1.6 or 1.8?

[Davel]

Can anyone tell me if the 1.6 is a good enough engine in the Morgan Sport?

I'm looking at a few s/h Morgans at the moment and the dealer tells me that the 1.6 can run out of puff a bit on long hills, so clearly he is trying to temp me down the higher spec 4/4.

My budget is up to £30k and I'd like to buy as new as I can afford.

Want to finalise a deal in the next couple of days.

Oh well, just bought the 1.8, so ignore this please!

Edited by Davel on Wednesday 27th July 12:16

Edited by Davel on Wednesday 27th July 19:56

[sawman]

Davel said:

Can anyone tell me if the 1.6 is a good enough engine in the Morgan Sport?

I'm looking at a few s/h Morgans at the moment and the dealer tells me that the 1.6 can run out of puff a bit on long hills, so clealry he is trying to temp me down the higher spec 4/4.

My budget is up to £30k and I'd like to buy as new as I can afford.

Want to finalise a deal in the next couple of days.

Oh well, just bought the 1.8, so ignore this please!

Edited by Davel on Wednesday 27th July 12:16

Nice pic in your profile, Lifes I presume.
Enjoy

[Davel]

yep - bought from Dave @ Life's.

Really nice and helpful guy and hope to collect at the end of the week.

[sawman]

Davel said:

yep - bought from Dave @ Life's.

Really nice and helpful guy and hope to collect at the end of the week.

You are right, he was very patient as my kids were running around the showroom jumping in and out of cars for a whole afternoon.

Hope its a sunny weekend for you!. I picked mine up on a bright autumnal day, fresh would be the best way to describe my drive home

My face must have frozen that day as I am still smiling nearly 2 years and 32k miles later

[GLLHG]

sawman said:

You are right, he was very patient as my kids were running around the showroom jumping in and out of cars for a whole afternoon.

Hope its a sunny weekend for you!. I picked mine up on a bright autumnal day, fresh would be the best way to describe my drive home

My face must have frozen that day as I am still smiling nearly 2 years and 32k miles later

Given that you've now bought a car, this is a bit superfluous but it might be of genral interest:


The last of the 1.8 4/4s was the Duratec before that it was the Zetec in Silvertop and Blacktop form. before that, you are looking at CVH engines

The Duratec is a very tuneable engine whereas the Zetecs, good engines tho they are are a bit 'older generation'. I have a Silvertop Zetec which now produces about 150+ BHP with a fairly mild tuning via better induction, exhaust, reworked head and cams and in that car it's fine. My gripe about the Ford 4 cylinder engines isn't about top speed but mid -range torque, so when I modified the engine, that was very much on my mind

The 1600 engine in the current 4/4 'Sport' is essentially the Ford- based/ Yamaha- derived Sigma. It's a modern engine design and delivers the power very well. In terms of speed/ power, I don't think you would lose out with a 4/4 Sport. ( Although you might want to consider altering the final drive ratio)

A more important issue would be the overall spec of the car. Until very recently, Sports did not have the facility to let an individual onwer 'spec up' the car to what they wanted ( and remember, that can add a lot to the price) plus the fact that they come without a spare wheel and the colourways are very limited.

Me, I'd go for a pre-owned 4/4 but that's a very personal view. If you can find one of the last Duratec -1800cc engined 4/4s grab it!

HTH G

PS Dave Randall at Life's has a name for being a very straight dealing guy. They've been around for about 2000 years ( oldest Morgan dealers since Douglass's closed) and they wouldn't be that if they weren't a good outfit to deal with

[Davel]

I've bought a 2008 1.8 Zetec engined version from Dave so will see how I get on with it.

I was very keen on a Sport, which was owned by a gent from Whitchurch and who advertised it on here.

Dithering between the 1.6 and 1.8 meant that I was just pipped at the post!

[GLLHG]

Davel said:

I've bought a 2008 1.8 Zetec engined version from Dave so will see how I get on with it.

I was very keen on a Sport, which was owned by a gent from Whitchurch and who advertised it on here.

Dithering between the 1.6 and 1.8 meant that I was just pipped at the post!

With a 2008 car it'll be a Blacktop then?. If you want a very easy power increase/ freeing up of the engine's ability to rev, think about changing the standard exhaust and manifold for one of Rob Wells' Librands items. It would also not do any harm to change to a good qulaity foam air filter element such as an ITG ( which I must admit I favour) or a K &N.

It's also possible to change the 'stock' cat , which is 400 units to a less dense one of 200 units.
Any less than that- you might have problems with the emissions for MOT purposes
Regards,
G

Edited by GLLHG on Thursday 28th July 16:10

[Davel]

Thanks for that.

Picking her up in the morning, so will see how it goes.

Cheers!

[Davel]

Early train to Southport this morning (well 3 trains to be exact) and arrived at Lifes Motors about 09.30.

