with it.

When the time comes that I can't fettle any longer, that's will be the time to reconsider whether I go for a more velcro solution.

Richard, it is indeed quite amazing what a careful application of makeup can cover up, be it a patchwork Porsche freshly painted or a lady of the night with bright ruby red lips, though I feel I must stress I have had some years of contact with the former, but no contact whatsoever with the latter....err..well.. at least not that I know of...(-:

The nearest I got to buying a new sports car was when I bought my +8 from Kevin early on in 2002, at the time such had been my education as to that which a new Morgan might be, having started out on the fledgling MSCCDG, and Morgans at Autox, to migrate on to eMog, learning all the while of the many ..err...foibles attributable to Morgans both old, and brand new right out of the box. I sure knew what to expect by the time I had to have one...(-:

I guess without my knowing Lorne had been looking around for a Morgan for me, I having typed up a resume of my mechanical past, and asked the question WHICH MORGAN of the interweb community...(-: Apparently it was John Worrall (of the book Original Morgan) who came to know that Kevin intended selling his Morgan, I guess as the result of Kevin perhaps buying stainless Morgan bits from Heart of England Morgans during his +8 rebuild, no matter the linkage, it was great to be afforded the opportunity to buy a hand rebuilt Morgan, recreated by a highly skilled garage business owner, who knew well the many foibles that existed in his customers Morgans, to incorporate a degree of care in it`s reassembly in order to try to ensure that many were ironed out.

So there was I, a canny Scot who had juggled a few spanners (thanks Colin(-: ) rubbed a bit of filler and sprayed a few gallons of paint in my time, standing inspecting a vision of perfection in the form of a Morgan that to anyone with an educated eye, oozed time and effort that had been invested to create it... It was only a question of how much Kevin..? NO bartering, I did not even drive it, Kevin took both myself and Sandra out for a run in it, individually of course..(-: deal done, simples..(-:

Having enjoyed three Southern European adventures with increasing confidence in the +8`s ability, on completion of each trip, my growing confidence in Morgan`s original design of the +8, more than justified my original assessment of the machines worth, when compared to all that I had read of the negatives before arriving at the point of buying my own Morgan.

As you suggest Richard, the M3W guys seem more like the average Morganeers of old like Lorne, Button and many more, it seems all to simple to ramble on like an old man....(-: but I tip my hat with the greatest respect to the three wheeler guys who persevere seemingly against the odds, weather included to take on adventures exceeding those I would have contemplated in my Land Rover, let alone a three wheeled open top vehicle the size of a an aircraft cockpit.

I gave up m/cycling in my fifties when I required to wear glasses, bad enough a steamed up visor but glasses too... and now thinking of giving up on my Morgan on age related issues... Oh well, how fortunate was I to enjoy all that I did, and for as long as I did, though hopefully I might have a year or two yet, to continue enjoying some degree of sports car driving, though I suspect to do so requires a machine with a tad more ..err..insulation from the elements... Time will tell. As they say in this part of the woods, Maybees Aye..Maybees NAW Translation if needed, perhaps yes or perhaps no...

Quick trip out to Lavenham the most complete medieval village in the country...


IMG_6258 by Robert & Ali Davies, on Flickr

Had a lovely run out yesterday to Worcester, to have a socially distanced garden meet with my parents who I've not seen since February. Then popped two houses down to have another socailly distanced garden meet up with my Sister and her family who I've not seen since Christmas.

Although very different (and very hard to not being able togive my Mum a big hug), it was good to finallly see them after so long forced absence.

Went the back way (Daventy/Stratford/Alcester) but on the way there, held up by three car/bike acccidents. Seems that many are forgetting how to drive! Also three heavy rain showers which were a bit annoying.

Run home was dry and uneventful. Mog performed faultlessly, and the new rear suspension is an absolute joy - an total absence of crashes/bangs etc.