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!
