Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Perfectly imperfect? A philosophical question

A bit of background on me to give context to my question (those who are understandably allergic to pointless waffling could stop reading here ). I'm in my 60's, recently semi-retired from a job that kept me quite busy, and the kind of person who for 50-odd years enjoyed reading about cars while never actually owning an interesting one. About a year ago I got that "now or never" thought and started carefully considering my options.

I had no special connection with Morgans before I started my search. I knew I wanted something small, not too powerful (I'm not the world's most skilled driver, and of the "more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow" school), with a friendly vibe (I'm not out to impress anyone), and that was, not quite sure how to put it, "evocative"? Or perhaps "emotional", or "vibrant" or "colourful"? I also strongly wanted something that gave a really "mechanical" feel without requiring too much actual mechanical ability. 1960s/70s Alfas and air-cooled 911s were obvious candidates, as were the usual MGBs, TR6s, etc., but their age coupled with my afore-mentioned mechanical know-nothingness scared me away a bit.

And then a kind of light went on (a light that I guess is very familiar to members of this forum): "Wait, those Morgan cars, don't they make them with modern engines? And in some kind of delightful wood shop?" and frankly that was that. I learned about the transition to the CX generation, decided a Trad was right for me, bought DaveWs amazing book, and was off to the races looking for a car. After maybe six months (Morgans are not particularly thick on the ground here in Sweden), the wonderful Mats and Ann at British Auto near Gothenburg were able to put me together with just the right car.

And then I discovered this fantastic forum, which has been entertaining and indispensable in equal measure as I've tried to figure out how the care and feeding of this odd beast (I never ever imagined I would find myself and my daughter lying in the dirt trying to figure out how to grease kingpins, but man that is satisfying).

And this, finally, brings me to my question. It has struck me, and I truly hope that this doesn't offend anyone since please believe me when I say that absolutely no offence is intended, that Morgans are in a sense flawed vehicles. Or, to be precise, flawed vehicles by modern standards. But that they are flawed in just the right way. They are, if I may venture a phrase, "perfectly imperfect". The various ways in which they need to be tended, or can be improved, are somehow, magically, not problems at all but rather an intrinsic part of their appeal (at least, this has been the case of my own experience so far). I understand the "flaws vs character" debate, but I think what I'm getting at is maybe something just a little bit different from that: flaws In my Ford S-Max hardly add anything positive to the experience, but in my Morgan the jouncy ride, heavy steering, lack of creature comforts, rattles and squeaks, sagging leaf springs, need to rub the key on the transponder ring to start, etc. all seem to be part of the appeal, at least for me and, I suspect, others as well. And I honestly can't think of a single other car currently in production anywhere in the whole world that quite has this characteristic.

So, to those few who haven't already abandoned this post out of boredom and have the patience to answer, my question: What is your opinion of this "perfectly imperfect" take on Morgans? Am I over romanticising with the flush of enthusiasm typical of new owners? Or just wrong about the "flawed" idea? Or making it more complicated than it has to be (it's also I guess kind of fun to fix a toaster now and then). I'm genuinely curious to hear any reflections on this you would care to share!

Of course you are right.

We drive our Morgans because we love them, not because they are actually very good. You can get cheaper, faster, more reliable, better handling sports cars just about anywhere. But you still wouldn't have a Morgan.

Adam, there you have it in very short order, enjoy your adventures.

Lovely to hear your daughter joining in your journey.

p.s. I keep mine exactly as they came off the production line, the Plus 8 will keep it's one shot olier system when I hand it over to our Son in the fullness of time - used correctly the system works well for me.

p.p.s. All that matters is that YOUR Morgan keeps you happy.

p.p.p.s. I don't fit in an MX5

And I realized I left out a key part of my question: what explains the inclination to [/i]improve[i] one's Morgan? I.e. to make it (if I go with my original thesis) "less imperfect"? I could for instance buy an MX-5 for less money than I spent on my Morgan and it would be a functionally better car, and the reason for choosing the Morgan would be its intangible qualities at least in part derived from its imperfections, so why try to make it better, or (and I don't mean to be provocative here!) "less bad"? I mean, if after years of tinkering I finally made the Morgan "as good as" an MX-5, wouldn't I kind of be defeating the purpose? I write this by the way as someone who already dreams of installing Rog's protectors, a remap and AR kit, etc. so I'm hardly above that particular fray!

Some thoughts that relate to your post and also my own general ones.

The Japanese have a concept that, to me, perfectly sums up a Morgan and Morgan ownership: Wabi-Sabi (侘び寂び) - very crudely, it relates to finding beauty in that which is imperfect, impermanent or incomplete. As an aside, perhaps this is why Soichiro Honda, (the founder of Honda), had such a kind view of Morgan Motor Company.

