Morgan has used only a few steering systems on their Classic (Trad) 4-wheelers.

From 1936-1950

In the very first cars (1936) they used a reduction gear mounted midway down the column. However, by the end of that year, they had adopted the Burman-Douglas cam and peg system. Two turns to lock. This system began the legend of the Malvern Dance.

From 1950-1969

In 1969, the Plus 4s were given another steering box made by Cam Gears (same company as Burman Douglas). It's design is very much the same as the earlier 4/4 box saving that it is stronger and a bit bigger. The 4/4s adopted this version in 1955. It has two turns to lock and continued the Legend of the Malvern Dance.

From 1983-2007

The early Plus 8s (1968- ) were a chore to steer with the Cam Gears box. In 1982, Maurice Owen, then the Morgan design chief approached Jack Knight Ltd, a specialty manufacturer in  the UK and a rack and pinion systems was specifically designed for the car and first fitted in 1983. (An image of the original rack is posted.) It required a modification to the stub axles. From 1984-1986, the rack could only be ordered with the EFI option but it became a Plus 8 standard in 1987. Over the years, it was made with different turns to lock or they could be ordered as an option. (2.3, 3.0 or 3.5 turns to lock). In 2007, Jack Knight went bankrupt but was later revived and is business today. Morgan steering racks (left or right) with a choice of ratios can be ordered. It was not made for any other car.

The 4/4s and Plus 4s stuck with Cam Gears until 1985. Morgan had concerns earlier in the 1980s about continuing with Cam Gears. A friend of the Works, in the farm equipment business, had a close relationship with the Gemmer company, a large French manufacturer. The story goes that a crew of unilingual engineers appeared in Malvern, and with many Gallic gestures, closely studied the Morgan Four Wheeler. They left in a cloud of dust and months later, a made-for-Morgan steering box arrived, a variation of a model they had been using for fork lifts. It was tried and fitted and proved to be a marvelous improvement for the cars. It is also retrofittable to the earlier Cam Gear cars..where the Rack & Pinion system is not. It is still purchased (when it is available) for retro-fits and it is capable of being refurbished completely, by Jack Knight or others.

B the mid-1990s all models had been fitted with Jack Knight systems.

Rubbing the Wings (1998 to 2008 et seq.)

Many owners and dealers have reported that Superform winged cars (new or retro-fit). The rubbing occurs at the crease at the front of the wings. issue is created by the indent at the wheel well. It was made so deep that the tyres hit it before they lock when turning to either side. If the diameter of the tyre is increased, it becomes worse, if the diameter of the tyre is decreased, there is an aesthetic price to pay with smaller wheel/tyres not filling the wheel wells, an inaccurate speedo, lower mileage, etc.

Of course, tyres rubbing againstwings cause damage, most commonly the paint bubbles at the contact point (on both sides of the wing) and the rubber on the tyres wear...which is less noticeable but definitely cause for concern and surveillance.

My last new wing was retrofit in 2008..no change. So up to that point, from 1998 until 2008 we can be sure that the MMC had not addressed the problem. There would have been two ways to cure this. Assuming it is no longer a factor on new cars and they did not to alter the Superform mold (which would be expensive for them) they could increase the turning circle (limit the ability to tturn sharply). If they did this when they swtiched to Quaife from Jack Knight in 2007, that element would not have cost them more.  But increasing the turning circle means reducing the effectiveness of the steering. You prevent the wheels from being turned as extensively. This is easily done before the fact in the design of the rack or by placing stops within the rack that stop the turning at earlier point than previously. The result is older Morgans can turn in a  smaller space than Superform Morgans.

When I first replaced Humpty's 1990 wings with new Superforms in 2006, they created the problem. Kevin Vernon and I worked out a simple design that we hoped would be temporary at the time. We attached a system that allows me to adjust and stop the steering before the tyres impact that "crease" in the wing. The adjustment feature is as easy as it is welcome. It is very difficult to estimate just where to stop the steering without thorough testing on the car. Morgans flex and that makes it impossible to estimate when the rubbing will happen on the car when only at rest. I take the car for a run and then park it on different gradients a few times and then I see if I am rubbing. If not..I add a little more turning ability. If there are signs of rubbing, I reduce it a bit. Both sides will NOT be the same and therefore this was made to adjust both sides separately. Examine the iimage. The device requires no modifications to the car and can be fit in minutes. A central "stop" consists of a small box that fits on the tie rods that are bolted to the existing center plate. Its "limiter" bolts directly to the crosshead. As you can see, there are two long bolts that thread into the bracket are locked by a single nut. If you loosen the lock nut and extend the bolt inboard, you limit the turning circle on that side. If you thread the bolt outboard (in), you allow the steering to turn more.

Of course, these are all hick solutions. A car should always have the tightest (best) turning circle possible. Moving the wings forward has been examined and is not the answer..too much of a deadly domino effect. The proper solution is the obvious one. It would be to modify the Classic (trad) Morgan wing mold and reduce the crease's indent to the same as the pre-Superform shape or somthing that allows the tyres to clear.

From 2007 to date

In 2007, when Jack Knight fell into business difficulties, Morgan turned to Quaife, an excellent British manufacturer. To make the rack retrofittable to the early Jack Knight cars and to fit into Morgan current production, the Quaife unit is pretty much a copy of the Jack Knight system. It comes in a 3 turns lock version only and is not purchasable from Quaife directly but only through the Morgan Motor Company. It is not used on any other car.