. Morgans are no different. From the Factory, different lamps were optionally over the years, though for the last two decades this has been restricted by government regulations requiring certain elements to be present. Today's Factory headlamp fare is either non-descript (for which the company must be forgiven) or tastelessly garish, an element that has increasingly crept into the Morgan market since the passing of Peter Morgan.  

Collectors can tell you which lamps were originally offered for your car from its inception, which lamps are acceptable replacements/upgrades and which bestow added status to the car and the proper place and fashion to mount them, but aesthetic appreciation is something bestowed only by the Automobiles Gods, and practicality be damned! :D The best source for original vintage lamps is eBay, but there are great risks involved and you have to know your stuff. Old lamps will often require refurbishing but the days of new old stock, hidden in some garage or retailer backroom have vanished. Lamps have become a VERY expensive aspect of Morgan car love as one is in competition with vintage collectors of every marque. The favored lamps are akin to Louis Vuitton luggage, only harder to find and more costly by the pound! But they send a message that only Others of the Faith can recognize.

Brahmin-acceptable upgrades will be from the vintage production of Lucas, Jaguar or Marchal (this last a Ferrari/Rolls auxiliary lamp option offered briefly in the 1980s) or anything lovely and vintage enough to be forgiven by strict purists. It creates another aspect of Morgan enjoyment, learning and new social contacts that crosses marque and time lines...whether your Morgan is old or new.

WIRING SPOT OR FOG LAMBS

Many owners wire fog or spot lamps in after their car's manufacture. Aside from choosing the site of their physical placement, the wiring is quite simple. The MMC does not have special wiring variations for different options. They have a single wiring template for each model and era and merely connect the options purchased. If the pruchase of an options is not made, the wiring for it is still there. If you are lucky enough to have a Morgan that has not been undercoated with their infamous spreading black goo that covering wiring colours..they will be problem to find..either at the front or the rear. In most cases, you will even find their unconnected switch on your control panel.

Earlier cars The wiring colours you are looking for (earlier cars) is Blues with a White tracer for the fronts and Red with a Yellow tracer for the rear.

It is frustrating to read some of the current arguments against DRLs. DRLs have been around since the 1970s (Scandinavian countries) and 1989 (Canada). There is no longer any question that they are a cheap way to substantially cut down on property damage, injuries and fatalities. Of course, the extent of those benefits will depend on the environment of the vehicle that uses them. Areas that have longer periods of dusk and dawn will show a greater beneficial effect but the stats show a minimum of 5.7% reduction in accidents and their severity at a minimum all the way up to 11%+. An American study from 2000 put the reduced accident figure at seven per cent. The EU didn’t investigate the issue until 2003, but suggested a likely reduction of between five and 15 per cent.

Simply apply those statistics and quantify them in terms of dollars and deaths and the arguments against this feature become pretty stupid. Just think of the Morgan communiyt, new and old, being able to reduce our accidents and damage by those figures!

As for claims of added costs, all car manufacturers state categorically that they are specious. General Motors estimated the extra cost in light bulb wear is non-existent and the new DRLs use a reduced voltage. Fuel mileage, which also reflects the environmental effect, was analyzed for the average US vehicle at $3 a year at current fuel prices. One could save 100 times that simply with better driving habits.

So what is the fuss? Morgans are small cars, low to the ground and can definitely use every visibility measure in the book to combat those elements. This one is effective and non-invasive. There are no jarringly odd and ugly "cyclops" lights to fit, or LEDs that make the car look like a refugee from Star Wars or a dinky hot rod rather than a classic vintage car.

The biggest cost factor for the manufacturer is the cost of dedicated DRLs. In this case, they are right. There are sufficient existing lights on any car to enlist some in the DRL cause. The first priority is to choose existing lights omn the car to use that have sufficient visibility to have the desired effect. No point in using side or wing lamps that can lower or negate the benefits.

DRL retro-fits for Morgans? There is no question that using head lamps produce the best effect one can manage and they are easy to re-wire. (simply add a wire to the headlamp fuses from the ignition switch). However, for those of us who are inexplicably uncomfortable with the extra annual fuel costs, something more exotic and invasive might suit

 However, the necessary mods are not expensive and the technology is already used in most Morgans.  For example. the Smiths instruments cars (all Morgans until 1986), use a voltage regulator that reduces the regular voltage from 13.8ish + to 10 volts and most of the distributor cars reduce the voltage to the coil. In this case, you simply have to create a reduced ignition-fed daytime power to the headlamps. 

