Talk Morgan Forums Thread Like Summary - Buying a 2012, should I be worried?

Hello All.
After admiring from after for many years I decided to buy a M3W. I think Ive found a great car with only 3000 miles, full history and new centra drive. However I've read a lot about the chassis issues in this year. I'm wondering how many 2012 cars are still out there on their original chassis with no issue and whether it's essential to get it changed. And finally, should I walk away and look for a later car.
M3W owners input would be greatly appreciated.

"Buying a 2012, should I be worried?"
In my opinion, yes you should. To me, the reality is that the chassis that you want is the 2014 build (and onwards) chassis that has the welded in triangulation behind the engine. As has been pointed out by others, even these chassis may crack elsewhere (and be repairable) but now that the factory will not do a free of charge chassis change it gets very expensive to do the swap yourself or even to get the more limited repairs done where feasible. My view is that the 2012 chassis if actually driven is very likely to fail.
I do have some history here having had a 2012 M3W from new and have had the 2012 chassis, the 2013 with the additional small gusset plates and perhaps a different specification of steel tube and then two 2014 style chassis, one of which was doing fine till I hit black ice last year (and the side of a small mountain) which led to me having my current 2014 style chassis though I can't really blame the chassis design for that one!. The current purchase price of a replacement chassis is kind of painful and the number of hours to do the swap is not insignificant.

Well my little gem arrives on Tuesday :-)
I'm aware that I dived straight in to this forum with demands on your l time and experience, for which I'm truly grateful. Once it's safely ensconced in my workshop and I've managed to peel myself away from those perfect curves. I'll post a proper Newbie introduction and prepare to start my M3W apprenticeship.
Many thanks All.
p.s. It was Redthee who swung it with the links to his photo albums. That sort of fun is priceless.

If you haven't already then you should read the Buyers Guide in the M3W-Owners Resource post at the top of the Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 page.

At least you have done this the right way round, a lot of people buy a M3W and then start to ask questions about what they should have been looking for. With your hands on skills and engineering background it could be a good buy, not a bad price either. It will require some updates if it is very original but nothing you will not be able to do yourself. This is the best forum for M3W advice, some of it is good even! 😁