Unusual UK sports car spotted at CA car show.

[elagache]

Dear WeatherCat automobile enthusiasts:

There was a car show a few mile from home and a friend of mine had his 1957 Chevy Bel Air on display, so I had to go over and say hi.  While taking in the other cars, I took a fancy to this British roadster:



It is a 1998 Morgan Plus-8.  There is a very interesting article about the car on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Plus_8

It turns out that this car was originally powered by the same Buick 215 aluminum block that Rover modified and is in Stu's Rover.  The Plus-8 is still in production in England, but alas they cannot be imported into the United States because Morgan was refused a waver on air-bag regulations. 

Certainly a classy way to cruise around on warm summer days!

Cheers, Edouard 

[Steve]

Friends of ours have a Morgan Plus 4, and it is a very nice car, indeed. That same Rover engine was used in a gob of vehicles, including Landies, and the MGB-V8, and has been shoe-horned into an MGA like mine. That would go like stink!

[WCDev]

An old boss of mine had one - he had to wait quite a while for it to be actually made, but very nice when he got it (sadly he specified a Ford engine). Wood frame/chassis I believe.

[elagache]

Howdy Stu, Steve, and WeatherCat automotive enthusiasts,

Friends of ours have a Morgan Plus 4, and it is a very nice car, indeed.

What attracted me to it is that the lines are indeed much closer to cars of the 1930s.  There were some French roadsters of the 1930s with similar lines that really were very elegant.  I suspect it took British car makers a few decades of recouping from World War II before they could once more look at the shapes of the pre-war years.

An old boss of mine had one - he had to wait quite a while for it to be actually made, but very nice when he got it (sadly he specified a Ford engine).

Oh the shame!!    That's even worse than a Chevy engine! 

Wood frame/chassis I believe.

I fished around to see if I could confirm that, but admittedly I didn't try very hard.  I wonder if custom cars with a wood frame would be imported in the USofA anymore?  I fear the answer would just be another disappointment!

Cheers, Edouard 

[WCDev]

Wood frame/chassis I believe.

I fished around to see if I could confirm that, but admittedly I didn't try very hard.  I wonder if custom cars with a wood frame would be imported in the USofA anymore?  I fear the answer would just be another disappointment!

Cheers, Edouard 

Had a bit of a dig about - the frame is made of wood, the chassis is steel. From their FAQ:

2. Is it still made with a Wooden chassis?
The Morgan car has always been built around an ash-frame , and a steel chassis. The new Aero 8 also has an ash frame. This gives unique strength, flexibility and surprisingly, research showed that the frame made the car safer on impact tests.

http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/technical/faq.phtml

Interesting stuff!

Cheers,
Stu.

[Tailspin45]

The perfect automobile to go with my Labrador and Spitfire (none of which I have, and all of which I've wanted since about age 12).

[elagache]

Howdy Stu, Tailspin Tommy, and WeatherCat automobile enthusiasts,

Well, not only is Stu correct in reporting on their construction, but Wikipedia was incorrect in claiming they can no longer be imported.  Not only that, there is a distributor just a few miles away from me in San Francisco!!

http://www.morgancars-usa.com/

It's a good thing that I have a strict "complete one classic car project at a time" policy!! 

Cheers, Edouard