Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Fun with an old car

Sometimes, driving a funny-looking old car leads to some funny looks from bystanders. Case in point:

Today, I was on my way home after a doctor’s appointment and a brief stop at a grocery store for dinner ingredients for the next several days. It’s hot as blazes in South Florida this time of year, and I was dressed for a doctor’s appointment, not for an hours’ tanning session inside a Finnish sauna equipped with a pizza oven thermostat.

My car, a 1967 +4, was tootling along a six-lane, unlimited-access divided highway at about 100 klicks when I experienced what is euphemistically called a “sudden loss of power.” In other words, I went from driving a car to taxiing a glider in the span of one or two engine revolutions. Rather than engage in any theatrics, I calmly put on my turn signal, moved into the nearest deceleration lane, executed a turn into a parking lot, and came to a comfortable stop in a spot near the entrance to a pharmacist’s.

There was a woman coming out of the store where my inertia finally petered out. She was obviously curious about the car, and was setting herself up to ask me about it when I walked past her to enter the store. She was nonplused when I unbuckled the strap and lifted the lid. Seeing exactly what I anticipated, I calmly retrieved the bitter end of the positive feed wire to the coil, leaned over, bit the connector, and replaced it onto the “+” terminal of the coil. I buttoned up the engine and hopped back into the seat. I smiled and waved at her as my now raucously loud car and I backed out of the parking spot and went on our merry way.

The look on her face was worth the VERY mild breakdown.

If only the average breakdown was that simple and comfortable to fix

At least you didn't have to plug in a laptop and reboot the software.

Gone are the days of safety pin repairs, tights ( for fanbelt), wire to prevent things falling off.
I was out for a drive in the Morgan, went to Mumbles for a coffee at Verdi’s. while zipping up the tonneau cover a lady passed.
“How gorgeous” was her comment.
Me, being cheeky...”Me or the car?”
Her...”Both”
I blushed and went for my coffee.

I remember fixing the throttle linkage on my old spitfire with a grolsch bottle top I had hanging from my doc marten boot (it was a thing in the 80's).

Still goes on, rear exhaust bracket snapped on the MG a couple of weeks ago on the journey to work. Pulled into a layby, found some of that ubiquitous blue rope and fixed it without getting my suit too grubby....

Reminds me of when on a tour in my +8 one of the welds on the exhaust started to give, stopped at a cafe always a good thing to have refreshment. Sat and had some lunch whilst the exhaust cooled and made sure a good crowd had gathered, went into the cafe bought a can of coke and asked to borrow a tin opener. Walked out in front of the assembled audience and with an Oscar winning flurry emptied the can and opened it up, slipped it over the exhaust using two circ clamps from my spares to hold it in place climbed into pilots position and took off with a royal wave to boot.

I can also recommend the small Fevertree cans as a source of aluminium shim material and a wrap for exhaust pipes.

Delicate oil seal protection too...