Talk Morgan Forums Community Welcome Forum Hello, Mavis The Morgan checking in

Im around a month into Morgan ownership. She has been driven almost everyday. I’ve covered over 1k miles which is about one years worth of her normal use under previous ownership. As you can probably tell, may be some of you have been here before, I’m transfixed. I have so many thoughts about tinkering whirling around my head. Here are a few….

Suspension, hifi, leather and averting disaster …

I thought Mavis may have had the SSL front suspension upgrade, I’m not sure, How can I tell?

The SSL front upgrade, could you not just install progressive springs at a fraction of the cost? The road surfaces I drive on the idea of adjustable shocks is fine but i suspect any set up would be as wrong as it is right so default is fine.

From reading around break reaction bars and panhard rod appear to be the most efficient rear upgrades. I have given Mavis the heavy right foot treatment and she doesn’t tramp - I guess she might if I dropped the clutch, but I’m not going to do that to the old girl. My other car does it but it has 320 more horses. So I think anti-tramp isn’t required.

There appear to be design differences in the available panhards. Is the any accepted wisdom on the best solution/brand? (The prices same comic but I will leave my mig welder in its box for fear of dropping a poorly manufactured rod on the road at high speed - my welding isn’t my strong point)

I think a front speaker upgrade is in order. They are hopeless. There are many gaps in the footwell area and I wondered if anyone had attempted a composite speaker installation. Also is a mk1 roadster pre wired for rear speakers?

Mavis has black very smooth leather. I’m thinking of covering the rear bulkhead and shelf areas because the current black carpet isn’t a great match with my lovely spaniel’s white hair. Any ideas where I might be able to get some smooth black leather that would be a decent match?

And finally (for now), so far I have been clamping take-out hot coffee between my legs, so far there has been no issue. However, I don’t fancy the downside risk of boiled nuts. I see librands have a door mounted cup holder. I wondered if there were and better solutions.

Thanks in advance

Can't go wrong with brake reaction bars - They transformed the front end handling on my 2019 Plus 4

Think I got mine from Librands - Librands BRB's

At £65 plus VAT and shipping - well worth it, cured the "Malvern dance" immediately

I also fitted a panhard rod from SiFab (no longer in business), but with an educated guess I'll bet its not to dissimilar to the MulFab one

Mulfab - Panhard Rod - Part No MFST18

Look forward to see / hear about your upgrades

If you have the SSL front suspension fitted, there will be adjustment collars on the main springs.

You can just about make them out in the pictures here: https://www.suspensionsupplies.co.uk/morgan

If you post of photo of your front susp, we can quickly confirm if you have SSL

An early Roadster if low miles and on original kingpins will potentially still have the nasty nylon bushes, these wear the pin causing a ridge, giving harsh susp travel

Taking it one by one.
The SSL front suspension is adjustable for the spring loading and also progressive. It also allows a degree of adjustment for ride height when it is being fitted. The important thing is that the static spring load must be such that the "rebound" springs are not loaded (just free to turn by hand). The result is somewhat lighter steering because the turning stub axle is not under pressure.
This result can be achieved in other ways but the SSL system makes it easy.
Dampers that are adjustable give the possibility of them being set incorrectly. A good pair of non adjustable dampers designed specifically for the car is fine. If you are technically minded adjustables may be for you. Good dampers are important and the factory fitted ones, as with most cars, are rubbish.
Brake reaction bars are fitted to the front end and are a must. Logically they should have been a factory standard fitment.
The Panhard rod at the rear end is fitted laterally across the car and is intended to stop the rear axle moving sideways. It is essential on cars fitted with coil springs that have a rigid rear axle (independant rear suspension requires a different setup). The Morgan, however, has leaf springs that give a certain amount of lateral stability but with a Roadster the Panhard rod is a must, particularly if you occasionally do a bit of spirited cornering
If I recall correctly anti-tramp bars were fitted to the Roadster as standard from a certain point. If not fitted I imagine most owners would recommend the fitting. It would not be expensive but it would be worth considering.
Of course if the SSL5 link rear suspension is fitted the above is irrelevant
I agree about the speakers. On the Plus 4 the wiring for the rear speakers is found tied up behind the tool tray (once removed). They were used on the 4 seater version. I imagine the Roadster is the same. I have not fitted rear speakers because the rear area is almost always filled with luggage when we are on a trip. I have considered fitting small speakers in the panels just behind the doors but it would require a certain amount of dismantling to do so and my dealer does not want to do it. I am not sure that I want to do it myself.

Thank you. That is a superb reply. Much appreciated

I'll just have to get one with volume that goes up to 11

I am attempting to do two things for the first time here. I'm optimistic there is a slight chance that a new Mac user might get a photo export correct first time. That chance might be the square root of a very small number, but here goes....

Mavis' front suspension

[img]https://share.icloud.com/photos/07b206Jl2QBDE88mJEmz4HTEw[/img]

Front suspention image 1

[img]https://share.icloud.com/photos/0209GPyyzcMJ7e-_PWvUa_DZA[/img]

Suspension image 2

Via TM-Img

Thank you for posting the picture up for me. I guess my effort was close but not quite there.

To the Morgan suspension experts out there: Would I be correct in the observation that Mavis has power steering, break reaction bars, but standard Morgan suspension (as opposed to the variable spring rate SSL type)?