Here's my Morgan tale:
I think it goes back to my childhood! My uncle had left a
one-year old MG TF 1500 at my home for three weeks while on his honeymoon,
and I was in my early teens, too young to do anything with it other than
sit in its red leather seats, move the gearshift and levers back and forth,
and dream... He sold that car in 1961 for $150 with a cracked block, and
I've never let him forget it!
In 1968, I did a three-month fellowship in London, and saw a
beautiful 1960ish Plus 4 at a tennis match there. While taking several
pictures (some girl kept getting in the way!), I noticed its classic lines
(the car's) belied its performance. I never had the opportunity to sit or
drive it, however.
While serving in the Army, I found myself in the grand and glorious
reaches of western Louisiana, with nothing to do in my spare time but read.
Suddenly, the December 1969 issue of Road & Track came across my desk, and
hit me like a ton of bricks! There, in all of its pristine glory, was THE
car that I had to have! The Plus 8 had just begun to be manufactured, and
the idea of owning a car with a shape like that and a V-8 was too much to
pass over. I wrote a letter to the factory and received a very properly
British reply from a Mr. Day, who was Peter Morgan's vice-president. He
had been with the company since Mr. Morgan's father was in charge, even
before the first 4-wheel model was produced in 1936. Alas, he is no longer
with them. I sent him an order, stating what I wanted on the car, which
included almost everything available as an option: bonnet strap, two-tone
paint, luggage rack, spare tyre cover, and a rear bumper. I also asked Mr.
Day to please install an AM/FM radio. Incidentally, I asked, how much
would the total package be? There could be no dickering with this one! By
return mail, he replied that they would be happy to supply me with the car
as ordered, with the exception of the radio. He said that Mr. Morgan felt
that a true sports car driver should be listening to the music of the
engine and not of a radio, and thus made no provision for one in the car!
After that, I have never once considered putting one in!
I ordered every option that they offered at that time, and the
total cost of them came to $150! Then came the anxious waiting period - I
was told it would be a five month wait before the car would be finished,
and then another six weeks shipping. I received the good news that it was
shipped in May, 1971, and then heard that it was being sent to the port of
New Orleans instead of Mobile, and thus would take two extra weeks.... I
was finally notified of its arrival in Mobile on a freighter loaded with
pipe! I could see my Morgan coming in delicately balanced on the top of a
vast pyramid of drain pipes! On a Monday morning, I was able to finally
take possession with very minimal red tape. However, driving it home would
be something else - The windshield, top, and both seats were all packed in
the back, so my first drive entailed my sitting on a cardboard box in the
driver's compartment and attempting to get the car out of first gear, where
it had frozen during the trip overseas. Fortunately, there was a Fiat
dealership a few blocks away who was able to help me. In fact, they drove
it around the block a few extra times " just to make sure it was all
right". I drove it to my uncle's house and assembled the pieces.
After returning to Louisiana to show everyone at the base what I
had been talking about for a year, I then put my entire worldly belongings,
including all my uniforms, two suitcases, a color TV, blankets, etc., into
the car ( with the top up, it was packed completely to shoulder level all
around, with only a small cubbyhole for me to sit and drive). It is quite
an experience to drive 1500 miles on the front edge of a hurricane that was
wearing itself out in a vehicle that is guaranteed to make one
claustrophobic! Needless to say, rear-view vision was a luxury that was
unobtainable...
I spent a very enjoyable year in Aberdeen Proving Grounds,
Maryland, but the weather was so cold that I never got to take the top off
once until the spring thaw in May. The Morgan went through eight inches of
snow, and weeks of bitter cold, slush, and rain. One hasn't lived until
they have tried driving on an ice-slick road with no weight on the rear
wheels! It was also something to be remembered to go to a drive-in movie
when the temperature was 18 degrees outside ( and maybe 20 degrees inside!).
