Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 M3W - Anyone know this car?

Just this morning - another 2012 m3w popped up on car and classic for £18.5k...needs paintwork attention but chassis could be of later type.
If its got the Centa upgrade as well then better buy than the auction car?

I already posted that car in my other thread.... https://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/828789/m3w-anyone-know-this-other-car#Post828789

It was last purchased in an auction in Feb for £15.5K and had been sitting for many years.

Apologies - missed that one.

I bought it and it came to just over £18k including Derek's commission

The car is a very early one at chassis No.54 and was registered in early 2012, so it has all the signs of being rushed out to meet that initial pre-order list. It's only done 3,000 miles and has been stood in a heated garage since 2015, since it seems that the first (retired) owner couldn't use it in his latter years. It seems to have dodged every one of the recalls and upgrades!

I've not had a Morgan before as frankly the four wheel ones are just not for me. Classic Lotus is where my experience mainly lies and I'm pretty useful with a spanner, so tackling this M3W is right up my street. I was expecting the inevitable knacked fuel and brake systems, but frankly the derisory build quality came as something of a surprise and makes classic Lotus build quality look really rather good in comparison! The car is still in my workshop and I have failed miserably with the anticipated quick turnaround, but the project is coming along and there is now more car than the pile of parts I have removed, so It will be up and running in a couple more months.

My take so far..........

The good points........
Fantastic anarchic concept
A fine silhouette design by Mark Humphries and I applaud him.
That engine looks great and has lots of cc's, which is what appealed to me.
Great gearbox; I know the MX5 well.
Really good use of Ash in the framing, and the aluminium bodywork on top of it has clearly been constructed by craftsmen The painting of it is also good.
Well executed leatherwork

The bad points.......
I have just too many to list and have been slowly sorting them over the last few months. I'll not list them all here in detail, but the loom has been entirely reworked at the front end and re-routed to stop chafe. The fuel lines were also nearly chafed through, as was one of the brake hoses and the oil hoses have all been changed for the same reason. The bodyshell is now properly bolted to the chassis and a lot of the rivets along the bodyshell side replaced, as the chassis flex has sheared them. Oh the chassis, we all know about flex and cracks and frightening bump steer (on unimproved early cars), but whoever designed it clearly had very little experience and oversight from above. The front end geometry is woeful and the rear end unsprung weight is considerable.

However I love a challenge and I know that the car will eventually put as big a grin on my face as it does for passers by (yes I was one), so I'm hanging in there. And I've also decided to do what I can to make sure that the M3W survives to become the classic that it ought to, so we've started making stuff for the car.

Sounds like you have the right attitude towards the car. Take it for what it is, and it's a great, fun machine. Expect it to be some sort of true sports car or a well rounded touring car and you'll be sorely disappointed.

I have a late 2012 car which has had much updating, and has been very reliable in the 7 years I've been caring for it. I also have a couple of early Elans (and some other old cars) so those can scratch the pure sports or touring itch when required.

Good luck with the restoration of this early car. At least you will be getting some good advice! I look forward to seeing more from mog3wheeler.com in the future. Hopefully it will help keep the M3W's going well into the future, particularly for those of us that do a lot of the work themselves. It looks like we are almost in the same spares situation as the older Morgan 3 Wheelers, not entirely unexpected but much sooner than you would have thought for a newer car.

Jerrymog, congrats to your M3W on finding the right kind of custodian. (-:

From all I have read the M3W carries on the design brief that seems to have long existed at the MMC, in that Morgan provided the foundation for the owner to improve upon to suit his priorities for a sports car.

For quite some time now as those who understood the initial concept have aged, along with others more recently attracted to the marque, bringing with them the expectations of modern motoring, in terms of comfort, performance, toys and general bling, there have been expressions of frustration noted in forums over recent decades...But reading your intro, it seems that there are still those out their whose hopes and expectations seem to well match the realities of Morgan ownership.. Power to your elbow Jerrymog..(-:

Thanks for the support guys.....much needed!

Here's some photos of (slow) progress so far.



You will see that I have fairly radically altered the MX5 gearbox, due to my long held obsession of removing any unnecessary weight from my sportscars. Also that I have got an accurate dry weight for the complete drivetrain, as with this data we can work on an upgrade for the (poor) OE Morgan front end engine mounts.
There's more photos that I have posted in the Morgan Photos gallery, including one of Phil Bleazey hard at work!

I would suggest that you get rid of the aft mounted gear change adaptor....to save a bit more weight (is that a Lotus next to it 😊?)...and to put the lever in a better position, a little further forward. You may have Suplex front shock absorbers, being a very early car, these are a good thing. If you have Spax (not so good) they can be replaced with adjustable shocks that will allow you to lower the ride height to a level that will keep the bump steer under control. It looks like you are doing a proper job, impressed!

+1 on moving the shifter forward to a much more natural position. It's a simple procedure requiring only a couple of pieces from Mazda as I recall. I believe I did a write up which is posted somewhere here in the forum.

Edit: Found my post. Unfortunately not very detailed. The part referenced is the top retainer plate for the shift shaft. I do believe I also found a broken spring washer that I replaced as well.
Since that post, I removed the short travel shifter and replaced it with the stock unit, but modified for a long stainless lever (see photo). Less snicky but I liked the aesthetic better.

https://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/619425/shifters-to-the-fore#Post619425