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

Nice work Nick You could borrow my scissor lift, but it's a looong way to drive

Looks sensational Nick.

Love the black interior with piano wood and carbon dash. Very nice.

I know you probably sleep better having “fed” your leather but post around 89 it’s a waste of time.

Modern leather is lacquered and doesn’t absorb the food

Cripes. Somewhat green with envy and embarrassed by the work you are putting in compared to the state of mine.

Careful there's going to be a huge queue outside your place if you ever offer your services!

My S2 has the speakers in the rear bulkhead. I upgraded them to a pair of Focal with larger magnets and they work pretty well there. Access, as mentioned, was foul.

Thanks Jon, I have thought about buying something but would need to be small enough to be stored under the car - so a no go for me at the moment.



Thanks Lee, so leather wise you are correct on all mainstream cars, so your BMWs, Mercedes, Audi and so on - however Morgan are a little different as they use very different much higher quality leather from Muirhead / Yarwood (I forget which is former and which is latter as they changed suppliers). This leather is not lacquered/sealed and so it does absorb the feed, its also quite expensive!

I had a good conversation with Shaun about this before as for all modern cars I just use Dr Leather cleaning wipes (pointless adding anything as it just sits ontop of the leather and goes shiny eventually) but he educated me that this stuff is different and this is an important part of the maintenance process. The only other cars that use this sort of stuff (besides custom work) are the odd Rolls and Bentley, as its softer and more supple when maintained. I believe its why you often see much more wear and water marks/damage on Morgan interiors as it is pourous and less durable unlike mainstream stuff (which is a very thin skin of printed leather stuck to other synthetics for durability) and not sealed.

The feed however does need heat to get absorbed correctly, the Connolly hide care is almost like animal fat and the heat allows it to run otherwise it goes all fatty, it doesn't smell overly nice but once its absorbed into the leather it does bring out the original smell - and Shaun showed me how you can feel once the leather has absorbed enough, as it goes more wet/skin like - it can feel slightly drier beforehand. I will be honest I find it hard to tell but you can when shown by an expert.

Hope that explains it, he did a far better job than me educating on it all!



Thanks Alistair, it has always fascinated me how sometimes a good clean can almost restore a car - so I have to admit I have done a lot of research into detailing and try to do what I can myself as it is quite satisfying, espicially when you have a bit of music and a good beer in the garage!

Speakers wise I will have to see how they sound and go from there as I do love my audio, I may upgrade them if they aren't great but I must admit I am quite keen to not add any weight to the car (sad I know - but I want to keep to the ethos of the GTN!), so I will have to do some research and find some of similar weight if I do change anything. Often punchier speakers have bigger magnets and weigh a lot more, probably never notice it but hey ho I have been watching to many Lotus/Colin Chapman videos lately...

Now I am confused. At a MOG event, the chap on the Meguiar's convinced met that I needed their Leather Balm. Then I read the Muirhead page on care which advises a completely different approach:

https://www.muirhead.co.uk/en/products/leather-care/

Thanks Nick
Very interesting. I ought to get my Connolly gear out in that case.

You’re right about the way they wear now you mention it. Just like an old car.

I feed my old Aston regularly and it’s beautifully soft and supple but I only do it on a hot summer day

Yes I think it’s all change.

I’ll ask my nipper who works at the factory as I do recall him mentioning something about the leather in huge detail but I passed out.

May be different on Aeros as they’re a fair bit older

Now I am definately confused!
Will have to ask Shaun next time I see him.



Good shout Lee - be good to know.

Been doing lots of research on the car as I cannot drive it at the moment with the weather and other commitments.
I always like to have not only a full documented history, but to speak to all the previous owners and piece together the cars story, so it has been quite fun researching, speaking to people and trying to find out a little more of its story!

I found out something quite nice having been in touch with the original owner and Morgan - they confirmed it is not only the last ever GTN produced, but also the very last Series 1 Aero produced.

Opened up my email the other day and noticed one from Morgan, giving details and dates for the 'Meet at Morgan' days - spotted my car in the pictures which was unexpected!