When anyone asks me about the reliability of a Morgan, the short version of how I describe ownership is: they very seldom leave you stranded by the roadside; however, it would be unusual not to find yourself with some water ingress when it rains and a few little jobs that require your attention. More often than not, these jobs fall into the 'fettling' or 'could have been done better' category. Unlike some classic cars or those small volume makers who thought it wise to develop their own engine, Morgans rarely go wrong in a catastrophic way.

Enter into ownership with that spirit, having done some due diligence (speaking with owners rather than sales people, reading some of the many excellent books written about Morgan ownership and chatting with the well respected dealers (again, worth being pointed in their direction by long standing owners) and removing any rose-tinted glasses, and most people wish they'd made the move years before.

Setting the vehicle to one side, the other element of ownership which is special is the sense of community. This community isn't just owners but the people you encounter when driving your vehicle (or filling it up with fuel, parking it, etc). I have always said that it is a rare day if you can fill the tank of a Morgan up quickly; inevitably someone wants to speak with you, tell you their own story (they had one, their dad did, their grandfather did...) and just have a general chin-wag about the car. It is my belief that in the UK, this often stems from a pride in our, now much reduced, auto industry but it also relates to exactly the sentiment you shared with your king-pin story: meaningful shared experiences that relate to the car itself.

They are easy cars to make memories in AND sometimes those memories relate to resolving or improving things that wouldn't necessarily be present in other cars; hence, we are back, full circle, to Wabi-Sabi!

There is something indefinable about a trad Morgan. Objectively they really don’t make any sense as cars in the modern age except that if you ‘get them’, and lots of people don’t, there is nothing you would rather drive when the mood takes you. I went for a drive this morning for a couple of hours and got caught in a torrential downpour that meant I had to stop and put the roof up. In my mini convertible I don’t even need to stop, it’s all electric and takes a few seconds whereas in the Morgan… well it takes a little longer. The drive back home reminded me that I need to upgrade the windscreen wipers as mine spread the water rather than clearing the screen and yet I was having a great time.
I too have a planned list of “improvements” some owners like to meddle whilst some keep everything standard, if there is such a thing.
As for being the first flush of enthusiasm. Well it may be and you could decide that you have scratched the itch and move on to something more conventional. On the other hand you may become permanently infected with the Morgan bug like most on this forum have and there appears to be no cure for that.
Welcome to the unique world of Morgan ownership.

PS - I should also say, the analogue nature of the traditional (pre-CX) cars will appeal to many for the same reasons why some people have re-invested in turntables and vinyl. Digital music is brilliant but lacks the warmth and tactility of putting a record on my player. I have a vast catalogue of digital music and for ease and simplicity it cannot be beaten; however, when I want the music to be centre stage, rather than the soundtrack to my life, I sit down, fire up my stereo, put on my favourite vinyl and sit down and savour it. Morgans, to me, are the same, an analogue sense of occasion.

I will also caveat that the Aeros and CX are, to my mind, no different, in terms of the above; however, they are slightly more complex and therefore some prefer the ease of working on an older traditional car; however, in essence, I view all Morgans as the 'analogue' choice in a world of digital cars.

Adam, I don't think you've over romanticised...... that's the whole point of a trad...... a romantic, rose tinted and totally eccentric motoring experience....!!!
You either 'get' Trad Morgans or you don't.......
Almost every other car is 'better' than a Morgan....if you use any conventional measurement of 'better'..........!!!
They (Trads) were old fashioned 60 years ago...... they should have gone out of production..... but they didn't......and that's just fantastic.....!!!! marvousley stubborn...!!!

In an equal and opposite way to how the engineers at Porsche gradually improved the 911 and its inherent failings to create an incredible modern sports car, the guys in Malvern didn't really bother........ if it ain't broke don't fix it was the mentality that totally bucked the trend of automotive advancement.....!!!!
Ladder frame chassis, leaf springs, sliding pillar etc etc etc.................... come on.........what sort of madness would keep those features in production.....!!!

Accept that it will probably leak, squeak, rattle, shake, shimmy, vibrate and that it is deeply flawed when compared to a 'modern' car.....but it's not modern....it's just an old car that never went out of production...😁

Use it, enjoy it, drive it in all weathers and whenever you can. Enjoy being the owner of an amazing, flawed, imperfect and perfect vehicle.👍🏼👍🏼

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Welcome Adam.

Your early journey reminds me of my same steps with the patient help of this forum.

There is always a laundry list of things that need sorting.
Spares can be fun to get, no good if you need it daily.
Whilst it is not cheap to run it nothing compared to many other cars which might provide the same joy of experience.

I like to think that the wife looked at me the same way I look at the Coupe. The package has a lot of glitches but remains lovable as a whole. You work to the strengths that you have.

Reminds me of my test drive. Came back thinking “that was awful” but had a grin from ear to ear. I ordered a new 4/4 immediately.
14 years later, & using the car almost every day all year, 85000 miles, I STILL TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME most days. No other car has ever given me that much pleasure.
Drive it enjoy it.