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

I've had 2 Duratec engines and all have had problems with water in the spark plug well, My 70th Anniversary one was so bad you could see the water stains on the sparkplugs and one of them broke off in the cylinder head, it was so rusted in. But you can only call it as you experience it. I've always been very circumspect when cleaning the cars especially the bonnet, not just because of the spark plugs issue, but also wary of all the electrical components in the engine bay.


Whilst we are still looking at automatic Morgan options, there's a couple that have our attention at the moment, time will tell...I got myself another Mercedes Coupe. and enjoying every minute of it. Just about got it and Sue's SLK in the garage, but when another Morgan arrive there's a difficult debate to be had as to who is getting kicked out the garage to make way.

Personally, I don't see them as "significantly flawed" but I do see them as being considered 'primitive', in terms of elements of the engineering, and features, when compared to a similar vehicle you could purchase at the same time (and for the same price or less) from the 1990s forward. Perhaps I am being kind there but obviously, as time has moved on, the traditional Morgan has remained relatively the same, where as other car makers have killed off cars, overhauled them, introduced new ones and radically evolved them. The MX5 is often used as a comparable, as is the Porsche Boxster, less so the BMW Z3, Z4, etc.

Without wishing to go down the why a Morgan vs anything else debate, because that is well trodden, and ultimately, not the point of your thread, my personal belief is not only do people like to 'improve' but they also like to personalise.

To my mind, other than the old Land Rover Defender (pre-2016), there is no other vehicle that is more easily personalised than the Morgan. In fact, when buying new, there is no other vehicle that allows for such vast customisation without paying a much higher price point.

Thus, so much of the 'fettling' also falls into the personalisation category. From simple modifications like new steering wheels, to more extreme like entirely new dashboards, and then onto suspension and bodywork, each owner can tweak their Morgan to be exactly as they would like.

Many thanks indeed for these additional reflections!

John, your point that not all flaws are endearing is very well taken, and your examples of what are "virtuous flaws" and what are not are compelling. I also certainly see your point that to a perhaps significant number of new (maybe, ultimately, short-term) owners relatively few of the flaws are experienced as virtuous at all!

Dave, that point about the obviously missing engine cover is an excellent one, I'm personally quite frustrated that there isn't an easy solution to this problem, and that I may be forced to what, pay someone to build it for me? Learn to be a mechanic? Or risk very serious engine damage? I agree that this is a problem that should have been addressed by the factory. It's crazy that, what, 2-3000 of these cars should be susceptible to big problems just because they got wet.

Fantastic mileages on those cars Rich! I will feel inordinately proud of myself if I'm ever able to put 100,000 miles on my car.

Simon, this is an excellent point: if one is to use the word "flawed", perhaps best to say "flawed by modern standards", but i really like "primitive" here. My Ford S-Max massively outperforms my Morgan in almost every objective metric you might care to imagine, but I now experience it as extremely dull in a way I didn't before (this came as a real surprise to me, I have to admit). "Primitive" somehow invokes "elemental", and Morgans do feel much closer to earth, air, fire and water than most cars, and perhaps we are drawn to the elements as primordially familiar. I fully take the personalisation point as well, where the owner can impose his (or her) personality on the car, so it's a two way street of car adjusting to owner and not just owner adjusting to car!

I think I have customized my 2014 4/4 in a way that is very satisfactory to me. No dramatic changes were needed. Over the course of eleven years, I added stronger front springs, back then still from Peter Mulberry, an aluminum radiator, 4-seater leaf springs, removed the lowering blocks between the leaf springs and axle, which gives me more natural traction control than keeping the lowering blocks and adding a Panhard rod, thus also achieving the correct height of the rear body, Thanks to the missing lowering blocks, I now have about 2.5 cm more suspension travel at the rear, and it never bottoms out like it used to. AVOs from Cain Poulton, a beautiful, very functional ans sporty looking Momo Prototipo steering wheel, plus a simple but attractive, unobtrusive shroud made of black leather, a sport manifold one-off with a 300-cell metal catalytic converter, mapping of the ECU (which really made sense because the torque curve was throttled like a hammock; now it's 180 NM and 145 hp.
It sounds like a lot of changes, but all in all, they are quite subtle measures. It's important not to do everything at once, but to experience and feel each change individually before I continue. Not for the sake of continuing, but because it was an additional personalization. This is my fifth Morgan; I only kept the previous four for two years each because they weren't really “my” cars. And back then, I hardly lost any money when I resold them. This 4/4 is a keeper for me. The subtle changes to the chassis give me the main feeling of personalization and a nice emotional gain. 120,000 km in 11 years and 8 trips to Italy.

To add to the question about philosophy, I believe my Morgan is now even “more” Morgan, not softened, on the contrary, very authentic. Its rustic and very basic sporting character with so much feedback is wonderful.

Heinz,

Your post highlights the need to use your Morgan, and refine over time to meet your specific needs.

My ideal Morgan would be very simple mechanics and chassis akin to my 1985 CVH 4/4 with its higher ride height, with a modern long door aluminium body, SS bulkhead and inner wings, galvanized chassis and treated woodwork to improve longevity. It just seemed to ride so much better and feel much lighter to drive than the more modern variants, even though there isn't that much difference in relative weight.

Nice post Heinz.
What do you mean about the leather shroud?
Nick

I'm a great believer in 'your car, you do what you like to it'. Regardless on how much it cost or how rare it is, I don't buy into this 'custodian' rubbish. Do what you like and enjoy it.

Over the years of ownership I've gradually altered my Mog so that it drives like I want it to (Suspension mods,gearbox, engine mods and braking mods) looks like I want it (colour change, lights change, wheel change, bumper removal) and has a few creature comforts (Upgraded heater, heated seats, stereo, wiper stalk).Few more bits and pieces that I want to play around with of the coming year or so.

I'm fairly imperfect and flawed myself (I was once described as being 'endearingly odd'). I think Morgan and Me are a pretty good fit.

I meant the simple leather cover behind the steering wheel. I think my rudimentary English has betrayed me here

Thanks Heinz.
No problems with your well crafted posts, just that I was interested in the detail. The shroud does indeed look very good, nicely fitted.
Nick

If, for whatever reason, I needed another Morgan, e.g. due to major damage, it would most likely be a ca. 2003 4/4 with a 1.8-litre Zetec engine and the good old lighter ladder frame. I would make sure that the frame was stabilised where the exhaust passes through. I think a car like that could be fun.