Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax GTN #11 - Progress, pics and updates

I have a lift the fits under the GTN. Specced high enough to lift the. Vanquish and the Tesla too.


https://www.garageequipment.co.uk/V...t/e4g-kl2500AC-portable-kwik-lift-ac220v

How do you find access whilst on the lift? I always worry it will block half of the car - but hard to tell from a picture.

Will email you a video of it lifting the GTN

Had a chance to speak to the nipper Lee? Be interesting to see what they use now and what he says.

I spoke to Shaun a few days ago, he said that Muirhead are likely talking about new leather. He explained that new leather would not require feeding for at least a couple of years, just cleaning. But once it starts to feel dry it would need feeding, this of course depends on a lot of factors but he did say for a low usage car like mine I would probably never have to do it again

Thank you. That is really useful information.

Update time!

Finally after a very busy start to the year, I got some time on saturday (and weather to match!) to give the GTN some attention, first of all got it uncovered and woken up from its slumber. Which did require a few extra volts on the battery to awaken the evil, perhaps the battery is the starting issue I am having.



Once outside I gave the wheels a proper clean and inspection, and like everything on this car was pleasantly suprised.

I then gave the underneath a good going over and a wash/rinse, it has (as was described) been undersealed from new which is very rare (was told it was the only one done), so everything looks lovely and brilliantly protected but covered with underseal.
So now the decision of whether to dry-ice it (safely removes dirt and underseal without even touching things like stickers!) or to leave it as-is. It looks so clean underneath I must admit I am tempted to get it all cleaned up, that or I could leave the underseal and just clean all the ancillary components - will ponder this one as I don't want to make it concours, but I don't think it would take much effort to get it 95% there (slippery slope).

Another great stroke of luck is all the places that do not have PPF on have a thick layer of underseal, which looks to have protected all the paint under the car, which is fantastic news as I eventually want to get the entire car PPF'ed to protect it.



Finally I put some protective overmats in place (the original floor mats with the leather etched Morgan logos are unused and I can't bring myself to ruin them ), then at last.. I got to take it for a first drive!



I only did about 15 miles but had a blast, absolutely brilliant. For those who asked everything felt very familiar to my old S1 but somehow tighter and more positive (probably down to the miles, being the last S1 - compared the one of the first, and being a GTN), less transmission shunt was noticeable, and generally less mechanical/suspension noise, things like the fuel pump being quieter than any Aero I have been in before so overall it felt very solid. It has a short-shift from standard which felt nice, the only small issue I found was the indicators are not self-cancelling, so that will need looking into as its confusing enough to motorists when they see it.

The brakes are very much typical S1, you forget just how much effort you need to put into the pedal - which after a few months away always gives you a slight wake up call until you give it the pressure required! Don't get me wrong they work well, but you need to be hard on the pedal to get the best out of them. Good job I have started back at the gym..

Handling wise it felt planted though I was far from pushing it, certainly better than any other Aero I have driven, again very special.

Then the best thing... the noise, it is bonkers. I cannot believe how visceral and angry it sounds compared to my old car, the combination of the Alpina engine and the side-exits are truly brutal. At full chat it is reminiscant of a flame spitting racing car with the pops and bangs, certainly a very different and angry animal. Very much like a track/racing special (which I suppose it is) whereas my old S1 felt more laid back and relaxed. It is also far louder, deafening in fact. It has more performance as well although I was being very cautious so will explore this another day (with ear defenders).

Cruising at low speed it sounds evil and brings an evil grin to your face, and I think everyone you drive past (who isn't deafened).

So next plans are to get a proper set of spare floor mats made, get the glovebox foam replaced - and then decide what to clean up and polish.
Then before having the PPF applied I will have all the paint inspected and any minor defects corrected. Although some of that may need to wait till next year, as I really do want to get out and drive it now!

More progress!
As mentioned previously the car came with the original floor mats fitted in unsused perfect condition, along with a set of protective tailored over mats. The over mats were getting a little worn, and were not the right colour in a mid grey instead of black. I could not bring myself to use the originals as they had survived over 20 years and they do not make them anymore being embossed with the old Morgan logo. So I went to Allon White and discussed options.
In the end I opted for a new set of floor mats, matching the leather binding and carpet to the originals - this means aesthetically they can look spot on and I can use them without worrying having stored the originals. I opted for the ribbed rubber heel kick pad, for longevity and to match the method Morgan use today for the new cars.

The only other part of the interior that was not perfect was the glovebox tray, its foam liner had started to lift and was tatty, so whilst I was there it made sense to bring the tray and have that re-covered as well.

The closest finish we could find to the original foam was a foax alcantara (it does have a specific name but it alludes me currently) in dark grey, this is used in many interiors and is far harder wearing than actual alcantara - which is perfect for the glovebox tray. I had this trimmed over some cushioned thin foam to give it the right thickness/finish, and it is nicely anti-slip.

Bit of work in progress on the mats before the push-fit buttons were attached that secure it to the floor panels (this was done on the car to ensure a perfect fit):



Finished tray & mats ready to install:



Re-installing the tray was a pig due to the angles involved, a fixing was missing and I am not confident the right length fixings had been used originally so those were replaced with the correct fixings.

Tray in:


I then got on with installing the new mats, a bit of a messy job as the felt backing is very dusty and leaves bits of itself everywhere.. so cue some careful manoeuvring and some vacuuming required!

Passenger mat and tray installed:


Drivers side:


The final result!


Small things, but they smarten up and basically finish the interior work (besides potentially fitting a newer Morgan alloy gear knob ).

Enjoy!

A bit of an overdue update I think, in all honesty not much has happened as I have been so busy - but I did look into the intermittant starting issue.

A bit of trial and error trying to charge the battery and some fault codes pointed to that being the culprit, it also got extremely hot when trying to recover it via the special trickle modes so that went in the bin and I purchased a new battery recently, one of the proper Odyssey ones (had one on the old car that lasted literally forever) so I hope that solves the issue.

Just need to fit it now, which I hope I can do soon.

Also for reference the post explaining the purchase of the GTN and sale of my old Aero Here
And my old Aero thread where this all started Here

One of Morgan greatsest!
And one of the very few cars I would once love to drive myselve