Disaster struck one night in Aberdeen -- Stopped at a traffic
light one night, a drunk in a 1960 Oldsmobile 88 slammed into the Dart
behind me, and the Dart then proceeded to try shoving my rear bumper up
under the front seat. As luck would have it, the Morgan was low enough
that he overrode my bumper and frame and crushed the wooden frame around
the spare tire. The repair shop had quite a time learning to fabricate it
again. I was afraid that I would have to pick splinters out of my back
end for the next six months. It was unfortunate that the Morgan was in the
repair shop for six weeks. Even more unfortunate was the car that I was
given to drive in the meantime - a 1970 Gremlin...
At last I was able to enjoy my car in the Spring. Once, while
driving up to Pennsylvania to visit a friend, the engine suddenly quit out
in the countryside at 7 PM on a Friday night (typical!). I managed to be
pulled back to a service station where we determined that my fuel pump was
acting up. We finally figured out that a well-placed blow to the back of
the stowage compartment whenever it would quit ticking would start it
again. So for the next year I would drive down the road and suddenly reach
back and strike the back of the car with my fist. This always caused a
raised eyebrow with any passenger that I had.
After receiving my discharge papers in June, I prepared to pack my
total possessions back into each cubic centimeter that it came up in. No
one told me about the hurricane moving up the East coast that I would be
facing going home. I had a sense of deja vu as my three wipers tried
valiantly to peel three inches of rain off my windscreen for the next three
days.
Following my arrival in Mobile in 1972, the Morgan served as my
primary transportation for the next year. It was assisted by the
ever-faithful 1965 Corvair Corsa that I still have, but that is another
story. To date I have 27,000 miles on the Morgan, 18,000 put on it in the
first 20 months. It is truly a part of the family, and has occupied a
very significant part of my life. Thanks, Peter. You have enriched my
life immensely.
Since this was written, I have joined the South Alabama British Car
Club, and have begun restoring and spiffing up the Morgan. I'm now in the
Mardi Gras MG Club - Don't yell at me!! There's only one other Morgan
within a 150 mile radius of here! Bob Mason has been instrumental in
harassing me into improving the detail appearances of it, and I spent the
summer of 1992 underneath it, cleaning 21 years of dirt and corrosion from
crevices that hadn't seen the light of day since it was originally built!
Over 9 pounds of black rust-preservative paint were applied with a brush
(along with an unknown amount applied to me!).
The best thing about Morgans is driving one - There's no experience
like it, cruising down a country road with the roar of the engine
reverberating in your ears, and your hand resting on the gear shift, ready
for the next down shift to go around the car in front of you.
In August, 1996, I visited Isis Imports in San Francisco. Tucked
way back in the back of one of the piers was one of the neatest gatherings
of cars seen in a long time! There were two 1996 Plus 8s for sale, but even
more interesting was the presence of the first prototype Plus 8, a
converted Plus 4 from 1968. The only visible difference was two small
bubbles in the bonnet to accommodate the carbouretters for the V8. It still
looked mighty potent, that is, until I saw the next car which was under
wraps. It was one of only three SLR racing Morgans built around 1962, and
probably the only one still in existence! Needless to say, my camera was
working overtime!
I've continued slowly refurbishing the car, and replaced the
leather interior in December. I also redyed the top and tonneau (which look
almost new!!) In January, I finally broke down and blasted the wheels and
clear-coated them the natural finish aluminum. My next major step will be
to completely repaint the exterior, if I can leave it that long!! Mike
Darby consented to retuning the car, and found out that it had been running
on only one SU carburettor for an unknown number of years, so now it's
double the fun! Pat Ponder and I made the trip with the club over to
Pensacola to the Naval Air Museum in January, and the car was outstanding
(even with the bonnet up!). Thanks to Bob's persistance in encouraging me
to improve the car, I think it will wind up pretty decent in the near
future.
Tony McLaughlin
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L.D. McLaughlin, Jr.
Daphne, AL, USA
ldmcjr@datasync.com
http://www.datasync.com/~ldmcjr/
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