Dave went through everything and I caused chaos because the free bonnet strap that they gave me was black and I preferred brown! I didn't realise that they had to unbolt the bloody things, attach felt the back of the strap to prevent damage and then re-fix it. So I watched them fit the brown one and then said that the black one looked better after all. Oh how we laughed and I was only joking.

So a while was spent explaining the hood, the tonneau and the hood cover etc, plus all the switches and off I went. A lady traffic warden who was passing the garage, even waved me out onto the road!

I can't believe the attention that the car got both on the road and when stopped. People genuinely seem to have a great affection for them. Went for our weekly Indian take-away tonight and all the staff came out to admire her.

Have had Ferrari, Porsche, a Tuscan 2 and various other lovely cars but nothing has received so much attention - and from youngsters to older folk.

What a day!

[GLLHG]

Davel said:

Early train to Southport this morning (well 3 trains to be exact) and arrived at Lifes Motors about 09.30.

Dave went through everything and I caused chaos because the free bonnet strap that they gave me was black and I preferred brown! I didn't realise that they had to unbolt the bloody things, attach felt the back of the strap to prevent damage and then re-fix it. So I watched them fit the brown one and then said that the black one looked better after all. Oh how we laughed and I was only joking.

So a while was spent explaining the hood, the tonneau and the hood cover etc, plus all the switches and off I went. A lady traffic warden who was passing the garage, even waved me out onto the road!

I can't believe the attention that the car got both on the road and when stopped. People genuinely seem to have a great affection for them. Went for our weekly Indian take-away tonight and all the staff came out to admire her.

Have had Ferrari, Porsche, a Tuscan 2 and various other lovely cars but nothing has received so much attention - and from youngsters to older folk.

What a day!

Bin the bonnet strap. It's the equivalent of having a giant Brillo pad working against your bonnet paint.
If you want to be Biggles, that's cool- but be prepared to pay for it!
Cheers,
G

[Davel]

Fair enough - will do just that.

[sawman]

G is right, I always imagined my morgan would have a bonnet strap, but having looked a couple of older cars with them fitted, the scuffs on the paintwork put me off.

So far my bonnets have not fallen off;)

Actually I thought that a couple of years down the road I may have fitted a few of the twinky bits and bobs sold by Heart of England morgan - wind deflectors, round mirrors etc. But, the standard rectangle mirrors work just fine once set up and I appreciate the nice clean original lines so haven't bothered with any embellishments

[GLLHG]

sawman said:

Actually I thought that a couple of years down the road I may have fitted a few of the twinky bits and bobs sold by Heart of England morgan - wind deflectors, round mirrors etc. But, the standard rectangle mirrors work just fine once set up and I appreciate the nice clean original lines so haven't bothered with any embellishments

I must confess, I've used quite a few of John W's 'upgrade' bits but only where I really couldn't get on with the original kit. I suppose first and most noticeably, I changed to a Moto- Lita sterring wheel which was a really good move

I binned the original windscreen mirror and fitted one of John's SS items and I also changed the rectangular wing mirrors for round ones ( the 'Lucas' pattern) but I did this because with the round mirrors I found that I didn't have to have the stalks on full extension, so it actually gave a cleaner look. Funnily enough, some of the best after- market mirrors I've seeen on a trad were mirrors off a Yamaha motor bike!

The one imortant thing I did learn about swopping mirrors is to make sure that thing like the grub screws are also SS otherwise you have a nice shiny mirror with 'orrible rust streaks running down the stems becuase the mild steel screws have rusted to b*ggery!
Cheers
G

[Davel]

Me again!

Will bin the bonnet strap at the next opportunity. The car came with the side wind deflectors, rear luggage rack and the standard mirrors.

Just a few queries please guys:

1) There is always a smell of warm fuel when driving. Is this normal with the bonnet louvres etc? There also seems to be quite a lot of engine heat coming into the car, without the heater on

2) There doesn't seem much mid-range torgue with the Zetec engine but am I changing gear too soon at around 3,500 / 4,500 revs. What rev range do you normally drive within? I take the earlier comment about tuning etc. Do you know anyone in the North West who could do this and any idea of likely cost please? It may make her sound a bit better too!

I'm trying to avoid putting the hood up and, at the moment am using either the tonneau or one of this wrap over lightweight covers at night. What do you do at night if the car is outside? Do you find the tonneau dry enough for Spring / Summer and Autumn? I'll put her inside for the winter frosts and snow.

Edited by Davel on Sunday 31st July 17:26

[sawman]

Davel said:

Me again!

Will bin the bonnet strap at the next opportunity. The car came with the side wind deflectors, rear luggage rack and the standard mirrors.

Just a few queries please guys:

1) There is always a smell of warm fuel when driving. Is this normal with the bonnet louvres etc? There also seems to be quite a lot of engine heat coming into the car, without the heater on

2) There doesn't seem much mid-range torgue with the Zetec engine but am I changing gear too soon at around 3,500 / 4,500 revs. What rev range do you normally drive within? I take the earlier comment about tuning etc. Do you know anyone in the North West who could do this and any idea of likely cost please? It may make her sound a bit better too!

