Talk Morgan Forums Thread Like Summary - Advice please!

Hello to everyone!

I've been trying to find a Morgan for the past few weeks. My quandary is do I get an older car for around £15k or something a bit newer like a 2011 Sport 4/4 for closer to £27k. It's very much a second car. The dealers are singing the praises of the 1.6 with the Mazda box but am I really going to gain a great deal? I enjoy a bit of mechanical work but not looking for anything too testing!

I'm approaching this posting as someone with over 30 years of hands on experience of Morgans. It's practical experience stemming from the chassis up rebuilds of several Morgans including a 1971 4/4 and a 1968 Plus 4. (I'm currently rebuilding a 1955 Plus 4 4 seat Drop Head Coupe) and there's 5 more waiting in the wings.

Practical experience means just that - hands on and not just something I've read or seen on YouTube.

Both the 4/4 and the Plus 4 have their own quirks.

The 4/4 in its 1600 Competition form is probably the better of the two for a novice Morganeer and a few mods such as a 5 speed gearbox conversion increases its versatility. Ford Kent engine is both sturdy and tunable at a price. It shares its Salisbury 7HA axle with the Plus 4. Don't rule out the later CVH engined cars nor the Fiat engined cars for that matter

The Plus 4 is more of a drivers car and does take a bit more getting used to. The Moss gearbox, although very robust and tolerant of abuse does take a bit of getting used to. No synchro on first gear catches folk out. Particular Plus 4 quirks are the Elektron bellhousing between gearbox and engine and it's problematic clutch sleeve. Billy and Jack Bellinger can rebuild a Moss box to better than new and much of their mods are race proven in the cars they look after.

It's true that the Moss box can be rebuilt at home with the only special tool required being a 12" length of 1" dowling! Some spares can be culled from similar but not identical Jaguar Moss gearboxes though. Service parts are readily available from your local bearing factors (to avoid the Morgan markup that most dealers charge)

The Salisbury 7HA axle is a fairly strong and long lived unit. Until a few years ago, crown wheels and pinions for the earlier imperial axles were difficult/impossible to find but Billy Bellinger has had spares made.

Body work for both the 4/4 and Plus 4 is now a problem, with both Vic Champness (Black Phey) and Richard Williams enjoying their well earned retirements, it's not clear who will taken on the mantle of building body frames for Plus 4's and 4/4's.

Sheet metal work is well catered for and specialists such as Steve Barnes at Vintage Sheet Metal can help though you do need to be realistic about the costs of repanelling a crusty 4/4 or Plus 4.

The Drop Head Coupes, although stunning, are a money pit - a look though my invoices tells me a new panelled bodyframe for my 1955 DHC has cost me about £9000.

Instruments for the late 60's to late 70's cars are hard to find so make sure they work as they should - I've only ever seen 1 set on the open market in 30 years and the asking price was eye watering!

I'd steer clear of the earlier Series 2 cars even if they have been re-engined with either a Ford pre-crossflow or crossflow engine. This is on the basis that the early Salusbury 6HA axle fitted to those cars is inherently weak and spares are non existent!

Happy to assist further by personal message or by phone

Arwyn

I have an old one and absolutely love it - and no tax or MOT to worry about. However it does take a reasonable amount of upkeep and maintenance, but nothing outside the realms of a hobbyist.

Even the newer ones need a bit of upkeep, but it really depends on how much tinkering you want to do, how much you're going to use the Morgan and what sort of usage (local/long distance, overseas etc)

Newer ones have a few more creature comforts, but the added hassle of more complex electrics/ECU etc so if they do fail it's a more time consuming fix.

Points all taken, particularly Peter's above! I think I need to find this at about this price and enjoy driving it https://www.carandclassic.com/auctions/2014-morgan-44-1600-sigma-ndr6O8

TGC that looks a really good example and you have the advantage of the stainless bulkhead and maybe inner wings so it's been treated properly.

The wing edges show no signs of corrosion either (galvanic action) and it looks well cared for with a rebuilt engine and quiet gearbox and back axle both of which you can establish when you drive it.

The older one's have far more character with the narrow bodies too, says I with 16" x 7" Alloys and super fat wings on mine

Good luck you could well have found a cracker there, I would certainly travel if I was in the market.

Nicely patinated.