Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) if you didnt have a Morgan

As much as Mazda MX5 RF.

Oooh, well how about the Corvette C1? That's really lovely

It’s interesting Dave, but very much down to personal choice…

One of our SIL’s has an Abarth and I must admit I do like it a lot - it has character and easily tunable too, being an old-fashioned turbo. Standard it has 168 bhp, but could do with a bit more imho.

SWMBO has had an MX5 in the past, but currently has an Abarth 500 Competizione with 180 bhp, it’s her second Abarth 500 and I must say we both like it. Now that his Abarth is out of warranty, SIL is having it chipped to bring it over 200 bhp with attendant brake and suspension updates!

I think that it makes a super “fun car” and personally, I would prefer it over an MX5…

Little that is new.
Several of the above would fit.

TR5/6 would be good
Austin Healey (repro maybe)
Older BMW Z3M (from the Breadvan generation)
997 Soft or Targa

Something from Lotus feels like it should be considered

If budget is in the Plus Six region ?
Pre-loved Mercedes GT Conv
Very early McLaren Conv 570c
Possibly a 911 of some age/model/trim/engine

TVR Taimar Turbo I think could also be on my menu as a possible funbox.

Oh yes!!!

But they are not my price range....

Good choice, hens' teeth territory though. Mine was fantastic (sadly it is now "somewhere in Germany" after I sold it about 20 years ago).

MG`s are fine old machines, their faults are well documented and no doubt have been resolved in varying degrees by keen owners over the years, I was one such in my yoof... As for the V8, I have a dimm memory that their cast exh manifolds would crack and were made of unobtainium.... But then my guess is that issue will have been resolved by the owners club some time back..?


TBM. as I typed in this thread, circa 26 years ago I was in search of a more involved driving experience and with the guidance of the kind folk on the MSCC DG and eMog having provided them with a rough insight to my CARsonova tendencies and past automotive affairs, their overall assessment was that a Morgan would seem to fit the bill perfectly for me, which it has done over many a year.. (-: However now 26 years further down the line, my priorities have altered somewhat as I illuded to in my earlier post...In fact when I thought to return to a tin top my initial thought was to return to 911 ownership in the form of an air cooled variant, but then I remembered spending many an hour under my air cooled Porsches resolving corrosion issues from seventies onward to the 90`s.. These days detecting exactly that which might hide under a wonderfully polished and perfect few layers of paint on an air cooled Porsche, is likely to be no simple task.. for me.

Further to the above, I have a friend who is of a similar age to myself and has both an air cooled 911 which he has owned for over 30 years, and he also owns a 996 C4S and determines that the 911 is great fun, providing a very nostalgic experience any time he fires it up, but he tends to limit the length of time he spends bathing in nostalgia driving it before he has had enough of that, turns round and heads home, also when he attends Club drives or weekends away, he much prefers the performance engineering and advances in comfort that his 996 provides..?

Yeah most definitely nostalgia has it`s place and sense of value, however the passage of time can begin to tip the balance o, real world evaluation between nostalgia and practicality..?

Me..? As I typed I had memories of many a mile enjoyed in my last 911, an SC of 80`s vintage which a few years back had me thinking of turning back time to buy another 911, though being realistic to the effects of the passage of time on air cooled Porsches and more importantly on myself and my good lady, a more modern machine seemed the logical option...?

I guess if one spends quite a bit of time in modern traffic situations then a PDK box, air con, surround sounds, more comfort and safety features than you can shake a stick at, could be thought of as advantageous, perhaps even more so in traffic jams...?

As for a Porsche excitement being compared to lasting as long as the sense of fun you might derive from a speed boat, I guess I can see the logic in that line of thought when perhaps compared to your usual Morgan enjoyment, however I consider myself very fortunate in being retired and in that I can chose when to enjoy a run in my Porsche these days, and thus I pick specific times and favoured routes on which I which expect to have little to no traffic on them. Regardless of the month in the year, I can be found enjoying my Porsche at or around dawn, much as I did in my Morgan before old age and the cold caused me to reduce dawn Morgan drives to specific Summer conditions where it might be reasonably warm, at or around dawn in my part of the world, as around mid summer the sun does not set for very long and there can be a minimum time available for cold night air to cool things down... In such a situation, I suspect any keen driver could enjoy that which a modern sports car might have to offer, and for a tad longer than it takes to get bored with a speed boat..?

Typing of an acceptance of modernity.... My good lady is in the process of trading in her 4x4 for a Tesla...On the face of it by comparison the Tesla is boring to look at from both the exterior and interior compared to her rather smart 4x4, though the Tesla is looked upon by me as little more than a personal transportation device that fits with the changing times, and that it more suits my good lady`s current ideals and wishes to keep up with the times for as long as she/we might be able to, providing comfort convenience and safety enough to match our evolving ideals... Times change for sure... The sight of a Luddite driving a Tesla...Oh the shame of it all....

I developed the itch whilst working in Northern Germany I had the Motor Sport posted out to us and in 1978 they were full of praise for it.

At the time we ran an SE5a Reliant Scimitar GTE so well into the Essex V6 and the solutions to running separate earths in a plastic pig we enjoyed our times with it and it would do a 100mph all day long on the Autobahns..

A colleague had a TR6 out there and we once travelled to Dortmund from Zeven in it and it was a dreadful thing on their concrete ridged Autobahns - just so noisy so that put me off ever owning one of those although I like the Mars bar shape of them. I'd never rule out another GTE SE5a either an underated car at the time.

Definitely add an early TVR to my list, plus the TR5, 6 (and even the 7 - I have a strange fondness ever since my Dad brought the Tony Pond one home after a show).

As for Tesla - I stick them in the speedboat category as well I accept that one day I might get legislated into a souped up Milk Float, but when the time comes, I certainly won't be giving a penny of my hard earned cash to Musk - they are plenty of other options out there.

Talking of Milk Floats, there is still an old electric one that does the rounds in Milton Keynes. Unfortunately the majority of connecting grid roads are 60 or 70mph so he does cause a few tailbacks........