Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Buying a Newish 3Wheeler

I'm an old hand at motorsports who took a break- we were in the NE (NY) for decades, retired to Texas and I sold off all my cars and bikes. But the bug bit me (again) and I'm looking at a 2021 or slightly earlier 3 wheeler. Though I gather the 3Super may be a more refined vehicle, I am far more attracted to the exposed engine version. I've read the buyer's guide about running changes and will probably take test rides (I don't like test driving someone else's vehicle even in the hands of a dealer), will probably buy from the dealer on the West Coast here in the States and have the vehicle PPI'd by a third party mechanic.
Main use of the vehicle will be back country drives for pleasure. I've had a pre-war car that was restored and it was not reliable. I also had a bunch of exotics but I don't think that experience is relevant to the 3 wheeler.
It's also hotter than hell here in Texas, so my driving "season" will more likely be spring and fall. I gather than most of the necessary improvements- like urban cooling kit, comfort kit (the fix to the front suspension), etc. were incorporated into the later vehicles, were they not?
Some of the 110th anniversary models appeal to me but I guess my choices are limited by the existing market. I'd thus choose a car that was well spec'd over aesthetics if that was the choice. I suppose one question is how readily available some of the accessories are for these models now that production has ended. (I did see the third party parts list which is a great resource). And since there is no dealer near here in Central Texas, I need to find someone with some knowledge since I don't have the competence to turn a wrench. (I did cosmetic work on the bikes but did not mess around with the mechanical bits).
Thoughts welcome on model years/running changes to the vehicle as well as input from anybody located in Central Texas, or elsewhere in the States who doesn't have a Morgan dealer in proximity. TIA.
Bill Hart

Hello Bill, welcome to the world of Morgan. Here in Colorado I am 1100 miles from either Dennis in Santa Monica or Michelle in Chicago the nearest main dealers so work on my 3 Morgans including the 2013 M3W is hands on. I also built into my owning Morgans and moving to the mountains the requirement to be able to trailer them for necessary work when required. Out here most motorcycle shops do not want to touch the M3W and quite frankly I'm not that keen on them touching it either. The Morgans are relatively easy to work on and though I am not an engineer I have learnt a great deal over the years from folks all over the world and especially from sites such as this. The Morgan community in America is a relatively small one and although many miles separate us we are good at helping each other. I am of the school of thought that the Morgan finds you, so drive as many M3Ws as you can and the right one will talk to you. The Buyers Guide is a good document as well as posts on this section will show you the pitfalls and watch outs before you make your purchase, there is no excuse these days for "I didn't know that purchases". Good luck.

Hi,

Nice project.

I owned a 2012 MTW for four years.
It was a great pleasure to drive this car, but unfortunately, reliability isn't great.
The excessive vibrations of the S&S engine cause a lot of problems.

And the transmission is too fragile for the engine's high torque.

I now own a Super 3.
It doesn't have the "Harley" noise, but the car is much more reliable and versatile.

I was afraid you were going to say that. I guess the question in my mind is whether some of what I referred to as "running changes" over the life of the model resolved some if not all of the teething problems. Thank you for your input.

Bill, this may provide some assistance when considering price.....
Good luck

Morgan 3 Wheeler Price history on BaT

I've had my 2012 3 wheeler since December of 2012. It can be disheartening to hear all the tales of woe in one lump. I've had relatively good success with mine aside from some remarkable gaffs that Morgan themselves created.

What have I learned?

1 - Never lug the motor. That gives you wicked torque spikes that the compensator just cannot handle and it is there to protect the tranny. Keep it above 3,000 rpm
2 - Never redline the motor. It gets flaky above 5,000 rpm anyway so just don't bother.
3 - Always use a high quality synthetic oil made for V-Twins. They run hotter.
4 - Add an active oil cooler. Even a passive one would help.
5 - The stock battery is an under powered waste. Upgrade to something with more cranking amps that will fit.
6 - Replace the incandescent headlamps with LEDs. You'll be able to see what you're hitting at night much better.
7 - Carry as many tools as you can that makes you comfortable. I carry metric and English as the car is a true bastard in that regard. I think I'm hauling about 20 lbs worth but it has been worth it. They have all come out at one time or another.

Morgan replaced my chassis on their dime since the motor mounts cracked in three places. That thing is a torque monster. I think the breaks may have occurred during startup when the motor goes from zero to 100 ft lbs in an instant. My opinion. The newer frames have much stronger gussets and should withstand that particular abuse.

I still have the car. I have fixed or repaired most everything on this Blau Beastie. The motor is solid as long as you stay in its range. The transmission is sweet. All of the British bits that were added to those as well as other indescribable parts from who knows who are the dodgy parts. All of that stuff breaks.

I still have the car. It bears repeating so I did. After all of the fixes, it has continued to run sweetly and, dare I say, reliably. It is also great fun.

There you have it. One man's opinion.

Happy motoring!

@Michael H- thanks for all that.

Bill

Have you seen/read the buying guide - available via the Morgan Three Wheeler Club website (https://www.mtwc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Final-150.pdf) - if you buy a car, would be good to join the club as a source of info...not sure how many US memebers there are

When properly sorted, the M3W is a pretty reliable car capable of long tours - 13 of us did 3000km each in Morocco back in Feb and the only real breakdowns were a fuel pump that had not been upgraded and a well known problem with the rear brake drum (which many have changed for a disc brake). There is a post on this. (https://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/817946/morocco-trip-technical#Post817946). Various people have racked up huge touring mileages.

Find a late-ish model, get it properly sorted and enjoy!!

@JMD- Yes, have the buyer's guide and have read through it, along with another book about the 3Wheeler. The Club sounds like a good idea. The notion of a late production version was one of the primary questions, especially given the issues with the model when it was first introduced. We used to do these long rallies which I enjoyed. Not wheel to wheel racing but just enjoying the scenery and focusing on the driving. I gather having a passenger affects performance; my typical routine was to do a fair amount of driving in season solo- day trips, the occasional "get lost" for a few days with a small bag/change of clothes/toiletries and periodically, a planned event. When we did the Targa Florio some years ago, many people brought their mechanics over. We rented an old car b/c I could not find a period Alfa to buy/drive and bring back home (there were more Duettos available in the States than Italy at the time).

All: you have been great at responding. I will need to see what our friend in LA can line up among his past customers/contacts. I bought various bikes in the last year, selling them off-- not essential to buying the Morgan but for keeping the "books balanced" I'd like to know they are gone. One is a very nice 68 R69S that has all the right bits, low bars,Hella signals, solo seat and a set of period Enduro bags (which are rare). I spent money getting that one properly sorted.
Also need to expand our outbuilding to accommodate, but that isn't such a big deal given the small size needed, which fits under an exemption here for non-habitable accessory buildings.

But Nestor - things have moved on quite a bit in reliability terms with the 5 speeder since your ownership - the upgraded m3w's all seem to be reliable, 8000km trip to Nordkapp by each of the 2 cars and no issues...the UK touring group often carry out EU tours with no issues across the 4 or 5 cars that take part..
I personally don't think the S3 is anymore versatile than the 5 speeder - bit more comfortable and a heater but thats it - it has no charm.