RESTORING A MORGAN - page five
by Lorne Goldman

10. The new silencers and the rest of the exhaust must be fit. This is a straight forward job but it must be done well to avoid unnecessary strain on the fittings. As well, the original methods can always be improved upon..after great thought. Kevin uses his own brackets..they're better. Stainless fittings throughout.

We addressed two issues. Morgan frames are angled slightly towards the rear. As the pipes are straight, they end up at a mild angle at their arrival at the rear and this looks splayed with the exhaust angle outboard on each side. This was cured by cutting the pipes at the middle of the rear wheels, angling them to match the frames, and then re-welding grinding and sanding them.

The second issue was the rear hanger fitting. This stock system allows considerable flexibility at the rear, but leaves the pipes askew often and touching the rear wheels. The rubber must be change often. The trick is to find a simple method that allows a bit of movement, but keeps the pipes close to the frame side without touching it. This is accomplished by the use of a small flange attached near the end of the pipe which is used to hold the pipe to the frame with an intervening rubber bobbin, the items used to held exhaust and radiators.

After the fitting and mods, the pipes and silencers are sent to the polishers for a mirror shine. When finally fitted, they will be finished off with polished stainless exhaust tips and proper exhaust clamps.  N.B. There will be NO rear resonators. They serve no useful purpose beyond taming your thunder. (smile) 

The exhaust clamps shown to the left are common in the USA. The prevent the damage standard clamps cause (warping) and prevent the sniffling leaks common to other clamps. They are also pretty  and inexpensive.

As these last images hint at, the sagas with the chassis and other components have being progressing simultaneously and many parts are finished!! I have missed showing hundreds of small but necessary tasks already but it is time to move on to Stage 3.  

11. The doors are found to be wanting. Poor original sealing has allowed water entry and finally corrosion has created holes. There are a number of solutions, many of the simple, but the very best solution is the most difficult..to re-skin the doors. However, one of the advantages of dealing with a knowledgeable expert is that you can benefit from the fact there is NO learning curve and the "difficult" has long away become familiar and easy for him. 

 

12. The new wings are fit. This is a long nerve-racking task for most....wrapped in long legends of magic hands and mysterious MMC mantras...but not so at Tudor. The job is done quickly. There are some interesting watchpoints however...often overlooked by others.
 

i. The shape of the Superform wings do not marry with the original (mild steel) cowls of the age. Today's cowls (now in alloy) have a mildly different curvature to better fit with the mildly different shape of the Superforms. To be perfect, the old cowl should be cut and reshaped. This is done.

ii. At the rear of the front wings, where they meet the rear wings, a space is formed between the two at the Factory as the front wings are cut straight where the rear wings are curving back. As all Morgan owners know, the space created is open to road debris and the paint is quickly ground off. Rather than finishing the wings thusly, we work harder than they and cut a curve to the front wings to match the curvature of the rear wings and close the space. The result is both aesthetically pleasing and effective. The little mod has allowed this Morgan's rear wing paint to remain whole.

iii. I like fog lamps. I also prefer to put them on the wings rather than hanging them on bumpers or badge bars. Normally, the weaker alloy wings require some stiffening to take the lamps without cracking the wings. An advantage of Superforms is their hardness. Coupled with plinths to spread the load, there is no need for an extra stiffening plate.


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