I'm trying to avoid putting the hood up and, at the moment am using either the tonneau or one of this wrap over lightweight covers at night. What do you do at night if the car is outside? Do you find the tonneau dry enough for Spring / Summer and Autumn? I'll put her inside for the winter frosts and snow.

Edited by Davel on Sunday 31st July 17:26

My car has a cvh carb engine so a bit different to yours, my sense of smell is pretty poor but my daughter reckons the morgan smells a bit fuelly, I know what you mean about heat soak, I am not really sure if the heater control does that much, in fact for a few months of me getting the car I couldn't decide which way to move the lever to "expect" heat

I used to get my fettling done by Kevin Vernon (tudor motor bodies) in Market Drayton, might be worth having a chat with him regards local tuning options.

I use the tonneau a lot, I guess it depends how well it fits, but it all gets a bit damp with a heavy dew, I often keep a chamois in the car to dry the screen.

Edited by sawman on Sunday 31st July 18:34

[GLLHG]

Davel said:

Me again!

Will bin the bonnet strap at the next opportunity. The car came with the side wind deflectors, rear luggage rack and the standard mirrors.

Just a few queries please guys:

1) There is always a smell of warm fuel when driving. Is this normal with the bonnet louvres etc? There also seems to be quite a lot of engine heat coming into the car, without the heater on

2) There doesn't seem much mid-range torgue with the Zetec engine but am I changing gear too soon at around 3,500 / 4,500 revs. What rev range do you normally drive within? I take the earlier comment about tuning etc. Do you know anyone in the North West who could do this and any idea of likely cost please? It may make her sound a bit better too!

I'm trying to avoid putting the hood up and, at the moment am using either the tonneau or one of this wrap over lightweight covers at night. What do you do at night if the car is outside? Do you find the tonneau dry enough for Spring / Summer and Autumn? I'll put her inside for the winter frosts and snow.

Edited by Davel on Sunday 31st July 17:26

1. As Simon says, Kevin at Tudor Motors has an excellent reputation For info, take a look at:

http://www.tudor-vernon.co.uk/

2. I don't get a problem with fuel smell but it might be worth giving all connections, the tank itself etc a good check

3. Heat sink is a fairly common problem

4. The Ford 4-cyl engines do need to be worked through the rev range, so I tend to let mine go fairly high in terms of RPM before I change up. You might also experience some 'rev hang' It's a common feature of the Zetecs ( the theory is that it is built in to ensure that no unexploded mixture remains, thus being 'emission efficient.' It can be a bit of a pain in the bum and if it really
does get too much to bear, then there is a mod available ( developed by Morgan Club Austria!) which seems to sort it

4. Another thing which you might consider at a later date is that the standard gear change is a bit like stirring a knitting needle in a jar of treacle. It is possible to get a conversion which gives you a short shift action. This can make
gear changing a lot beter and quicker. One point to note, if you DO get this done, make sure that whoever fits it doesn't take the 'short cut' of simply cutting off the blanking gate which prevents the car being put into reverse by mistake. It can be retained by using a Bowden cable type link.

5. I'm attaching a link for the Librands manifold and exhaust:
http://www.librands.co.uk/products-category-Exhaus...

6. As I said in my earlier post, it is well worth thinking about a good quality foam filter which will give increased induction flow. Some owners use induction kits but, to be quite honest, the way things are packaged under a Morgan bonnet, unless you can site it up against the bulkhead- which is the the only area where you get high pressure, clean air, then it's taking in rubbish anyway
If you do go for a foam filter ( eg ITG) DON'T over oil it- if any gets into the MAF sensor your engine will go crazy!

7. if you are looking for something to supplement the tonneau, try a John Taylor cover:
http://www.morganhoods.com/id67.html
His swivel pins also make raising and lowering the hood a much easier job.


regards,
G

Edited by GLLHG on Monday 1st August 11:18

[Davel]

Thanks for that.

Got the cockpit cover already.

Will look into the other stuff and have asked Life's for their thoughts!

[sospan]

I have a cvh efi and find that it does need revs to keep going at some speed. It goes very well but does need use of the gears on long hills etc. but thats no real issue as the driving style is easy to adapt to.
Extras?
Swivel levers to male hood erection easier! Boy are they a Godsend!
I put a K&N in mine at the first service.
As for oil affecting the maf.... in mine the crankcase breather system routes air from the engine back into the air intake pipe. When I took it off to inspect and clean it I noticed it contained a film of oil. So... the normal engine set up seems to put oil into the air anyway. Mind you over oiling a K&N can be a waste anyway and is unnecessary.
The air intake from the front wheel arch is also melting! It is routed just above the exhaust headers so gets hot. I have put a temporary shield round it of Aluminium tape. Heat shield is a future project.