This voltage reduction can be done with a regulator or with a series of diodes/resistors in series to a brightness you like. Diodes/resisters can be found at any electrical shop or Radio Shack..regulators of all sorts on your local eBay or Radio Shack as well. Cost with either method is a few dollars. It can all be done with a minor wiring modification. One simply takes the chosen lights and attach them to an ignition feed. I will try to help anyone who asks me to. Alternaively, there are number of DRL kits that can be purhcased in all countries.

The UK or the USA, for example. However, I admittedly frown on making Morgans more complicated. But if you do not want a minor change in your Morgans writing (old or new models) or hire a mechanic to do so, a kit is the way to go.

In most countries, the ever more complex and invasive fuel and safety regulations are optional for cars made before the specific law changed. As well, there is a new wave of legislation being passed or considered protecting NEW cars that accurately replicate classics (see the new USA legislation 2016). This allows Morgan owners the option of cherry-picking what they want. There is no question that many of the newer measures prejudice Morgans. But it also true that some are wise and can be incorporated without altering the aesthetics or personality of the cars. Sadly, since its astonishing HFS start,  the Morgan Company has never since displayed the ability to seamlessly handle and produce new technology in a way that creates reliable vehicles from their debut. Their earlier reluctance to stray from what they knew worked and their limited production numbers, made them non-ideal candidates mods. Reliability takes them time and/or owner intervention. This home truth has become much more of a factor since Peter Morgan's passing, likely because of the new culture of constant change regretfully abetted by newer after-marketeers who promise panaceas for everything in a box. The Morgan Company, once they chose to enter this market, has no choice but to compete. (sad sigh)

Now I should get off this podium, stop trying to save your life and write something helpful for the Manual. (wryly)

COVERTING LIGHTS IN OLDER MORGANS TO LEDS

by Ian Merker

Our esteemed WA VP, Brian Nash, suggested I pass on details to other MOCA members who have older Morgans.

I have replaced all filament bulbs with LED’s; that is from smallest to largest.

In case needed, the product code BA9S refers to BA = Bayonet, 9mm diameter and Single element (D would be double)

The pack of two cost $19

Realising that these LEDs draw far less current, I thought the indicator “flasher” unit might need replacing or adjusting. The original ones switched faster or slower depending on whether there was less or more current but with my unit, it continued to work perfectly.

Main Front Lights: this is where a huge driving difference was observed! The fittings on my old Lucas front lights were H4 and were very popular on most UK cars in the ‘50s to ‘90s, and indeed for many years after.

The pair cost $90 and included a small sealed in-line “black box”. The headlight fitted perfectly into the Morgan’s existing cylindrical bayonet headlight reflector with clip and the other end into the H4 wiring socket. The black box, seen at the bottom of the packet marked “New Compact Driver Syste”’ is only a few centimetres long fits easily within the headlight enclosure.

(Note the picture shown is for the LED H7 fitting; the LED H4 is the one to use for older Morgans. By the time I’d returned to the shop to take photos, they’d sold out of H4’s!

I noted one simple but major fitting issue with these lights. Looking at the picture of the LEDs in the packet, there is a black sleeve that sits vertically below the light and above the red ring. When installed, this allows rotation of the bulb by 90 degrees – which sets the orientation of the LED in the headlight’s reflector.

Opening the packet, it’s easy not to check this. After fitting the new LED’s, I noticed that one light was shining vertically upwards and would have dazzled any oncoming vehicle. The LEDs in the new bulb were shining vertically up and down; the new bulb must be rotated by 90 degrees (changed using the black sleeve) to ensure the LEDs shine sideways – then the main high-beam headlights work well, as do the dipped lights. In my opinion, it’s poorly covered on the back of the packet (shown below) as “Important Installation Warning”.

If anyone uses these new LED’s to convert their Morgan, I suggest a simple test, do one side at a time so that you can see the old and new on together. The difference is amazing!