A 5TH GEAR FOR THE TRIUMPH PLUS 4
by Lorne Goldman

Introduction

Classic Morgans were not designed for the current environment. They were created for the time of beautiful country roads, with a rich buffet of sights, sounds and adventures. All classic Morgans are at their very best on these smaller road lanes and are very much made-for-purpose. Super slim, torquey, instantly responsive. They are much much more fun in that milleu than modern cars and that is where the term perma-smile comes from.

Sadly, today's Classics are prejudiced by the ballooning in width that happened over Charles Morgan era (1996-2013). They are no longer as much fun in the arena they were made for. A glance at a overlay on the right between a Triumph Plus 4 and a 2015 Plus 8 illustrates this point. (I used their headlights as the common reference point, one of the few components that hasn't changed in size!). Ignoring aesthetics, there can be no argument that the newer Classics are decidedly less capable of finding any country road spacious for their girth.

But ALL Classics, new or old, are not at their best on today's Motorways, Interstates, Autobahns, Autostradas and Autoroutes. The exposure to the sun, the wind, the constant buffeting, the light car's reaction to other passing traffic, conspire to show a Morgan at its worst. I have spent only a small part of my 200,000+ miles of mogging on such roads as they are exhausting. We can do double their limit on us on smaller roads and not be as tired at the end of it.

However, there are times when the use of divided highways is unavoidable. When the destination is far and the time is short. When you have to catch up in your itinerary. When you are wiser to use a beltway around a city than to go through it. Or when you are following others.

The Problem with Triumph Plus 4s in the Modern Age

The Morgan Company does not make its own engines..or gearboxes. So the marriage of the two is often awkward and not ideal. Morgan owners must rely on model-by-model luck. One of the best blends of these two components in Morgan history is found in the Triumph Plus 4s, as it was taken from a very similar car, the Triumph TRs. Most Morgan experts will argue that the Plus 4 SS is the best car Morgan ever produced in its long history. It has only one sad weak point, not its fault, and one that has developed as the road environment changed long after it was created and became history. Namely that it has no suitable gear for modern divided highways. To attain super highway cruising speeds, it must rev far too high, noisy, strained, often overheating.

Changing the Axle Ratio

Some owners have sadly changed their Plus 4 axle's final gear ratio. Forgive me, but that is analogous to tossing the entire family out with the bath water merely to accommodate, on occasion, the least pleasant venue the car will ever encounter. By changing the final ratio, the inherent fun and character of the car is gutted. One cannot move away from perfection and something better. The marvelous combination of gearbox/rear ratio and engine is compromised. (This problem is a characteristic of the Triumph Plus 4 more than Morgans. Other Morgan engine/gearbox combinations are not as well-suited from the start can benefit from an axle ratio change. The answer is specific to each model.)

Adding a 5th Gear

So there is the quandary. Normally, changing the gearbox to another gearbox means another, different ratio set, causing the same problem as changing the axle ratio. However, the venerable Morgan Spares (aka Morgans of New England) has a solution I like very much. It adds a 5th gear without disturbing the original ratios of 1st through 4th. It is a have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too solution and it is made specifically for our Triumph Plus 4 cousins.

In a nutshell, Morgan Spares adapted the bullet-proof Ford T-9 gearbox (the first ever Ford 5-speed made for rear wheel drive cars) has virtually the same original ratios for its first four gears along with a reasonable overdrive 5th. This will solve the motorway problem without prejudicing the car's character, though downshifting to go up long hills will be necessary on occasion, but this is a minor convenience when compared with cruising motorways at a reasonable rpm.

GEAR RATIO COMPARISON

GEARBOX	FIRST GEAR	SECOND GEAR	THIRD GEAR	FOURTH GEAR	FIFTH GEAR
MORGAN PLUS 4	3.35	1.96	1.37	1.00	a
FORD T-9	3.65	1.97	1.37	1.00	.82

The box has a cast iron maincase with alloy tail housing. It has been used in many vehicles (including the Morgan CVH models)  on both sides of the Atlantic/Pacific and parts sourcing, for the foreseeable future, should not be a problem. It has an oil capacity of 1.9 litres using a standard oil grade of 75W90 semi-synthetic. It is small and lightweight.

Morgan Spares has an peerless three decade + reputation. The present owners, Linda and Larry Eckler, virtually grew up on Morgans. And, in the case of Morgan TR Plus 4s, 80% of its production was sent to the USA. There are far more TR Plus 4s stateside than anywhere else on the planet. Larry and Linda operate out of Copake, New York and ship worldwide.  

At first glance, one may find that such a swap is expensive. But is less costly than other offerings along the same lines and it is bespoke for Morgans by top notch pros. A package from Morgan Spares is invariably bullet proof, unlike so much of the other nonsense offered to Moggers today. It comes with finely detailed installation instructions, a bespoke Manual and all the backup from Larry one could wish for. (I have supplemented their information with the original Ford Manual.) Any Morgan Spares kit does not deal in partial measures. And that eliminates the hassle factor and that saves 1000s in aggravation. If you are planning on mogging in a original Plus 4, this swap must be considered. 

The writer has absolutely no pecuniary or other benefit from Morgan Spares. This article is written with a view of offering TR Morgan owners more options and expand their mogging.