BOB NOGUEIRA <NKED65A@prodigy.com> writes
Snip
> While writing it I realized my experience is
>only with Morgans which have spent most of their live in the southwest
>part of the USA and might not apply to other parts of the world.
>Your thoughts and experiences are solicited
Snip
Morgans as a whole don't survive too well in a wet climate, so in the UK
they can get very poor very quickly!
The UK is a small place, so while on my various hunts for a car I cannot
say I found any regional variations :-), except in price! (the south is
more expensive!).
As most of you will be aware, very little rust or rot prevention was
provided until 1986, the previous optional undersealing being a blessing
and a curse. Consequently, a well used car could get very rough in 10
years, often sufficiently so to fail the annual MOT inspection.
Both rust and wood rot can be found in most unrebuilt pre 1986 cars, the
most common places being the wings (fenders), the bulkhead, toolbox,
sill boards, door rocker and door post. Cars regularly put away wet will
rot the sills out from the inside as the soft trim will retain water.
The difference between a cheap car and an expensive purchase can often
be the state of the wings, parts and labour for changing 4 wings will
come to about GBP3000 (Great British Pounds), this is mainly dependant
on the labour rate as the tailoring required is excessive. Little used
cars can be in a poorer state than a regularly used one, as rusting is
not a respector of use, depending more on the quality of the paint
finish and a source of moisture, say a warm damp garage.
If anyone is looking for a car in the UK, an older, recently rebuilt car
can be a bargain compared to a low milage 2-10 year old- most recently
rebuilt cars will have been treated to a decent coat of paint, heavy
doses of zinc, gallons of waxoyl and a careful reading of the books by
Colin Musgrove and John Worrall.
--
Jeremy Edwards
1972 Morgan 4/4 2 str
Melton Mowbray, England
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