One slides down into the seat and having got comfortable, the first impression is that everything falls easily to hand with one exception (in my case), the steering wheel is rather high. I guess it is to allow for the percentile male, which in Morgan’s case I believe is Charles, who is somewhat taller than me! I remember that for the original Mini’s it was possible to loosen the rack and then drop the steering column using a linkage from Paddy Hopkirk’s accessory company
(similar drop link here). For comfort, I think I’ll have to ask the Works if it is possible to do something similar as with the detachable wheel, which I currently don’t need to get in, I would prefer the steering wheel ‘more in my lap’.
The other notables are that the top of your head is in the slipstream and your right arm is outside the bodywork; a recipe for Caterham elbow I guess! At least the bodywork is nicely padded…
Keys in the ignition, a bit of a fiddle on RH-drive cars, then lift the bomb-drop cover and hit the starter button. The engine churns a bit longer than most cars, before bursting into life and then settles down into a steady tick-over at 1000 rpm. At this speed it seems like you can feel every explosion through the small of your back, the car vibrates and the rear-view mirrors also ’zizz’ in sympathy. The car feels alive!
Clutch out and snick the gear lever into first, raise the revs and off we go. It’s quite easy to spin the rear wheel in greasy conditions and even in the dry a doughnut comes all too easy. The engine note hardens, the mirrors become almost steady, and it’s time to snick into second. Whilst the overall impression is immediately one of speed, when you look sideways you realise that as you accelerate through the box you are actually going much slower than you think. The wind (and the rain on the day we picked it up) is like an assault on the senses. The windscreen seems a trifle narrow on the driver’s right hand side (on a RH-drive car) and there is consequently, a fair bit of wind turbulence on this side. On a private road it was quickly up to 90 mph with more to come it seems.
The ride is much more comfortable than I expected and you just have to remember speed bumps (and potholes!) as otherwise the rear wheel tends to launch you skywards, if you go over them too quickly! There is quite a lot of kick-back through the steering wheel, when you go over some of the road rash complete with potholes that we get on our suburban roads these days, but on smoother roads and driven with gusto, it hangs on very well and feels well balanced.
I’ve now extended the revs to the limiter at 4800 rpm and there is little doubt that the performance is very ‘adequate’ and that the cars limits are much higher than mine. The stability feels remarkable, considering it only has 3-wheels, and I am sure that as one’s confidence grows it will be possible to go deeper and much faster through corners. I need to book a track day to see if I can gain some more confidence in its no doubt considerable ability. The only other thing to mention is the bevel box, I'm told it will be quieter after it's run -in at 1000 miles, but you can certainly hear it, especially it seems on the over-run. It is not a consistent noise though, as sometimes it is noisier than others.
As mentioned elsewhere, I have now had heated seats fitted and they make a big difference giving some much needed background heat on the cold days that we had before the current warm snap. A new horn is being fitted on Monday by our Dealer and I have a number of other items planned, including a central mirror as I can’t adjust the mirrors to see rearwards properly and maybe a central mirror will vibrate less; I certainly hope so?
So do I like it, yes enormously, and in the words of the guy we all love to hate – Jeremy Clarkson: “Is it fast? No. Is it safe? Perhaps not. Is it practical? No. Is it comfortable? Yes … compared with being stabbed. But did I enjoy myself in it?
Absobloodylutely.”
I couldn’t put it better myself, what a great experience. I can’t wait to put more miles on it, roll on LMC… (hope Quentin organises it so that it doesn't rain!
)
Brian
On the open road it's not so obviously small and thus, it's not been a problem so far...
The man has gone to great lengths to put this superb set of pages together.