Talk Morgan Forums Thread Like Summary - 4/4 vs Plus 4

Apologies if this has been asked before, but I am seeking opinion on the Rover engined Plus 4 models. As background, I currently have a 2002 4/4 which is up for sale - lovely car, but not really my kind of thing. One of the main issues is that it does feel gutless - I am told this is normal, and I have learned that adopting a more spirited approach does get the best out of it. But at heart I am a lazy driver, and like to waft about on a wave of torque.

My 4/4 has not sold, so I am considering a possible part exchange. There is a Rover T16 Plus 4 that might suit, but what would it be like compared to the 4/4? Am I likely to notice a huge difference or is it just more of the same, but with a bit more power? Or would I be better off modifying the 4/4? (Not overly keen on modifying perfectly good cars, but if necessary?). The 4/4 is at least easy to own - does that apply to Plus 4 models?

There is also the Plus 8 I guess - I am sure that would tick the box, but I have always considered them a bit too much engine for the chassis so have been wary of committing. They also seem to be prone to overheating. Should I consider one?

What would you all advise? My current thought is to persevere with the sale and buy another pre-war car; my Daimler isn't fast, but has enough torque to pull from 5mph all the way to a heady 60 in 4th gear.

Really grateful for any opinions! I know I could just go and test drive, but I don't like wasting people's time if there is no realistic prospect of a sale, it just seems rude.

thanks

Mark

Some good points well made by Fox Terrier & RJW

When considering my first Morgan I went to Alan White and looked at them all, coming from a 470hp Aston Martin I assumed a 3.7 Roadster was what I needed, but there was something about the Plus 4 that just felt like it had the right balance, somehow it seemed the most authentic Morgan. Alan White had two of the later GDI Plus 4s in stock, the gearbox on this model is sublime but both examples seemed like too much money for what is at the end of the day a four banger Morgan.

I'm also not a big fan of direct injection so I set about hunting down the slightly earlier port injected Duratec Plus 4 which is an extremely tunable and reliable power plant as used by Caterham and many others for years. I appreciate a Duratec Plus 4 will be more money than the earlier Rover engined Plus 4, but I'd encourage the OP to see if he can find the extra cash as the Duratec is an amazing engine, better still from 2012 Morgan gave the Plus 4 the same excellent Mazda sourced five speed box you find in the more costly and expensive to tune GDI Plus 4.

After finding my 2012 Duratec Plus 4 with a Mazda box I set about tuning it, without too much effort at all the engine is now theoretically making over 200 horsepower (as yet untested), to me this seems plenty for the Morgan chassis and antiquated leaf sprung beam axle rear suspension. Following my tuning work my Duratec remains incredibly flexible too, I can drive through town altering my road speed up and down on the throttle alone in one gear, and with the engine speeds ranging from 900rpm to just 1,800rpm without a single snatch or stutter.

A Duratec Plus 4 is cheap to tax and cheap to insure, the car can also deliver 38 mpg plus on a run making the ownership experience very cost effective, and best of all my 2012 model is ULEZ compliant which is important to me as I live right on the edge of the zone so an earlier Rover engined Plus 4 would have seen me paying £12 everytime I went for a drive. A Plus 4 Supersport is probably the ultimate sweet spot for me, but they’re rare and expensive so it proved easier and more cost effective to source a 2012 Duratec Plus 4 and tune it to Supersport power levels.

Saying that, I also really like the narrow bodied 4/4 anniversary model that came with the 2.0 Duratec, tune it to 200hp + and that could well be the ultimate Trad morgan