Just come back from a few days away at a Hotel near Shelsey Walsh.For one of the days I had the use of a nearly new Morgan +4 2.0.We all know they are a lovely looking car,the 2.0 is fairly quick,but I have to say they are an acquired taste,if you now what I mean.
We did the factory tour last year, a must for any car nut. Would have loved a drive in one but that was extra on the day.
We did a tour around Dorset and the New Forest last year, one of our B & B stopovers had us side by side with a beautiful red Morgan. What struck me was, no luggage room, it was strapped on a rear rack and the cabin looked cosy.
I love looking at them, really love the shapes but owning one is another thing. I think the prices are also rather a no no for me too.
On Talk Morgan the online community of Morgans, you either “get” Morgans or if you sell yours and do not replace it with a Morgan, it is assumed you “never got” Morgans.
On the other hand buy a new 2 litre ND today and in 10 years time it is worth £3000.
Buy a Plus 4 at circa £45,000 and in 10 years time it is worth say £30,000.
Therefore they keep their value but you would have to “get” your Morgan.
I would’ve loved to have a Morgan but they’re outside my price range. So I bought my ND instead!!
On the tour (Morgan factory) they told us 70% of the cars go abroad.
I don’t get those 3 wheelers, really cosy for two, no roof but go like stink, around £30k new
The guide at Morgan was wrong if you look at Morgan’s annual accounts it is approx 50% of cars sold in the UK.
I wonder how many Morgans are the one car for their owners.
Long ago, when I did have the wherewithal, I did consider one, but even
20+ years ago there was always a waiting list and s/h Morgans always sold at a premium.
I decided that though I was used to the suspension of typical British sports cars, I’d find
Morgan suspension that was rock hard on anything other than totally flat surfaces…,
would be just impossible to live with on a daily basis.
Still lost £15,000 on the Morgan
Would buy one in a heartbeat If I had the money … and a garage to house it in
like the 3 wheeler but would probably end up in the scenery !!! However I could be forced to accept a 4 wheeler…some compromise !
Regards, JohnD
I’m sure most of us would love to own a Morgan - IF they could afford one (extremely expensive) and IF they could actually get hold of one (long waiting list from new).
I can’t see a Morgan being a practical daily driver though, and as MickAP has already pointed out - no luggage space to easily use as a tourer. I suppose with a four-seater model, you could always chuck your suitcases on the back seat !
I drove one once, when I was a motor mechanic working for Rob Walker’s in the 70s. It was twenty years old then (I think it was a Standard Vanguard-engined +4), and although being used to driving things like MGBs, Spitfires etc, I was struck by the rock-hard suspension - it was like driving a Go-Kart, or perhaps one of those little soap-box cars we used to make as kids (mine was a builder’s plank and four pram wheels !) - no ‘give’ in it at all. Must be very uncomfortable and tiring on long journeys.
No gentlemen, for us mere mortals, just stick with an MX-5 - it’s more comfortable (for us with old bones !), more practical (my wife and I got two weeks-worth of change of clothes in the boot of our 5 for a South of France tour a few years ago), and (probably) more reliable.
Plenty of Morgans at Oakmere, mazda dealership, from new to not so new, all with zilch mileage! Must tell you something about driving comfort. Mess about while waiting for service dep. and find them not easy get in, and even worse to get out of, likewise Lotus, guess I left it too late! No problems with the Mazda must be the technique. Haven’t got a spare fifty grand anyway. Had a real one with jap v twin years ago, no weight no brakes and loads of grunt driving one rear wheel on crap tyres, interesting!!
I wonder why he would give us wrong info like that then. He’s been there years and years, Mr Morgan if you like type of chap.
BTW I don’t have access to Morgans accounts, so couldn’t really comment any further.
jap : J A Prestwich engines. I remember them mostly as speedway racing engines, but at one time they supplied most of the British motorcycle industry.
I guess Morgan have found their niche. Do what they do. Know who their customers are. Don't overproduce.
And evolve.
Umpteen years ago, there was a TV series where a well known captain of British industry visited small companies
and gave them business advice. His name was John Harvey-Jones, who was in charge of a massive company called
Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI).
When he visited Morgan, he basically said they were on the road to ruin. Archaic styling, zero creature comforts, wood, half-made bodies
carted round the factory. It was like the Flintstones.
So, anyway, ICI is long gone now.
I read up a little on John Harvey-Jones a while back. During WW2, he was in Naval Intelligence. Post war he commanded
the 'British Baltic Fishery Protection Service'. This comprised two ex-German E-Boats, crewed by former Kriegsmarine sailors.
They spied on the Soviet Baltic Fleet, and undertook insertion and retrieval of British spies into the East.
The speed of the E-Boats kept them out of trouble.
One of those E-Boats, in fact the very last one, S130, is currently under restoration in Devon. .
^^^ It was actually refreshing to visit a company like Morgan and see first hand how they operate. Some components are made offsite now (certain body panels, nose cones etc) but all are still assembled or should I say panel beaten, shaped to fit in a traditional way by hand. Well worth a visit in my book, they can’t cope with a vast numbers of visitors so booking is essential.
I had one with a water cooled Matchless engine, with the rad behind the engine, found it in a barn covered in straw, paid the man £35 for it, engine unburstable, but final drive rubbish, too much power kept stripping the worm and wheel drive, in the end sold it to a dealer in North London for £40 that was 55 or so years ago, wish I still had it, think of all the noughts on the end !!
The three wheelers are fitted with an S&S V twin now. Nice engine and mated to a reliable gearbox apparenlty
The main reliable part in the new three wheeler is the MK3 MX5 gearbox.
Otherwise they are a badly underdeveloped machine that Morgan get customers to pay for the development of the car.
Morgan then try to charge for replacing fault parts.
I’ve had two and would go for one like a shot if I could afford it now.
My first was a 1938 4/4 with a flat radiator and twin spares. Great fun and in good condition given it was 34 years old when I acquired it. I discovered that one of the rear hubs had a hairline crack (it was probably original) and, happening to be in the area, dropped in to the factory at Malvern Link to see if they had a replacement. They did - off the shelf. Also met Peter Morgan, then the chairman. Bear in mind that I was a 19-year-old student with no money. Sadly I coveted a Mk2 Austin Healey Sprite and sold the Morgan for a profit.
Then I had a four or five year old 1966 4/4 Competition model (Cortina GT engine with a twin choke Weber). It was a great drive with hydraulic brakes and front discs - a great improvement. But I could never get to like it - I discovered the chassis have been plated because of rust just abaft of the engine mounts. It was also very “toppy” - not an easy drive in traffic.
The jacking points were inboard of the chassis, accessed by two metal plates that were an interference fit into the wooden floor. On a late night drive I hit a deep puddle and a fountain of very cold muddy water came up through the hole in the floor between my legs and hit me in the face.
That went after a couple of years for a 1969 MG Midget MkIII, far more civilised!
David
A sobering thought with regards the Morgan is that they suffer from corrosion on the wings, a friend, who used to work at the Morgan factory now has a body shop and he gets several in over the year. Please do not tell the Morgan boss as I only live 10 minutes walk from the factory.